So you just bought a new computer and it runs great, so why would you bother upgrading? When purchasing a new computer, it is usually unnecessary to do any upgrades unless you have a specific purpose in mind like gaming or graphics and video editing. However, there is at least one reason why you should consider upgrading that new computer now rather than later. Money. Before I go into explaining how upgrading your memory now can save you money in the future, first let me first explain what memory is.

Memory: Memory is temporary storage for your CPU (the brain) to quickly access programs or information on the fly. The concept is much like writing down a phone number on a piece of paper that you keep in your packet. The problem is, if you were to continue using that piece of paper to write down phone numbers or other bits of information, you will eventually run out of room. At this point, you would need to transfer that information to a more permanent location like a file cabinet. Unlike your piece of paper, however, your file cabinet is not as easily accessible and the information stored in it is usually slower to retrieve. This is how memory works. The more information and programs you have running on your computer and stored in memory, the slower your computer becomes.

Type of Memory: The type of memory also makes a big difference in how fast your computer runs. Without going into to much detail, I will explain it like this. There have been several generations of memory over the last several years, however, the ones most common today is DDR, DDR2 and DDR3. The first generation of these three, DDR, is quite old and slow and is found in most older computers with Windows XP installed. The second, DDR2 is much faster and is still used in many computers today. DDR3 is the newest and fastest and is the type of memory that you see installed on most new computers which may include Windows Vista or Windows 7.

The time to save money is now: In the next couple years or so, you will have to make a decision to either upgrade your computer or replace it with a faster and better one. In most cases, upgrading your computer is the cheapest and most practical route. However, by the time you decide to upgrade your memory, the price of memory will more than likely double if not triple. Why? Supply and demand. Right now, many people are thinking the same thing you are. My computer is new and it runs great, there is no need to upgrade my computer. With most people thinking this, demand is obviously not very high, thus the price for memory will be very low. In the next couple years though, this will change, and more people will want to upgrade their computers and the price of memory will increase substantially.

Here’s an example: Right now, DDR2 memory is still widely used, and will be for many years. Because DDR2 has been around for so long now, many people are looking to upgrade their computers instead of buying a new one. Here is the price comparison for 4gb of memory for DDR2 (in high demand) vs DDR3 (new and not in high demand).

G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory $42.99

G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 200-Pin DDR2 (PC2 6400) Laptop Memory $149.99

As you can see, while DDR3 memory is dirt cheap, even though its a new technology. However, DDR2 has been around for a while now, and people are wanting to upgrade their older computers instead of buying new ones, therefore, its more expensive . . . a lot more expensive. Just to prove my point even further. This is the cost of DDR memory for just 1gb

G.SKILL 1GB 200-Pin DDR (PC 2700) Laptop Memory $29.99

If I have DDR2 in my computer now, can I upgrade to DDR3? The simple answer is no. Unfortunately, due to a lot of reasons, this is impossible. The easiest explanation I can give you is this. It simply will not physically fit.

Conclusion: Memory is not going to get any cheaper any time soon, especially around the time that you will likely want an upgrade. However, you can save yourself $100 or more by simply upgrading now and enjoying an extremely fast computer throughout the whole time that you own it. Not only will it be faster now, but you will be prepared for future applications and games that will require more memory and you wont have to spend an arm and a leg for the upgrade.

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   Roger Johnson · June 30, 2012 at 1:57 am · Reply

   Excellent article, Dean. I had an old Dell that came with the latest and greatest RAM… RDRAM. Within a couple of years, it became almost extinct, so upgrading would have cost a fortune. I’d been much better off getting more RAM when I bought the computer.
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     Dean Ingraham · June 30, 2012 at 7:45 pm · Reply

     Exactly. This article may sound like a sales gimmick to some, but in a few years they will wish they had listed. Bear in mind that many of the new laptops today still have DDR2 memory, so if you are looking to purchase a new laptop or desktop soon, make sure it comes with DDR3. Let us know if we can ever do anything for you or if you ever need advice on your next purchase.

     Dean