NEED RAM HELP!!

[theslickvik]

Hey guys I have a stock Sony RS720G and I wanted to upgrade my ram. Currently i have half a gig worth of ram and want to add a single 1 GB stick. According to these cats http://www.edgetechcorp.com/memory/upgrade.asp?cid=28625
I have one socket open and one 512MB stick in the first socket. What is my best option in upgrading my ram and where should i purchase it. I know Corsair and crucial have been pretty good in churning out ram. Budget is 80 bucks but will go higher

 

[nvalhalla]

2 sticks in dual channel would be best, but that would require more than $80. You could get another 512MB and try dual channel, which MIGHT work, but would leave you with only 1GB total. Or, get 2 new sticks of 512 and know dual channel works, leaving you with 1GB, or raise your budget and get 2 1GB stricks for 2GB total. Personally, I would get another 1 GB, have 1.5 total and just use single channel mode.

Here's some ideas
1.) 512MB for use with current 512MB for 1GB dual channel http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227037 $55 shipped -$15 MIR=$40 after MIR
2.) 2 512MB for use with dual channel http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211013 $77 shipped
3.)1GB for use with current 512MB for 1.5GB single channel http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231036 $70 shipped
4.)2GB for use with dual channel http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161161 $138 shipped

 

[Captante]

Go with another 1gb DIMM for 1.5gb's total & for a Sony I suggest you go through Crucial & use their memory configurater so that its garanteed to work or they take it back at their expense.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: Captante
Go with another 1gb DIMM for 1.5gb's total & for a Sony I suggest you go through Crucial & use their memory configurater so that its garanteed to work or they take it back at their expense.

Definitely seconding this recommendation.

 

[Lemon law]

No one is asking the right questions. And the first question you ask is what exact ram stick do you have in there now. The second question to ask is what timings and voltages do you have now and what your mobo and bios are capable of.---with propritory bios like a sony, IBM , or dell often not made for memory tolerance. And is it capable of DDR2? The third question to ask is what are your ram needs?---with XP and minimal ram needs, 512 MB, especially if its sharing memory with an onboard video chip will benefit from an extra 512mb, but may hit a point of diminished returns at a full gig extra. If vista is planned in future its a no brainer---go for the extra gig. And if you have heavier ram needs in XP--go for the gig.

A free download of cpu-z and your mobo manual are the places to start.

Mixing different ram is always a gamble.

 

[Roguestar]

Mixing different RAM isn't as dangerous as we are lead to believe. As long as you can get the same timings and voltage (or a stick that will downclock to run at the slower's timings) then you are generally fine, in my experience.