Getting the Most Out of Your Computer
Computer upgrades are all about finding the performance bottleneck in your PC and then figuring out the easiest way around it. While you can always upgrade everything; sometimes it's easier to find a single component, such as RAM, and upgrade that so all the other components can operate at full speed.
What About Storage?
The key to storage performance is speed. Capacity is always important, but so long as you have enough capacity to hold your data it doesn't affect the computer's performance or responsiveness; it's just there. The three main tiers of storage are:
- Removable Memory: Memory cards and flash drives represent the slowest form of storage. Even high speed SDXC and MicroSDHC cards are still limited by the interface speed. Many actually work over USB.
- Internal Storage: The hard drive and SSD provide internal storage. They are much faster than memory cards, but not fast enough to keep the CPU fed with data.
- System RAM: This provides the computer's working memory and is the fastest tier available. It is much faster than any external or internal storage solution and provides the processor with the data it needs to run. This is your computer's working space, and the key to performance is storing all the data you need here so the system doesn't have to wait for it.
What Does DDR Mean?
Most system memory is one form of DDR or another. There are several different generations, and no two of them are electrically compatible with each other. Each type of module has a different pinout and voltage requirements. Another thing to consider is the relationship between the transfer rate of the module and its capacity:
- Transfer Rate: Each generation of DDR has roughly doubled the minimum transfer rate of the previous generation. DDR started at 1.6 GB/sec, while DDR3 and DDR4 upped that to 6.4 and 12.8 GB/sec respectively.
- Capacity: Capacity only matters if you can access it. Higher transfer rates and increased bandwidth both require and enable larger capacity sticks. All else being equal, an ADATA 8 GB DDR4 stick can transfer its contents in the same amount of time as a 1 GB stick of fist generation DDR.
Upgrading Older Systems
Many older computers use 32-bit operating systems, which limit the amount of main memory to 4 GB. While you could install a single 4 GB stick, this doesn't take full advantage of the system. If the motherboard supports dual channel architectures, you can effectively double your bandwidth by using matched pairs of ADATA 1 GB sticks in four slots rather than a single stick in one slot. Always check the motherboard documentation as most not only limit the total amount of system memory, but also have a maximum module size.
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