Question 1

I have an older Dell Dimension 3000 Series desktop running Windows XP & I'm just trying to get it to run a little faster for my kid to do his homework on.  It's currently got a 512MB DDR 400 in it, & I guess my question is:  can I just buy this product & pair it with the old stick, & effectively achieve 1 GB, or should I just buy a 1 GB stick & replace them both? (Is there any difference?)

Accepted Answer

In principle, you should be fine.  If, in fact, the Dell already has one stick of 512MB DDR 400 memory in it and a free memory slot, you should be good.  This is exactly what I did with my purchase - upgrade the memory on an older xp machine.  That being said, some motherboards can be "picky" about what brand of 512MB DDR 400 memory they "like".  Usually the motherboard documentation will recommend "friendly" memory brands.  It is therefore better, IMO, to risk only the $20 for the 512MB stick rather than opting for the 1GB stick and finding it didn't work.  If there is more than one free memory slot on the motherboard, there may be a specific order that the memory slots need to be occupied.  That was the case with my motherboard (Gigabyte).  Good luck and pay it forward.

Question 2

how hard would this be to install?

Accepted Answer

Generally very simple.  Power down the computer, then turn off the power switch on the rear panel.  Some people also like to unplug but this removes the ground.  Open case. Touch  metal/grounded spot on the chassis.  (I'm a little paranoid and do it several times throughout the process.)  If replacing old RAM remove by pressing on the ribbed holders located on either end of the RAM.  If no RAM in the slot rotate/gently pull back the tabs before inserting RAM.

The RAM will only go in one way: align the notches on the bottom of the RAM with those of the slot.  Insert RAM, gently push down RAM into the slot; I use two fingers (ground before touching!) placed about an inch or so from the end.  There will be a slight 'crunch' and the two holders on the end should snap close as the RAM inserts into the slot.

I like to power up before closing up to make sure the RAM is working as expected.  Some motherboards have requirements such as certain sizes must be in certain slots/sequences.  There was also a comment re: mixing single-sided and double-sided (that's a separate topic).  Sometimes will work, sometimes one gets half of what was expected (its a quirk of the motherboard).

The thing to remember is to ground yourself by touching the chassis with your finger.  Do not ground the RAM; you do so by holding it.  Static electricity inside the computer is not your friend!

Question 3

512MB slowest memory module speed ?

Accepted Answer

That's not terribly specific. the '400' in DDR 400 tells you that it's 400MHz which is the fastest of the DDR standard. It's a 2.5 CAS latency which is more or less a measure of access time, lower number being faster access. As far as the speed of this memory module, it will be one of the fastest in the DDR standard (which is pretty outdated today). If you want to have a reasonably quick windows XP machine, 2 of these wouldn't be bad to have in it. If you're going with an OS newer then that you'll probably want to look into DDR2 or better. Just be sure that what you're getting is compatible with your MoBo (motherboard).

Question 4

Is it non-ecc?

Accepted Answer

This is desktop ram.  ECC is for servers.

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