Upgrading an old DDR2 system. Is frequency important

[Nanako]

I'm attempting to upgrade a very old system.

Here's a dxdiag which might be helpful https://pastebin.com/3L7XiV5v
it can't even figure out the cpu though, so maybe not

Probably more useful is this result from the crucial scanner
https://i.imgur.com/lDDyVMo.png

It seems that upgrading the ram from 4 to 8 GB would be possible, and that's likely to yield major improvements for the light uses i'm using this machine for. (mostly web browsing and 2D gaming)

I do note though, the advertised price there is shockingly high. DDR2 5300 is what it recommends, with the frequency of 667MHz. Is that really required though?

With a bit of shopping around i found it far cheaper, about half that price. £50ish each per 4GB dimm
But that's still a fair bit for old memory.

More interestingly however, I've found DDR2 6300 ram, frequency 800 MHz, which is FAR cheaper. See here https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/4gb-Memory-RAM-Ddr2-800mhz-Pc2-6400-240-Pin-Desktop-DIMM-for-AMD-Motherbo-RS/1990841947?iid=282972701907&chn=ps

That price is on the extreme end of cheap, but i have seen plenty of the stuff for under £20 per dimm.

This is confusing to me.
So i'm here to ask: Why is newer, faster ram less expensive
How much does frequency really matter?
And specifically for my case, can i use 6300, or any other types of DDR2 ? Or am i limited to the expensive 5300 model only?

Also bonus question, is there anything aside from memory i could upgrade in this system? Without twaring out the motherboard and rebuilding it, i mean. On a tight budget here

 

[mgallo848]

So it looks like you have:

Windows 10
What CPU?
4 gb of memory in single channel.
Motherboard is found here: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M4A78VM/HelpDesk_QVL/
AMD 5700 series video card.
Samsung 500 GB hard drive (I think)

To answer your question.... The faster ram is most likely cheaper because DDR2 800 was more common than 667 (when they were new) so there's more to choose from in the 800mhz class as opposed to 667

My advice: Look for DDR2 800 mhz memory in MATCHING pairs (like this for example)

https://ebay.to/2MNrAOi

Running 2 sticks in dual channel memory will help your system run faster as opposed to 1 stick in single channel. Unfortunately, finding DDR2 2x4gb = 8gb may be hard to find (or expensive) 8gb was kind of rare back then. You may be stuck with 2x2 =4gb of ram.

Look at the motherboard link I posted. That will also show you SSD hard drives that are compatable with your motherboard. Installing windows 10 on an SSD hard drive will make a HUGE difference in the speed and responsiveness of the entire system.

You don't need a large SSD for Windows. A cheap 128gb will do just fine. You can use the hard drive you have now as backup / storage.

 

[kanewolf]

Here are the specs for your motherboard -- https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M4A78VM/specifications/ You should be able to use the 800Mhz RAM.