RAM help please - Computers not sheep

[smee]

Wanting to upgrade 4gb ram in my Dell XPS 15 laptop running vista to 8gb as photoshop and lightroom are running slow and startup is awful. I know very little about this stuff but looking at 2x 4gb 1333hz Ddr3. Is this the correct stuff? Can I go even higher?

Thanks again

[Mr Momo]

Fading memory, but don't you need Vista64 to take advantage of more than 4Mb ?

I went on Crucial for my last PC - Crucial website allowed correct selection and price comparisons.

Only running 4Mb on this machine. Maybe time to check performance via "Computer" (cache/logs/temp files etc.) and only allow bare minimum to run on start-up.

[Shug]

Easiest way of finding out what you can add and how is using the Crucial configuration tool:

http://www.crucial.com/uk

Doesn't mean you have to buy it from them, but it will give you the options and specs of what you can fit quickly and easily.

(edit) Momo beats me to it, but yeah, you also need a 64 bit operating system to see more than 4GB.

[ironside]

There's a memory adviser tool here: http://www.crucial.com/uk/ that will tell you exactly what your PC will take and give you prices for stuff that will fit.
Looks like you've already picked the right stuff

[Shug]

Balls, you replied too quickly - I was trying to edit his double post!

[Mr Momo]

NEP (North East Peripherals) at top end of George St on Aberdeen have been pretty useful for me, adding memory, checking hard drives etc.

[mainsy]

As long as you are running vista 64 your dell can take 8gb max. You have 2 ram slots so 2x 4gb 1333mhz ddr3 is what you want

[Sanjøy]

Wot no Vista slating in this thread yet ?

[robin]

You don't need a 64-bit operating system to see more than 4GB of RAM but you do to see more than 3GB of RAM in any one process. Of course windows sucks and doesn't utilize PAE which is what makes this possible ... I suspect that upgrading to W7 would give you as much extra performance as the extra RAM ... Vista really is brain damaged.

Cheers,
Robin

[Graemei]

Wot no Vista slating in this thread yet ?

Forum needs a like this button.

[tut]

I have been using computers now from my first Z80 over thirty years ago, to my last top spec PC. However since getting my Macbook Air as a present last year the PC remains unused. I have Windows 7 installed alongside OS Lion for the couple of programs that I need to run on it, just swipe to go from one to the other, and there is no drop in speed or performance.

Can not imagine going back to a mouse after the MBA's touch pad, it really is brilliant and I am still discovering new uses for it, and after cracking the screen when it was over a year old, then taking it in to the Apple Centre and having replaced for free the same day, I am firmly hooked.

You do have to pay more, but saying that most of the other companies are now trying to play catchy up with almost identical models at the same price or more, as with the iPad 2 and iPhone 4, but so far the real deal still seems to be the best. I was also given free Apple Care for three years which was a bonus. As for the 27" monitor on the iMac, if I needed a desktop again it would be sitting there now.

tut

ps:- I have no connection with Apple other than eating them.

[JohnStewart]

You should consider swapping the hard disk for one of those SSD drives for not much more money than a memory upgrade. You can get 120Gb ones now from about £120.

I bought one for my desktop a few months ago, reinstalled Windows 7 and Lightroom etc from scratch, and I'm still impressed by the improvement in speed. Starting the machine takes about 20-30 seconds from power on to fully usable, and is almost silent in operation.

When running Lightroom, I rarely find that it uses more than about 3Gb of RAM anyway, even when crunching through hundreds of RAW files. Once I've done all the processing, I move the original and processed files onto another drive, keeping the SSD drive relatively empty.

[smee]

Thanks for all of the advice.

I will be upgrading RAM, solid state drive and OS, still cheaper than a new system. Speccing a new laptop with a scabby chassis is about £1100 from pcspecialists. Malibal do a very nice one called the "lotus", seems appropriate but one years UK warranty cast $260, ram that.

Always wanted a MAC, just specced a MAC PRO on apple's website, total came to over £16,000 eh nevermind I'll leave it for now