Over and over again, I come across stories of people who have slow computers but have the room to upgrade their ram. Ram, also known as memory, explains a place where information is temporarily stored while programs are working on your computer. The more ram you have, the fast your machine is going to run in it’s everyday operations, like opening programs, working in them and having multiple browser tabs open.
initially, when your computer is running slow, you should run a battery of cleanup and anti-malware programs. First, CCleaner, which is free (Google “CCleaner”), allows you to clear any unnecessary cookies and temporary files from your machine that may be bogging it down.
Then, a program like “malwarebytes” is great to run to ensure there isn’t any malware, spyware or even viruses slowing the computer down. A deeper more effective virus removal program (that’s free) to use would be the “kaspersky virus removal tool,” which you can also find by Googling those keywords.
But, when you’ve ran the arsenal of cleanup weapons and your machine is still performing like a horse in a race with a sprained ankle, upgrading your ram might be the next step. If you’re running Windows Vista for example, and you have 2 gigabytes or under of ram, even giving it another 1 gigabyte is going to make a big difference. If the machine can go up to 4 gigabytes, which would mean that you’re upgrading it by 2 gigabytes (if it currently has 2 already), then that’s your best option. Vista, in my opinion, takes too many resources to run and slows computers down.
I know what you may be thinking, the act of actually taking the machine apart and replacing the ram chips is hard. Here’s the great part. It really isn’t! Most desktop computers have 4 screws on the outer edges of the back that once unscrewed, allow the side panels of the machine to slide back and off, giving you access to the guts of the computer.
For a pretty clear picture of the ram, with identifications in the image, check this picture out. That shows a pretty clear image of the ram chips inside a computer, labeled and easy to see. To change or upgrade ram, the only thing you’re doing is sliding the new chips in place, and pushing them in until they click. There are two levers on each side of the outer portion of the slot in which you’re inputting the ram, that will click once the ram is in place. Apply pressure to the top of the ram chip, once it’s in place, until you hear that sealing click. Then, you’re golden!
Thereafter, you’ll have to change the settings in virtual memory to reflect the physical hardware changes you’ve made, which is a couple of clicks away, and can be found here. But, if you’re unsure, seek professional help.
Overall, taking a machine even up to one more gigabyte of ram than it previously had, can do magnificent things for the speed of the computer. A very helpful website to find out both what kind of ram you need, and how much ram your computer is capable of being upgraded to, is called “memory giant,” which you can also Google. You’ll have an opportunity to input your model computer, or have it scan your computer to determine what type of ram you need, and how much your computer can take.
I hope this has been helpful for those of you looking to speed up your computer by increasing the ram. Thanks for reading.
