P4 Memory: New Options

Upgrades: More Memory, Please

Whether you use SDRAM, DDR, or RDRAM in your system, more is better. And with memory at ridiculously low prices--thanks in part to low demand from slumping PC sales--there's no reason to skimp on this vital part of your system.

Too little memory can throttle the performance of even a new PC with a fast CPU. And additional RAM is one of the most cost-effective ways to boost an older system's performance.

If you don't have enough RAM, your PC must constantly retrieve information directly from your hard drive, explains Stephen Rodriguez, director of strategic initiatives at memory vendor Kingston Technology. A hard drive is fast, but nowhere near as fast as memory, he says.

Why do you need additional RAM?

• To run more applications at once.
  
  
• To access graphics more quickly. Even today's 32MB and 64MB graphics cards still rely extensively on main memory--and the more RAM you have, the smoother games, DVDs, and other multimedia programs will run.
  
  
• To run Windows XP. Microsoft lists 64MB as the minimum memory for XP, but it recommends 128MB (some experts even suggest 256MB). To improve its performance in a system with only 64MB of RAM, the XP OS actually disables some of its features, including Fast User Switching.
  
  

The average price of an additional 128MB of PC-133 SDRAM is $26 (see chart), and equivalent DDR costs $34. Even RDRAM costs $106, so there's no reason to skimp--just don't wait too long to buy. Though users love these prices, makers understandably do not, and they're eager to get supply and demand back in sync.