Kingston Low Power - memory - 1 GB - FB-DIMM 240-pin - DDR2

When I purchased my first ever PC back in the mid nineties it came with a measly 32MB of memory, at the time this was more than enough to run Windows 95 and anything else I cared to throw at it. But as programs grew and evolved into being ever more complex so the drain on the computers resources became ever greater. Nowadays I fear a system with 32MB would struggle to even start the latest incarnation of Microsoft’s operating system; indeed my current PC – purchased in 2007 boasted 1GB of memory which I was assured by the salesman would be more than enough for many years to come. Needless to say I have noticed a drop in speed as time passed, with the little Windows vista system monitor in the sidebar going into the red ever more often as the memory struggles to keep up. Clearly something had to be done to stop my system grinding to a halt, which is why I decided on throwing some much needed extra memory into my computer; but where on earth to start? I wasn’t even sure what make and model my PC is, much less what type of memory would work within it. Commence much research and head scratching before I eventually pinned down exactly what make and model my computer was, and what sort of memory was required.

And boy do you need to be sure; Memory nowadays seems to be a minefield of pins, DIMMS, MHz and Ram. It’s no good purchasing that lovely looking 200 Pin memory you’ve had your eye on and trying to fit it into your 240 Pin slot. Heck, you might just as well try shoving in a handful of custard in for all the good it will do. DIMM’s? The only thing remotely dim feeling in this whole equation was me as I wondered if there was some sort of Open University course available to make sense of the mysterious world of memory cards and upgrades, my head hurt at the very thought of it all! Anyhow, with a mixture of Internet searching and examining the memory that came with my computer I managed to work out what sort I needed. A quick browse on Amazon showed me that Kingston manufactured the memory I needed, 1GB in size and with all the requisite Pins, slots and speeds in the right place. And at less than £13 the price seemed reasonable too, so I ordered one, for fear that if I procrastinated I’d forget all over again the specs required and have to start the research circus afresh.

Two to four days later the memory arrived resplendent in plastic box complete with fitting instructions. Being a bloke I immediately tossed these aside and set about having the side off the computer; from there it was a relatively simple matter of finding the spare memory slots and slipping the memory in, a task I knew I’d carried out successfully thanks to the reassuring click of the holders gripping the memory and fixing it in place. Reassembling the computer (why is there always a screw left over?) I plugged everything in and booted up. Initially there seemed little difference in speed; the vista sidebar system monitoring gizmo did indeed show that I now had 2056MB installed instead of the 1028MB before, crucially though the RAM part of the monitor was now flitting around the 60% usage level rather than maxing out as it had done all too frequently before.

So, all was well, my computer was running with a new found spring in its step. But, for this review to be taken seriously I feel I need some decent benchmark comparing my new memory to my old amount. My test were carried out using Windows Vista, with no other applications running save for a natty little number called Sandra 2007 – an application that examines many facets of a computer, all forgone for my purposes save for the memory bandwidth test. The first run without the new memory returned a memory bandwidth per second reading of 3250, while the same test with the new memory resulted in a reading of 3660. In this test the higher the total the better, which was reassuring given the second total is higher than the first. Although this test isn’t really representative in that it doesn’t measure the memory’s performance under pressure, i.e. with lots of resource hungry applications running at once, it does show in a rudimentary way that the increased memory in my system does mean an increase in performance. And when all is said and done that’s all I was after.

So, if you are after 1 GB of DIMM RAM with 240 pins running at 667 MHz and backed by a lifetime warranty for under £13, you should look no further than this little beauty from those masters of memory, Kingston. I didn’t, and I’ve never looked back, and as such I can give nothing other than the full five stars.