Phoenix IT Services

Any time someone goes to a technician for repairs, or a sales representative for a new computer, they will almost always hear an offer for more memory.  Well, unfortunately, many technicians and sales representatives dismiss or are unaware of  the fact that the amount of memory is not the only deciding factor in how fast your computer runs.

If you were to read the sticker affixed to a RAM module, you may see a code that resembles something like DDR PC2700 333 MHz on the older types of RAM; or you may see DDR PC2 5300 667 MHz on the newer types.  I will spare you the technical details of what these codes mean, but they simply represent the speed of your RAM.  In short, if you have more than one RAM module installed in your computer, these codes should be identical.

Having different RAM speeds is like running with only one shoe on.  If you were running with only one shoe, you would put the other shoe on to run faster.  Unfortunately, the computer does quite the opposite; it would take the one shoe off, causing it to run slower, or in your case, barefoot.

The price of a RAM module is not only determined by the amount of RAM, but also the speed of the RAM as well.  In short, you will spend more for the faster RAM module than you will for the slower one.  Manufactured computers (e.g. Dell, HP/Compaq, Lenovo/IBM) typically come with RAM clocked at a medium level.  No matter how you upgrade your RAM, be sure the speeds match.  Your Sales Representative or Computer Technician should be able to identify the speed and amount of RAM originally installed.