Upgrade from 2gb to 4gb - Asus A8N-E

[pipe_porrix]

Hello everyone. I recently took a look at my old tower with an Asus A8n-e motherboard with an AMD 64 3200+ processor and 2 GB of RAM (4 x 512MB). I currently have Ubuntu and W7 installed, and the difference in performance and resource consumption is considerable. In W7, it uses more than 45-50% just starting up, and when I open an application, it goes to 70% and rising. Sometimes I need to use design software, and of course the system becomes very heavy. I had thought about increasing the RAM to 4 GB, I've looked on eBay and there are offers for 2x2GB DDR400, but my doubts arise when I check that they are server modules and not valid for home desktops: 4GB (2 x 2GB) Kingston PC3200 Reg ECC KTH-DL385/4G PC3200R DDR400 Registered RAM | eBay Looking at the motherboard specifications: Dual-channel memory architecture 4 x 184-pin DIMM sockets support ECC/non-ECC unbuffered 400/333/266 MHz DDR memory modules Supports up to 4 GB system memory http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket939/A8N-E/e1911_a8n-e.pdf I've been told in another forum that this memory is not possible for my computer, that I should look for 1GB modules, that is, I would need 4, but on eBay it's the same, the offers are for servers. I hope that some expert will help me out. Best regards.

[amd125]

I think you can only expand with 1 Giga modules. Putting registered memory... almost not, it's more expensive and it usually doesn't work, I tell you this from experience in the Pentium III era when I made a failed attempt :ugly

Another problem I see is the price you'll pay for DDR 400. The 1 Giga module will cost you about 20€ each. Is the expansion worth it, especially with the micro you have? If your micro were a Dual Core... then maybe. I had your micro and I moved to a 3800x2 with 2 Gigas of Ram and in its time it was a very nice computer.

I think your computer, no matter how much Ram you put in with that micro, will choke.

I would change the platform, looking for something second-hand if your budget is tight, or save up for something new. A cheap 4-core micro like the AMD Athlon II 640 X4 Quad Core 3.0Ghz AM3 is around 60€, a cheap motherboard about 50€ and 4 Gigas DDR3 can be found for 1333 at 25€ per 4 Giga module like Kingston. For less than 150€ you can put together a very nice computer, sell your micro, motherboard and memory, and you can get 40€ or more, so the change wouldn't be more expensive.

If you're still determined to stick with the platform, then sell two 512 modules and buy 2 of 1 Giga, buying 4 is a waste for what they're worth. Then look for a cheap Dual Core 939, they can be found for 25-30€ (if your platform is 939 which might be the previous one that didn't support Dual Core) and by the way, if you have a copy ;D of Windows XP, install it. If not, look for some Windows "lite" version or similar, that works well on machines with few resources.

[pipe_porrix]

amd125

Thanks for your reply.
Initially this computer was not destined for high performance, I had stopped playing PC games a long time ago and back then, for browsing, office work and some multimedia, it was enough for me.

Now it is doing the functions of photo editing and graphic design on a provisional basis, for my girlfriend, if things start to go well for her as a freelancer, then her idea is to buy an iMac which is what she is used to working on, but everything will depend on the evolution of the business.
Now we have to make do with what we have, that's why I was considering the possibility of improving it at low cost.

I then have a netbook (dm1-4130ss) that is also not very powerful but it works well for the use I give it.

Best regards.

[amd125]

So then if there's no money, look for a couple of 2Giga modules, sell two of 512, and the change will come out to not much money.

Anyway, by changing to a Windows XP it should run smoothly, it's not the program. The thing is that by increasing a Giga of Ram I don't think you'll see many changes. I honestly installed Windows WP Lite and looked for a cheap Dual Core and in calculation you'll notice a big change.

I made that change years ago, and with 2 Gigas of Ram Windows XP was going great with a Dual Core.

I don't see much sense in making many more expansions to a computer like that.

[pipe_porrix]

Thanks again.

They offer me 4 modules of 1gb each from the brand Integral new and unused with shipping costs for 50€.

How do you see it?

Regarding the operating system... I get better performance with Ubuntu than with XP or W7, but if I tell you that W7 doesn't work at all badly on the computer, the thing is that with 2Gb it eats up the memory quickly.

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edit

They leave them to me for 40€ with the costs if I give an answer before tomorrow.

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edit 2

Another seller offers me 4 modules from the brand Silicon Power of 1gb 36€ with costs included.

I don't know both brands Integral and Silicon Power

The doubt I have is that I read that to avoid problems they must be of low density, for the moment the Silicon Power are of high density.

[amd125]

Man 40€ is not expensive compared to the current price of DDR 400, but as I told you, that computer has a big bottleneck in the micro. I would look for selling your parts, add the 40€ you were thinking of spending on the memory and you will add about 80€ or more.

Asrock H61M-DGS 90-MXGLE0-A0UAYZ Placa Base Placa 41
Kingston ValueRAM 4GB DDR3 1333 PC3-10600 CL9 KVR1333D3N9/4G Memoria DDR3 Memos 24
Intel Celeron G1610 2.6Ghz Box BX80637G1610 Procesador Micro 38

This is just an example, for just over 100€ you can put together a pretty good little setup, mind you, it's just an example, for a little more you can get an AMD 3-core or even 4-core micro, and see if the micro already comes with a heatsink. And DDR3, even with a price increase in recent weeks, is very cheap. I know it will seem like a hassle, but there is no possible comparison between your equipment and this one, which is just an example.

If despite everything you want DDR 400. I would buy it, and as soon as you can, change the platform and sell the components. There are still many people who buy DDR 400 for old equipment, and that memory will sell easily. I would sell the 512 modules and the change would cost you 20€ or less.

Regards.