Hi all. Well it's about time i think i should upgrade my system. Which is probably about a whole three years old!. But technology does come along real quick. As you have probably noticed by the thread name, i need some advice on it first. Well first of all, I would like to improve on my RAM, but im not sure how much or what my Mainboard can take. The RAM is my main cause for concern here, i have only 256 MB of it, But im hoping that some of you might be able to recommend any worthwile uprgades (and im sure there will be some). I mainly use my P.C for just browsing the net, downloading pointless freeware programes, and listening to music. I would like to have the capability to have a decent home entertainment system. I sometimes download a few Movies, and Music files. Something that is nice and responsive and doesnt slow down easily when you are running multiple tasks. Here are most of the important system info i can find right here..Thanks in advance.

Computer
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 1


Motherboard
CPU Type AMD Athlon XP-A, 2079 MHz (6.25 x 333) 2800+
Motherboard Name Unknown
Motherboard Chipset nVIDIA nForce2 400
System Memory 256 MB (PC2700 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Asus AMI (06/27/03)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display
Video Adapter RADEON 9200 SEC (128 MB)
Video Adapter RADEON 9200 (128 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Radeon 9200 (RV280)
Monitor hp f1523 flat panel monitor [NoDB] (CNN31602PB)

Multimedia
Audio Adapter nVIDIA MCP2 - Audio Codec Interface

Storage
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive Maxtor 6Y080L0 (80 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Optical Drive HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR8161B (16x/48x DVD-ROM)
Optical Drive SAMSUNG CD-R/RW SW-248F (48x/24x/48x CD-RW)


Motherboard
Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Product A7N8X-LA

Memory Module Properties
Socket Designation DIMM1
Type DIMM
Installed Size 256 MB
Enabled Size 256 MB

Memory Module Properties
Socket Designation DIMM2
Type DIMM
Installed Size Not Installed
Enabled Size Not Installed


Anything else that is needed just let me know.

For what you want to do a good sized RAM upgrade-- you can run up to 1.5 GIGs of RAM (2x 512MB should be plenty-- but if you have the cash go for "max") That would be about 4 TIMES the RAM you now have. RAM is the cheapest/easiest upgrade there is. You'd just shut down/remove your existing 256/ replace with 2 -512's/ and reboot. Instantly faster.

I'd go with Crucial.com-- guaranteed compatible. Excellent service. Especially running XP-- you are at dead minimum for running XP as it is-- which is probably why it's sluggish-- I always recommend AT LEAST 512 MB-- a GIG if you can afford it-- and RAM is cheap these days.

http://www.crucial.com/store/listmfgr.asp?cat=RAM

Thanks alot appreciate the help.! So if i were to get say..2 of these..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kingston-512MB...QQcmdZViewItem

Would that be okay?

I ran the Crucial system scanner on Crucial's website..and these were some info about my system that i got back.....

Your computer currently has 256 MB of memory installed; and will support up to 3072MB.

You have 2 empty memory slot(s) out of 3 total memory slots.

Computer Manufacturer ASUS Computer Model A7N8X CPU Manufacturer AuthenticAMD CPU Family AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2800+ CPU Speed 2079 MHz Front-Side Bus Speed 166 MHz Currently Installed Memory 256 MB Maximum Memory Capacity 3072MB Total Number Of Memory Slots 3 Available Memory Slots 2

It'd be a good idea to physically check your mobos number of memory slots first... yours is a possibly "proprietary" version of a standard board (I believe) I would open the case and look for the Ram slots-- easy to spot -- just to be certain of the number- I am getting conflicting reports. It's either 2 or 3.... the configurator may be confused-- there are about 9 or 10 different versions of this board.

No sense spending more than you have to-- Kingston RAM is a decent brand... I would also be careful of the RAM speed -- some version's of this board go up to PC 3200/some only to PC 2700. If you install the faster in the slower board it will automatically run at the lower speed.

If you could POST the EXACT manufacturer and model of your PC I could narrow it down better. You would not notice a huge difference between 2700/3200 ram but why not be sure and get the biggest bang you can for your pound

Of course you could also call Crucial -- and ask for help. They really are quite good.

OK dude, here's some more in depth info.

System Properties
Manufacturer HP Pavilion 061
Product DM028A-ABU a235
Model: a235
Version 0d'0211RE101FOCUS10


Motherboard Properties
Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Product A7N8X-LA
Version Rev 1.xx



I think that's right. I used the Program AIDA32 to find system info. If anything else is needed then just ask. Thanks for the help.

OK--

Because this is a "branded" computer-- this is not a standard-version of the motherboard-- as off-the-shelf products go. Manufacturers are constantly tweaking small things in their versions of hardware.
HP buys their Mobos from Asus ...a good,reliable manufacturer. I have an ASUS board.
I believe that your PC has TWO memory slots, not 3 as indicated by the configurator at Crucial.
HP Support has it's own hardware scanner here:

http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html

which will probably be able to nail down your system specs-- it's their build after all.
Or you can simply open the case-- and count slots.
I would go to HP-- simply because there's about 20 versions of your PC Model. The reason ?? RAM speed mostly-- I can only find PC 2100/PC2700 listed for the UK model-- which is why your specs are a little "different" from US models.
PC 2700 will be just slightly cheaper (than the 3200 you posted earlier)... there's no sense in buying more RAM modules than you need. You'd have nowhere to plug it in.
The hardware scanner at HP should be able to detect it correctly. It should also tell you exactly how much RAM (max) you CAN install.Avoiding mistakes is always better than fixing 'em

You get 2x512MB PC 2700 modules of decent RAM-- and your PC should speed up quite nicely. If by chance your PC comes up as able to use the faster PC 3200-- then by all means... go for it.
The most you can afford of the fastest speed you can use ( but no faster ) is what you want. RAM is too cheap/reliable not to.