NorthernPlato
Shared on Wed, 04/05/2006 - 16:06So yeah, the RAM came in yesterday. I opened the package, reconfirmed the RAM that was in my PC by looking on my original packing slip from Dell. Just to make sure that I had the right stuff.
So I unhooked all the cables from my PC first, brought it into the carpetless, static-free kitchen/dining room, and removed the case. Wow, was I impressed. Truth be told, this was the first time Id ever removed the case and peered inside my Dell since I bought it 2 years ago. It was clean, as in the cable were tied off together, out of the way, in the neatest, most organised way Ive seen. Ill also mention that the placement of the slots for the RAM was very convinient for user access and subsequent upgrades like mine. Heh heh, I love my Dell. Now, at this point in time I decided to check that Id order the correct type of RAM. Why the paranoia? Well you see, at the previous place I worked, I was responsible for upgrading the computers. One day I had decided to put a random chip into my PC. Lets just say, it didnt turn out well for me. There was smoke, hissing, popping and I quickly turned off the PC. I removed the offending chip (which was VERY warm, to the point that the individual plastic thingies [really, I used to know what theyre called] were soft and left indents when I pressed on them) and then turned the PC back on - promptly blowing the power supply in a shower of sparks, smoke and very foul smell of burned electronics. As I said earlier, I love my PC. I didnt want a repeat of the last time I fucked around with upgrading the memory of a PC.
So I installed the memory, which was very easy to do thanks to the positioning of the slots, right in the middle of the board, under nothing, thanks to the cables being out of the way. I replaced the cover, carried the case back to the office, hooked it all back up and with much fear and tripidation, pressed the power button.
Boot up sequence.
Message saying the amount of system memory has changed, Press F1 to Continue or Press F2 to Enter Setup. (this was expected and detailed in the Dell manual)
Press F1, wait for continued boot up sequence
Windows screen...
Press the Windows Key+Break, quick confirmation shows that my PC is now running 1Gb of RAM.
Success!!! Yay!!! W00tburgers for all!!!
Next, I performed the same task on Mrs.Platos PC, which is identical to my own owing to the fact that I bought both PC from Dell at the same time.
Again, success. *sigh of relief*
With both PCs hooked back up, I start WoW. To which all I can say is: wow. I had literally just doubled the memory of my system, but I didnt expect such a difference. Id figured the it took to reload the desktop upon exiting WoW was due to the fact that on my 40GB harddrive, I only had 17GB of free space. Running WoW is a fragmentation nightmare. But appearantly, more memory fixed that problem. First test within WoW itself? I flew from ThunderBluff to Orgrimmar. For you WoWers out there, youll know what I mean. Before, landing at the Windrider Masters tower was cause to go and grab a coke or another cup of coffee. No more. Not only that, while running around, I found me a flagged lvl 47 Alliance running from the NPC guards. Well, being lvl 39, I figured, Fuckem and threw a Frost Shock his way. And with the help of the city guards, I earned myself an easy Honorable Kill. Alliance fucktard.
Well, thats my memory upgrade story, along with my first "solo" PVP experience.
Next, Im thinking of adding larger HDs and installing my games on it. Thatll leave the 40GB HD for running system apps only, which should help things somewhat, though its not nearly as important in Windows XP as it was in Win98SE. Im also hoping that it will help with loading terrain tiles when I max the draw distance in WoW. Not the terrain detail, and especially not the resolution, but Im hoping I dont need to upgrade my video card for draw distance. I was able to increase it though from the minimum to about halfway without taking a performance hit.
Well, thats all for now. Im not ready to spend much more on upgrading my PCs for now. Theyre both P4 2.8Ghz, and instead of upgrading the motherboard, Ill just save up and buy kickass laptops with dual processors and shit if the missus and I are still playing WoW in a year from now. If we are, the ability to play outside in the summer, under a tent, would so totally rock.
Happy gaming,
Plato
So I unhooked all the cables from my PC first, brought it into the carpetless, static-free kitchen/dining room, and removed the case. Wow, was I impressed. Truth be told, this was the first time Id ever removed the case and peered inside my Dell since I bought it 2 years ago. It was clean, as in the cable were tied off together, out of the way, in the neatest, most organised way Ive seen. Ill also mention that the placement of the slots for the RAM was very convinient for user access and subsequent upgrades like mine. Heh heh, I love my Dell. Now, at this point in time I decided to check that Id order the correct type of RAM. Why the paranoia? Well you see, at the previous place I worked, I was responsible for upgrading the computers. One day I had decided to put a random chip into my PC. Lets just say, it didnt turn out well for me. There was smoke, hissing, popping and I quickly turned off the PC. I removed the offending chip (which was VERY warm, to the point that the individual plastic thingies [really, I used to know what theyre called] were soft and left indents when I pressed on them) and then turned the PC back on - promptly blowing the power supply in a shower of sparks, smoke and very foul smell of burned electronics. As I said earlier, I love my PC. I didnt want a repeat of the last time I fucked around with upgrading the memory of a PC.
So I installed the memory, which was very easy to do thanks to the positioning of the slots, right in the middle of the board, under nothing, thanks to the cables being out of the way. I replaced the cover, carried the case back to the office, hooked it all back up and with much fear and tripidation, pressed the power button.
Boot up sequence.
Message saying the amount of system memory has changed, Press F1 to Continue or Press F2 to Enter Setup. (this was expected and detailed in the Dell manual)
Press F1, wait for continued boot up sequence
Windows screen...
Press the Windows Key+Break, quick confirmation shows that my PC is now running 1Gb of RAM.
Success!!! Yay!!! W00tburgers for all!!!
Next, I performed the same task on Mrs.Platos PC, which is identical to my own owing to the fact that I bought both PC from Dell at the same time.
Again, success. *sigh of relief*
With both PCs hooked back up, I start WoW. To which all I can say is: wow. I had literally just doubled the memory of my system, but I didnt expect such a difference. Id figured the it took to reload the desktop upon exiting WoW was due to the fact that on my 40GB harddrive, I only had 17GB of free space. Running WoW is a fragmentation nightmare. But appearantly, more memory fixed that problem. First test within WoW itself? I flew from ThunderBluff to Orgrimmar. For you WoWers out there, youll know what I mean. Before, landing at the Windrider Masters tower was cause to go and grab a coke or another cup of coffee. No more. Not only that, while running around, I found me a flagged lvl 47 Alliance running from the NPC guards. Well, being lvl 39, I figured, Fuckem and threw a Frost Shock his way. And with the help of the city guards, I earned myself an easy Honorable Kill. Alliance fucktard.
Well, thats my memory upgrade story, along with my first "solo" PVP experience.
Next, Im thinking of adding larger HDs and installing my games on it. Thatll leave the 40GB HD for running system apps only, which should help things somewhat, though its not nearly as important in Windows XP as it was in Win98SE. Im also hoping that it will help with loading terrain tiles when I max the draw distance in WoW. Not the terrain detail, and especially not the resolution, but Im hoping I dont need to upgrade my video card for draw distance. I was able to increase it though from the minimum to about halfway without taking a performance hit.
Well, thats all for now. Im not ready to spend much more on upgrading my PCs for now. Theyre both P4 2.8Ghz, and instead of upgrading the motherboard, Ill just save up and buy kickass laptops with dual processors and shit if the missus and I are still playing WoW in a year from now. If we are, the ability to play outside in the summer, under a tent, would so totally rock.
Happy gaming,
Plato
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