June 27th, 2008Adding RAM to Older PCs
It’s funny how our priorities change over time. A decade ago I would sink nearly every spare dime into my computers, eventually building a machine withover $7000 in components installed, not including all the extra peripherals one would expect to see on an over-powered custom-built workstation. As time wore on, though, having the biggest and fastest became less important. Digital sex appeal took a back seat to functionality.
Now, aside from adding computer RAM, it seems as though people are realizing that we don’t need the biggest and fastest computers in the world. Technology continues to advance, but the software is often perfectly capable of running on a five or six year old PC. But can the same be said for the Mac?
The Tiny iMac
A friend of mine recently told me about some trouble he was having with his 3 year old iMac. Since updating some of his software, the whole system has slowed down to the point where he can’t even open Safari in under 2 minutes. He had gone to a local computer retailer and picked up some RAM but, after installing the modules into the tiny wannabe-of-a-computer, the darn thing wouldn’t boot. Not knowing why, and not willing to pay for a retailer to fix the issue, he asked me for advice. Having experienced something like this in the mid-1990’s with an IBM, I gave him the most probable cause I could think of: he needs to add iMac memory.
It’s funny how the tiniest things can leave the deepest scars. When a computer just won’t boot after we have our hands inside, it can take a bit to go back in. Luckily, the upgrade process is far simpler now than it was in 1996.
In the case of my friend’s 17″ iMac, he needed only to take the bottom panel off his computer, and slip the RAM module into the available memory slot.
The Wife’s Next
My Reiko has been complaining about the responsiveness –or, more accurately, the lack thereof — on her own machine. While it would certainly be logical to replace the ageing desktop with a brand new notebook, it would be far more ecologically and financially friendly to buy some DDR PC2700 memory and bring the archaic calculator up to a Gig of RAM. Considering what she uses the PC for, this simple act would undoubtedly extend the life of her computer by another year or two.
Just like the iMac, upgrading her machine is a simple matter of adding some DIMMs. Her PC is just a simple Sotec and, although it’s not necessarily easy to upgrade the key components of the computer, the RAM slots are incredibly accessible. Heck, I still remember taking apart my old IBM 386 to the nuts and bolts just to reach the two 30-pin SIMM modules (if anyone remembers such things anymore). It’s nice to see that things are not quite as difficult as they used to be.
All this said, one thing that really bugs me about this whole process is just how cheap computer components have become over the last five years. Back in the day, a simple RAM upgrade required half a paycheque and at least two bloody knuckles. But those days are long gone. Now, for less than $300, many people can add another three or four years of life to their existing computers, saving these incredible machines from the scrap pile.
Although this goes against my understanding of how “the market” works, I won’t complain about the lack of non-recyclable stuff ending up in our landfills.
What do you do when your computer slows down? Is it better to buy new, or update and re-use old systems?
What do you do when your computer slows down? Is it better to buy new, or update and re-use old?
More RAM, always. A bigger hard drive, sometimes. Usually it’s easier to buy an external drive for that.
Used RAM? I stay away from it - you never know what static precautions the previous owner followed. Or didn’t follow. I will use pre-owned RAM for my servers - but I can test RAM on (most) Sun SPARC servers.
Upgrade! I actually had brand new PC only once and that was more than 10 years ago
It took me more than five years to replace *all* components from the first computer (including keyboard and speakers). But any time I had to face upgrade of CPU, MB or graphics card I was wondering what to do. When you need to change any of the three you usually have to change all of them and RAM. If you are lucky enough you can still use your old power supply and case…
Too bad that it is not a case with notebooks. Once you reach the maximum amount of RAM you don’t have much choice: switch to a light Linux distro
Only once have I owned a top-of-the-line computer and I don’t think I ever will again. Now, I put together or purchase a low to middle grade machine (1-2 gigs RAM 160 Gig HD) I think the one I just put together cost about 400-500 total. Then, use it until I can’t stand it no more or something goes wrong (my last one lasted about 4-5 years and only had 512 MB of RAM) and then start over.
I do generally salvage anything I can to have on-hand for spare parts though
Oh yes, I can remember the 30-pin SIMM. I had those in my 386SX, and in my first 486 (SX 25MHz). In the 486 you had to insert them in pair of 4 to match the 32-bit FSB. It was such a relief when the 72-pin SIMM entered the market.