If you're windows xp is working fine and meets all your needs in your computer works I suggest stick with it until this damn windows 7 is perfected.
I have two laptops with both windows vista, a 32 and 64bits had both upgraded to the much touted windows 7.
I am not happy at all, its unstable, text are overlapping, windows 7 media player wont play my files which I used to play with vista.
Alright, so the general consensus seems to be "Go for Windows 7". I'm going to keep a copy of Windows XP home handy, and of course all my files will be backed up- I've had a lot of experience with nuking my poor hard drive.
I'm not sure about some of the prices posted here; someone said that 2 X 2GB would only set me back $40, but last I checked a 2 GB stick of PC 3200 RAM costs upwards of $100. Maybe RAM is just more expensive in Canada, I dunno. I'll go ahead with the installation first and see how it does with 1.5 GB then get another 1 GB stick for $50. Someone also suggested that I run the upgrade advisor to check compatibility, and it did not find any huge problems- just the damn graphics card can't run Aero! Oh well...
Thanks for your opinions everyone, really helped a lot.
I was the one who said 2 X 2 GB for $40, that is a bit low, but check out this site. They have some good prices. Directron.com Search Engine
What's the hurry on the memory Upgrade?
Better to see if it will install first.
This is an American site though; good prices, but unless they mark down the item as a "gift", then I'll have to pay the additional VAT once it crosses the border on top of shipping. Nice suggestion, but unfortunately I have to pass.
I'll drop by Canada Computers sometime after I've installed Windows 7 and determined whether or not it needs the additional RAM. On another note, I managed to pick up a very nice 250 GB IDE hard drive with 16 MB buffer cache for only $64.99 CAD, so not all prices up here are bad
Last edited by Pentium3 FTW; 23 Dec 2009 at 09:49.
Yep, install first, worry about RAM later.
With 1.5GB installed, Windows and a few apps like A/V will use around 45-50%
If you do decide to get more RAM, 2x2GB for example, make sure your motherboard can actually support it.
If the current RAM is PC3200 DDR 400, then chances are the motherboard only has 2 dimm slots which can only support a max of 2x1GB modules.
Some older motherboards cannot support 'double sided' RAM (2GB sticks)
Installed it on an AMD Athlon 64 3500 with 1GB RAM and a GeForce 6200. So far it is far faster than XP (which I admit had been there for 5-6 years without any reinstalls) and Aero surprisingly works as I expected a low end graphics card like the 6200 wouldn't be able to handle it. I too was considering increasing the RAM to 2GB but decided to try it with the 1GB to see how it runs and so far it hasn't been a problem.
Could it be that, for once, Microsoft's "minimum" RAM requirements actually allow you to run a fully functional system? I remember with Windows XP the minimum was 64 MB, but that is only if you want your computer to boot.
That's actually a very good point; I hadn't even checked how many RAM slots I had! I'm pretty sure my computer has 4 DIMM slots, but I'm not sure if it supports double-sided RAM. I'll check once it's finished backing up.
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