Faster!

Perhaps you have been noticing that the "Ol Gray Box" ain't what it used to be. Web pages are loading slowly... It seems to take a lot of time to boot... The computer freezes if you have more than three windows open, etc...

Assuming that you don't have a virus, or an overheating issue, then you are probably low on RAM.

Random access memory, or simply "memory" is what the computer uses to store files that are currently running. This is not to be confused with the hard drive which stores files that are not currently in use. So for clarity's sake, it doesn't matter (at least not regarding memory) how many programs you have on your computer, but rather how large they are and how many you need to run at the same time...

By adding more RAM to your computer you allow the processor (the "brain") to have more workspace. This allows the machine to operate more efficiently. You see, when a computer does not have enough memory (working space) then it has to access the much slower hard drive more often. This results in a big performance degredation.

It is fairly simple to install new ram yourself. However, most decent computer shops will not charge very much and may be the way to go if you are computer phobic. Make sure they are not charging more then 10-15 bucks for the service and that they are putting in the correct type of RAM (they should know).

RAM modules are relatively inexpensive and offer a substantial performance boost. For today's Rich Internet Applications I recommend at least 1 Gigabyte of RAM. You can get away with 512 Mb but you will be much better off if you have at least 1Gb.

Good luck and happy computing!