Memory type query

[TKR99]

NOT impressed 🙁 Spent ages typing in question only for forum software to lose it on me after making me sign in (refreshed page or switched it from question to discussion and then a blank box - even using my Back button didn't find it again !!!!) Only reason being I'm disabled so typing is painful.

Anyways - start again.

I have a FoxConn system as follows:

CPU: Core 2 Duo E7400 / 2x2.8GHz
RAM: 2 x 1 Gb RAM (Crucial DDR2 - 666 PC2-5300 )
MBD: Socket 775 MicroATX FOXCONN A6VMX
Network Adapter: Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller
Video Adapter: ATI Radeon X1200 Series (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM)
Onboard sound
3 x SATA drives - Seagate/Hitachi (2 x 250 & 1 x 120 - all apparently with no errors or problems)

I'd recently upgraded the memory to 4 Gb (2 x 2) Kingston sticks but had endless crashes - the 1st set of sticks went back to the shop and were tested, with 1 apparently faulty so both replaced but same problems happened again, so assumed the system just didn't like Kingston ones & rather than keep flogging a dead horse, I opted to just sell those on instead.

So what I'm looking to ascertain is, if a memory upgrade is likely to really improve the system over perhaps investing in a single but much larger HDD, or perhaps just working up to a new Mob instead? And if a memory upgrade, what sticks should I be looking to get that should actually be ok? I've a very limited budget though (UK £50 / $75-80) which doesn't help.

Any help/suggestions will be hugely appreciated.
THanks
TKR
Belfast, N. Ireland UK

 

[almartin]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186136&cm_re=foxconn_a6vmx-_-13-186-136-_-Product
If this is your motherboard it states that the ram will take DDR2 800 chips and that is all it says. If you are using ddr2 666 chips this may be your problem . The board is dual channel so get dual channel chips in a matched set.

Corsair or Crucial are usually very good memory and yes adding memory will help

 

[TKR99]

Not 100% sure if that's exactly the same as mine's 2 years old and is no longer available through CCL where I got it, however, the RAM I'm using is what it came with. Manual just says it can take dual channel DDR 2 800/667/533 - the info I provided on the RAM in the system came from SiSoft Sandra so no idea why it should perhaps be off slightly (if it is). But the sticks are a matched set and I had done the same with the Kingston ones, yet it made little difference to the outcome. When I had the first set cause crashes we looked into everything possible hardware related and I updated pretty much everything I could manage to, yet nothing made any difference. But when the 2nd replacement set also caused similar crashes (either Driver errors or BSODs or just wouldn't load Windows at all) I could only assume it was because of either the make or the speed.

Hence my concern now - I really can't afford to invest in Crucial as they're a LOT more expensive unfortunately, but I would save up if I figured it might boost my system a bit more.

Being disabled I live on my PC 24/7 - used only primarly for email. browsing, webmaster work, & watching TV so nothing excessive in some respects, but I do tend to like having 4-6 apps open at any one point in time, and my Firefox is really loaded down with tabs etc, so things slow down a bit. Hard to change bad habits

Are memory upgrades like this always very sensitive to preciseness i.e. it doesn't take much to make them useless?