How to Find the Correct RAM for a Computer

RAM which stands for Random Access memory is the most integral part of any computer system. Not only computers but now RAM has taken a place in almost all the automatic or semi-automatic electronic devices. This is the best way and mode of saving information, settings, or some piece of code for use of the device. RAMs are gaining more and more popularity in external storage devices like Flash Drive, MP3 Players, Mobile Phones etc. As the name suggests, RAM is a kind of memory which is fast and we can read and write to any part of it at any time. Before RAMs, the memory devices were generally sequential. Examples are tape drives. Fetching data from a sequential drive was time consuming because it has to go through all the earlier data before reaching the desired data. Just think of audio cassettes in which you have to forward all the songs before you could listen to the last song. With the development of RAM, the seek time was drastically reduced and this is the reason why every computer processor relies on RAM. Every piece of data which reaches in to the processor for processing has to go from the RAM and this is the reason why speed of RAM and its capacity plays a crucial role in speeding up any computer or making it sluggish. You can purchase a very good quality motherboard and processor but if the RAM modules installed in your computer are not of adequate size and speed, your computer will not perform well. In this post we will discuss similar intricacies of RAM module and how to get the correct RAM in case you want to add more to your computer.

RAM modules consist of several chips which are soldered together to make a module. RAM chips operate at their own frequency and this has to match the operating frequency of the motherboard. Faster the frequency, better is the performance. You can check the size of RAM installed on your computer under the properties of ‘My Computer’, but this does not tell you about the model and type of RAM installed in your machine. New types of RAM regularly come in to the market to deliver better and better performance and you cannot mix and match the RAM types. For example if you old RAM module has maximum speed of 100 MHz then you should not install a new one of lesser MHz. This will for sure increase the total amount of RAM on your computer but will degrade the performance because the old module which was working at 100 MHz will now be forced to work at lesser frequencies to cope with the new RAM module.

Before you plan to purchase a new RAM module make sure that you check the model and type of RAM which is already installed on your computer. If you have a branded computer like from HP, Dell, SONY etc., you can get this information from their websites, but if you have a custom built one, you need to physically open the tower and check for the RAM specifications manually.