Cheap Computers and Parts

Notes we've taken concerning the RAM:

Remember, we took these notes from the motherboard specs.

• Type of RAM Supported: DDR2 533/667/800/1066
• Max RAM Supported: 8GB
• Max RAM Slots: 2

Step 1: Finding Compatible RAM

This is a fairly simple step. If you remember from our motherboard notes, we need to look for DDR2 533, 667, 800 or 1066 ram. Sometimes the online merchants will display these as PC**** numbers. Here's a list of just a few of these:

• PC4200 - DDR2 533MHz
• PC5400 - DDR2 667MHz
• PC6400 - DDR2 800MHz
• PC8500 - DDR2 1066MHz

NOTE: Unless you use a 64-Bit Operating System, there is no need to have more than 4GB of RAM in your system, even if the motherboard supports more than 4GB. 32-Bit operating systems only use 4GB of RAM max so any more than that is not seen or used by the 32-Bit OS.

Since we are on a budget and since our motherboard supports several speeds (MHz) of ram, we should compare 1GB and 2 x 1GB RAM memory sticks for each speed our motherboard supports to find the best deal. 1GB is adequate for a budget build but if we can get double the amount of RAM for just a few more dollars, we should go for it. Let's navigate to the RAM page:

Computer Hardware List --> Memory (RAM) --> Desktop Memory (if on list) --> DDR2 RAM (DDR2 Dual Channel if on list)

-Order by "lowest price"

I created a simple spreadsheet so I could easily compare the prices for all 4 speeds. Here's what I found:

RAM is getting incredibly cheap these days. You can generally find high quality RAM for a really great price. Even though 2GB would be very nice to have, it's not completely necessary right now. In a year or two, if we want to add another 1GB, we can just buy another stick of the same speed and bump our system up to 2GB.

Here is what we found:

Rendition by Crucial 1GB DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory - $10.99

• Has Great Reviews
• DDR2
• PC5300 667MHz
• 1GB

Next Lesson:

All the specs match what we are looking for and there are no notes to take for this lesson. Let us continue onto the next lesson: Lesson 10: How to Find Cheap Hard Disk Drives.