JVS Computers©

      12/16/2017

Whew!  Decisions!  Once again, the SIZE and the SPEED make the memory.  Your motherboards memory bus will make some of the decision for you.  If your motherboard has a PC 66 memory bus, then there isn't any point in buying memory faster than that.  However, if PC 100 is cheaper (and that may be the case) you can use PC 100 memory, though it will only work at the PC 66 bus speed.  If you buy more than one memory "stick" I recommend that you buy the same speed.

Even though there are several types of memory, we're going to look at the two most common today in home PC's.   SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM) is the slower but cheaper of the two with a maximum bus speed of 133 MHz.  DDR (Double Data Rate) is the faster more expensive option with bus speeds of 266 MHz (hence, double data rate) and now 333 MHz (thats smok'n!)  These types are NOT interchangeable as SDRAM has 168 "pins" and DDR has 184.  Do you have a notebook?  Desktop memory will not work for you!  For one thing, notebook memory is only 144 pins.

How much is enough depends on your needs of course.  I wouldn't accept anything less than 128 MB though, and I would strongly recommend at least 256 MB.

GOOD NEWS is that there are many sites with "configurators" that will find the memory you need for you with some basic info from you.