Upgrading computer ram?

The way your mother board handles ram expansion varies by manufacturer. The best thing it to contact your computer manufacturer and see what they suggest. Sometimes ram expansion is covered in the scanty manual you get with the computer but more often it is not.

Two different "brands" will not matter. But you must install the specific memory that goes with your computer and there are a lot of different options. Speed, type of memory, pin size, etc. If you put in the wrong memory, your computer will cease to function.

Sometimes you cannot mix sizes of sticks in the same board; this is pretty common. You also need to see if you CAN upgrade to a 64 bit operating system. You need a 64 bit processor to run a 64 bit Operating system. If you need to upgrade your operating system, chances are pretty good you have a processor that only handles 32 bit systems, otherwise it would have come with a 64 bit OS.

So there are several things you need to verify with your computer manufacturer before you start this process. It can cost a couple of bucks to purchase all this and stores will not take back computer parts once they're opened or, God forbid, you don't have your receipt.. So you don't want to end up with a bunch of stuff you can't use.

Check the web site for your computer maker. HP has a great site that tells everything about upgrading by model number. It also has live chat if you have other questions. I have only used HP computers for years, so I don't know about other web sites.

But I am sure your manufacturer has a web presence. Check it out.

you are fine using the X86 arcitechture - 32 bit OS if you only have 3GB. There would be no point in having 3.5 GB though - all you will do is make the system unstable.

If you have 2X1GB in one bank

and

you have 1X1GB in the other bank

You will be just fine. The system should be stable and your 32 bit OS won't recognize more than this anyways. So even if you went to 4GB your OS would only recognize 3GB unless you convert to 64 bit OS

If you need any further help you can find me at these free computer support forums - http://www.tech-101.com/forum.html

Memory does not have to be in the same bank, you can shove memory anywhere.(there are technical considerations but not too significant)

You can use any brands..no problem(again technical stuff, use same brands for best performance, but amazingly un-noticeable)

32bit os only supports 3.5gb of ram, 64 bit for 7.5gb

It doesn't matter what brand of RAM you purchase. Some people suggest buying that same brand but it actually doesn't matter.

Also buying the same brand will work slightly better since they have the same RAM card layouts.