Introduction
Your computer Random Access Memory, or Ram as it is commonly know, is stored in DDR memory cards. Over time your DDR memory card will stop being efficient, as a result your over all RAM will start to act sluggish and slow down you computer. You'll start to notice frequent crashes, slow load time, stutterers in performance and lag in games or other task intensive programs.
If you laptop or desktop computer is showing any of the above mentioned symptoms, it's time to buy yourself a new DDR memory card to upgrade your computer. Buying a new DDR memory card is complicated and sometimes expensive process, so we're going to breakdown the process for you in five easy to follow steps.
Step 1
The first step is to figure out which type of DDR memory you have. If you have a laptop from 2003 it'll be the original DDR memory, if you have a laptop made in 2006 you'll be using the newer DDR2 memory card, if you have a post 2008 laptop you'll be using the latest DDR3 memory.
If you're purchasing for a desktop, you'll have to find out which type of RAM memory you're using, the terms RAM memory and DDR memory are interchangeable, as they both refer to the same exact product. Once you've figured out what type or DDR/RAM memory you're running, onto the next step.
Step 2
The second step is to determine how much DDR memory you computer or laptop can take, most upgradable systems come installed with only half of the amount they can use. For example, if you have a laptop with 1 GB of memory you can probably upgrade it to 2 GB or even 3 GB. If you have 4 GB of DDR memory you can probably upgrade to 8 GB, so on and so forth. So determine how much you already have and how much more you can upgrade to.
Step 3
The third step is to find out how fast you current memory card is, and how many pins it uses. You'll need to determine it's bus speed and MHZ speed, and the number of pins. Make sure your new DDR/RAM card matches the speed and number of pins as you current one. As failing to do so could damage you laptop beyond repair, look for the same bus speed and number of pins as the current one, but with more memory.
Each generation of DDR memory (DDR, DDR2, DDR3) is faster then the last.
Step 4
One you know the type, size, speed, and number of pins of your current DDR memory card, and you've determined how much more memory you computer can take, it time to open up your laptop and see how your memory cards are placed. You'll need to open the laptop and see how many DDR memory card slots you have, and how many of them are free or occupied. If you have 1 GB of memory and two memory slots, this may mean that you have two 512 MB cards occupying both slots or just a single 1 GB card occupying a single slot, with the other one empty.
The same applies for higher memory levels.
Step 5
So, once you determined how much more memory you can add, the type of memory you do have, how fast is it, how many pins it has and how many empty or full slots you laptop has, all you have to do is go ahead and buy your self a new DDR/RAM memory card and install it. Have fun and good luck!
Tips
The older your memory type is the cheaper it'll be.
Always insist on a warranty, most DDR cards come with a 6 month warranty.
Most shops that sell DDR memory also offer to install the memory cards for free or at a nominal fee.
You can sell your older card on E-bay or somewhere, or you can gift it to someone who needs it.
