Advice and Deals on Computer Memory

The amount of memory in your computer is an important consideration. Do not make the mistake of going with less memory to save cost. Main memory is a fast storage area for your programs and data. If physical memory is low, the operating system needs to swap out to disk which is many times slower. This can really affect the performance of your computer.

The quality of the memory is also important. Do not go with generic memory even if it is cheaper. This is especially important with faster computers. Using generic memory can cause your computer to become unstable and crash.

My advice for any computer is to go with a minimum of 256MB memory. Personally, I like running with 512MB.

There are many different speed grades of memory depending on your system configuration. I recommend visiting Crucial for any memory purchases you make. This memory is sold factory direct with no middleman involved, guaranteeing you the best possible prices. They have the best computer memory for stable operation.

Crucial makes it easy to determine the right type of memory for your computer. If you do not know the type of memory you need, just enter in the manufacturer and model of your computer and it will determine the right type for you. Try it now:

Upgrade your RAM with the Memory Selector™

Select your system and press go!

Select a manufacturer A Open A Trend ABIT Acer Adaptec Advantech Advent AIR AJP Albatron Alienware ALR Altima Amptron AMS Tech Apaq Apple Apricot ARM Armari ASRock AST ASUS AT&T ATI Atlas Averatec Axil Biostar Broadax Systems Brother Campus Canon Carrera Chaintech ChemUSA Cisco Clevo Cobalt Networks Commax Compaq Compuadd CTX Daewoo Dan Data General Dell Diamond - Micronics Diamond Flower (DFI) Digital Elite Group (ECS) Elonex eMachines Encad EPoX Epson Ergo Everex Evesham FIC Fluke Networks FOSA Fujitsu-Siemens Gateway Gericom Giga-Byte Hi-Grade Hitachi HP HyperData IBM Intel Intergraph Iwill Jetta Jetway KDS Kyocera Lexmark MAG Matsonic Maxdata Maxtech Media-On Medion Mesh Micronics MicronPC (now MPC) Microworkz Mitac Monorail Motion Computing Motorola MSI (Micro Star) Multivision My Favorite PC NCD NEC NetFRAME Nokia Olivetti Packard Bell Panasonic Panrix PC Chips Pico Pionex Polar Polywell Power Computing ProStar QDI Quantex Rock Samsung Sceptre SGI (Silicon Graphics) Sharp Shuttle Soltek Sony Soyo Sun Supermicro Tadpole Tekram Tektronix TI Time Tiny Toshiba Twinhead Tyan Ultra Umax Unisys VIA Technologies Viewsonic Viglen Vobis vpr Wedge WinBook WinSystems Xerox Zenith Zeos

If you built your own computer and already know your memory type, then go ahead and select from the list below:

Choose your memory SDRAM, PC133 SDRAM, PC100 DDR PC2100 DDR PC2700 DDR PC3200 EDO Fast Page Mode SDRAM, 125MHz SDRAM, 66MHz CompactFlash MultiMediaCard Secure Digital Smart Media

One thing that gets people confused is the change in the naming convention of memory. The number in the earlier memory types (PC66, PC100, PC133, etc.) refer to the Front Side Bus (FSB) speed in MHz. This number has been changed in DDR memory to show the throughput speed in MB/sec. Here is a table that translates the throughput speed to FSB MHz speed for you:

Note that anything higher than PC3200 memory is non-standard DDR memory which is used by overclockers. If you are into overclocking, then I recommend checking out Ultra computer memory and Corsair computer memory which is specially optimized for overclocking.

For more information on memory details, check out my memory FAQ.