Introduction

With program demands increasing and hardware becoming cheaper all of the time, there is little excuse for not pumping up your box.  The easiest upgrade that you can do would be to increase the amount of RAM in your system.

There are several different types of RAM out there these days - we know it can get confusing, so here goes:

The old plain Jane type of RAM is called DRAM - dynamic RAM.  The other common flavor is SRAM - static RAM.  The big difference between the two is that SRAM is able to hold onto the information placed there (in tiny switches), while DRAM needs a reminder every few miliseconds (DRAM stores its' information in miniture capacitors).  This being the case, SRAM can respond much faster than DRAM and is useful for high speed applications like in the cache on your motherboard.

DRAM is much cheaper to produce, and therefore has seen several different variations developed in the last few years.  Examples of recent types of DRAM are SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM), ECC (error correcting code), and EDO (extended data output).

Today I'll be reviewing Crucial Technologies' PC ECC133 SDRAM.

Specifications

One of the great things about Crucial's product line is that they match memory to your PC for optimum performance.  The RAM that I received for review was selected to work with my Asus A7V motherboard.

Installation

Keep in mind that memory (as well as most PC components) is very sensitive to static, so take precautions like working in an environment free of plastic bags and papers as well as leaving the PC plugged in and grounded while working on it.

Installation of memory is as simple as locating the memory socket, aligning the "keyed" indentations on the module with the raised bard on on socket and inserting until the ejector snaps into place.

Performance Testing

The test system was comprised of an Asus A7V motherboard, an Athlon 1Ghz processor, a Quantum Fireball hard drive, and a GeForce GTS DDR video card.  The test system is running Microsoft Windows 2000 as its' operating system.

Using Winstone 99, the system scored a 34.4 with only 64MB of RAM installed.  We installed the Crucial 128 MB module and retested the system to find that the memory increase had inflated the systems' performance 50%!  

Conclusion

For about $60.00, it would be very difficult to find a system upgrade that nets this type of increase.  I heartily recommend Crucial Technology RAM as a system upgrade based on the merits of their outstanding customer service, product quality, and reasonable price.