things to know before upgrading my computer!!

salemshady · Post by **salemshady** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:17 pm

actually it is for my brother's computer! if i have to buy an internal hard drive for him along with say 512 mb of ram.. would i have to look out for anything? his computer is not a brand one.. so i was wondering if any internal hard drive or ram i buy for him will be compatible with his computer or not!
thank you

Kariudo · Post by **Kariudo** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:52 pm

For internal hard drives, the only thing you have to worry about is the interface type.
the two types (there might be more, but none as prevalent as these two) are ATA (IDE/EIDE) and SATA
these are not intercompatible, but there is an easy way to tell which one you should get.

open up the computer case and look at the hard drive, if the cable is a wide and thin grey strip (grey is the most common color) then it's an IDE (EIDE) drive.

if it's a thin and narrow strip (more like a cord) then it's a SATA drive.

info/pics of ATA (IDE/EIDE) cables
SATA info/pics

for IDE/EIDE drives you have to worry about master/slave settings for the jumpers on the drive (it should tell you how to connect the jumpers for each situation either on the box or on the drive)
if the drive is connected to the end of the IDE cable then it's the master
if the drive is connected in the middle of the IDE cable then it's the slave

SATA doesn't really have master/slave (AFAIK) so you should just set the jumpers to cable select in this case

Memory might be more of a problem, since not all memory is compatible with every motherboard.
You might have to go to the [motherboard or computer] manufacturer's site to see what memory is compatible with it. If it's a brand name mobo then you can check the memory manufactuer's site to see if it is compatible with your mobo.

at this time, there is DDR and DDR2 (a few others...but I highly doubt that you have direct rambus ram or XDR ram) and these are also not intercompatible.

you also have to consider the speed of the memory and to a lesser extent, module density...but this only really matters for really old machines (mobos can only use up to a certain speed of ram). If you put ram rated at a higher speed than your mobo can handle it should still work, but not at full speed (which can mean wasted money)

get cpu-z
it'l tell you (in the memory and spd tabs) the type of ram, the manufacturer, the speed and a lot more.

The more information you can get the better post some more info and I might be able to narrow down the search for you
and take/post pics if you think it's necessary

I'd like to hear the drive type, computer age, ram type, speed and manufactuer, mobo manufactuer (brand name if applicable) and OS
anything else you think would help too.

salemshady · Post by **salemshady** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 12:11 am

whoa.. thats intense!! its more complicated than i thought!
i think it'd be safer if i just take it to best buy and have them recommend me what to get.
thankx a lot buddy.. i cant thank u guys enough!

salemshady · Post by **salemshady** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 12:17 am

Kariudo wrote:For internal hard drives, the only thing you have to worry about is the interface type.
the two types (there might be more, but none as prevalent as these two) are ATA (IDE/EIDE) and SATA
these are not intercompatible, but there is an easy way to tell which one you should get.

open up the computer case and look at the hard drive, if the cable is a wide and thin grey strip (grey is the most common color) then it's an IDE (EIDE) drive.

if it's a thin and narrow strip (more like a cord) then it's a SATA drive.

info/pics of ATA (IDE/EIDE) cables
SATA info/pics

for IDE/EIDE drives you have to worry about master/slave settings for the jumpers on the drive (it should tell you how to connect the jumpers for each situation either on the box or on the drive)
if the drive is connected to the end of the IDE cable then it's the master
if the drive is connected in the middle of the IDE cable then it's the slave

SATA doesn't really have master/slave (AFAIK) so you should just set the jumpers to cable select in this case

Memory might be more of a problem, since not all memory is compatible with every motherboard.
You might have to go to the [motherboard or computer] manufacturer's site to see what memory is compatible with it. If it's a brand name mobo then you can check the memory manufactuer's site to see if it is compatible with your mobo.

at this time, there is DDR and DDR2 (a few others...but I highly doubt that you have direct rambus ram or XDR ram) and these are also not intercompatible.

you also have to consider the speed of the memory and to a lesser extent, module density...but this only really matters for really old machines (mobos can only use up to a certain speed of ram). If you put ram rated at a higher speed than your mobo can handle it should still work, but not at full speed (which can mean wasted money)

get cpu-z
it'l tell you (in the memory and spd tabs) the type of ram, the manufacturer, the speed and a lot more.

The more information you can get the better post some more info and I might be able to narrow down the search for you
and take/post pics if you think it's necessary

I'd like to hear the drive type, computer age, ram type, speed and manufactuer, mobo manufactuer (brand name if applicable) and OS
anything else you think would help too.

golly.. now i feel bad for not even trying! iam gonna get on it first thing tomorrow morning and then hit back with u here!

Kariudo · Post by **Kariudo** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 12:21 am

it is a bit involved...but not terribly difficlut (I did a lot of reading when I built my computer)

I have things that need attending to tomorrow, so I can't say when I'll be on but I will be on tomorrow

Joe88 · Post by **Joe88** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 9:56 pm

crucial's web site has a ram checker and it will report you on what ram you have and what you should add