How Do I Add More Memory To My Desktop Computer

Ane of the simplest hardware upgrades you tin do to make your calculator experience snappier is to upgrade your retentiveness.

Over the years, operating systems like Windows, software like Photoshop, and now even web browsers like Chrome, accept congenital reputations for being unabashed memory hogs. Older PCs, meanwhile, often take between 2GB and 4GB of retentivity. Loading too many tabs in Chrome or keeping to many programs open up on your desktop could employ upward all of the memory your system has to offer, slowing your system to a crawl.

If your PC'due south feeling pokey when yous have a lot going on, consider upgrading your RAM. A mere 4GB could work if yous're sticking to light tasks andnon using Chrome, but 8GB is really the minimum we would recommend for a mod desktop PC, and 16GB is the sweet spot for most people consider its pocket-sized price increment from 8GB. Gamers with an centre towards future-proofing might fifty-fifty want to consider 32GB—the downside being increased toll, of course. (Here's how to tell what kind of RAM yous have correct at present.)

RAM ownership considerations

There are unlike types of RAM. Most modern PCs use DDR4 memory, but older system may require DDR3 or even DDR2. Loftier-bandwidth DDR5 kits have started hitting the streets alongside Intel's ferocious 12th-gen 'Alder Lake' processors, but they're very pricey, and the CPUs still back up the older standard equally well. For at present, DDR4 is rex.

It'due south as well important to consider the speed of the RAM you're buying in add-on to the capacity of the memory kit. Out of all the memory bandwidth testing done over the by decade, the only matter these tests accept consistently shown is that there's very little benefit to purchasing the fastest RAM possible. Most people should look past the flashy 5,000MHz kits and focus on the cost/performance sweet spot: DDR4 clocked at 2,666MHz to three,600MHz. Opt for a RAM kit that comes in 2 modules rather than single-stick or quad-aqueduct offerings if you lot tin.

The side by side issue to consider is make. There are a lot of retentiveness brands available, similar Corsair, G.Skill, Kingston, KLEVV, Patriot, ADATA, Crucial, PNY, Super Talent, Mushkin, and others. The biggest departure between these brands is the design of the rut sinks on the RAM modules. Pick the memory that has the best compromise between an appearance you like and a cost you tin can stomach. Y'all'll find ongoing debates well-nigh the reliability of different brands, merely on the residual, all big-name RAM manufacturers provide very solid products.

How to install RAM in your PC

With the buying considerations out of the manner and 16GB of DDR4 memory freshly delivered to your door step, information technology's time to install your new RAM. It's a quick and rather painless task—assuming you've washed all your homework.

Starting time, shut down your reckoner and unplug all of the cables connected to information technology. So remove the side of the reckoner case so yous can access the motherboard.

The RAM slots are adjacent to the CPU socket. Await for the big rut sink at the top of the motherboard, and you'll run across either two or 4 memory slots next to information technology.

ram install 10 of 11 — These are the motherboard slots yous insert your RAM into.

Before y'all can install the new retentivity y'all've purchased, you lot take to remove the erstwhile kit. Beginning past toggling the plastic memory clips at either end of the memory slots so you tin pull out the sometime RAM.

ram install 7 of 11 — Release the toggles at the end of the RAM channel in order to remove your quondam memory.

While you're there, remove whatsoever dust from the retentiveness slots, either by blasting the area with compressed air or by vacuuming gently.

At present it's time to put in the new RAM kit. Make certain the retention module is correctly oriented: The notch in the bottom border of the RAM must match up with the rise in the memory slot. If y'all're not filling all the available RAM channels, read your motherboard'south manual to see which specific slots you should fill first. Placing RAM in the wrong slots could result in some functioning degradation.

ram install 5 of 11 — Make certain the notch in the bottom edge of your RAM modules match up with the rises in the memory channel on your motherboard.

At present that you lot've seated the RAM in the slot, toggle the plastic retention levers to lock your new memory modules in place.

ram install 6 of 11 — Snap the channel's toggle closed again to lock in your RAM.

Finally, shut up your figurer case, plug everything back in, and plow on your computer. Information technology may accept a couple of restarts for your motherboard to recognize and adjust to the new retentiveness you lot've installed—so don't panic if your figurer is interim funny at first. Let information technology run for a few minutes, so restart it and everything will exist dorsum to normal.

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