Adding more RAM to a computer is one of the best, easiest, and most cost-effective upgrades a computer owner can perform. Each and every program installed on your computer uses RAM, and increasing the RAM capacity lets you open more files and programs simultaneously known as multitasking, while upgrading to speedier RAM boosts overall application performance. If your PC seems sluggish, especially when you run several applications at once, you might be in line for a memory upgrade. RAM does not cost very much these days, and it is getting less expensive all the time. It’s a good idea to consider buying and installing the maximum amount of RAM that your computer can hold—it's an inexpensive way to make it run much faster.

However, before actually changing the memory, you need to determine what memory you need. The most difficult part of upgrading your computer's memory is figuring out the specific kind of memory you need—and knowing how much memory you can add in what kind of configuration. Let's look at some of the basic things that you need to know.

Determining the memory you currently have:

There are several ways to see how much memory you have. When you first start your computer, you see information flash by on the bootup screen, including how much memory there is. If you have Windows, there's an even easier way. Right-click the My Computer Icon and choose Properties. The screen shows how much memory you have.

Determine the kind of memory that you need:

Check your system documentation to see what kind of memory you have. Alternatively, open the computer case and look. Look inside at the memory chips. See what kind of memory is in the bank. SIMMs have either 30 or 72 pins. DIMMs, SDRAM, and Rambus are larger and usually have 168 pins. Many motherboards have 30-pin and 72-pin banks of memory, or 168-pin banks. You can sometimes use a combination of the banks. To be absolutely sure about what kind of memory you need, check your computer or motherboard documentation.

Determine the standard memory speed that you need:

Get memory at least as fast as the memory in your PC. Check your system documentation or call technical support to find out how fast the memory in your PC is.

Determine the Configuration

Your computer has a set of memory slots, and the motherboard can handle a maximum amount of memory. To find out the maximum amount, check the manual or the manufacturer's Web site, or call technical support.

Following the above steps will help you determine that RAM that you need for your system.