Question about Physical memory&System Cache

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DeltaDart1

Member
Up until today when I would open up Windows Task manager the Physical Memory available would be around 135,000 to 175,000. Now today that figure has dropped to 98,000 to 115,000. The System Cache would vary from 185,000 to 230,000. That number is down to 140,000 to 155,000. I'm not doing anything different. The Physical Memory total,which has never changed is 458,224. Anyone have any ideas on what's going on or is this somewhat normal? Thanks!
 
That sounds perfectly normal. You have 512MB of memory, and the total available memory will fluctuate greatly, especially if you are running more programs, doing more things at the same time, or just if your computer has been on for a while.

Now when you say you aren't doing anything different, do you mean thats what it shows when you first turn on the computer? Because even if you have different browser windows open for instance, it will effect the RAM usage.

If you're really worried about it, you should look into buying some more memory.
 
Just checked it again,Back to normal?

Omega, Just checked it just a couple of minutes ago and the physical jumped to 162,000 and the cache to 260,000. I don't understand what caused the numbers to go up. Like I said my previous numbers were way down today. Never seen numbers like that. As far as the physical memory numbers is it possible that(I know it's a dumb question)you can bring them down to zero? If so should I install more memory? My previous computer(5 year old Dell)came with 256k which was quite a bit for that time. I doubled the memory to 512K so I assumed that this computer with 512K would be enough. Probably should double that? It was very easy to add memory to the Dell. Just opened up the case and plugged the memory in. Looks like the same set-up with this newer one. I'll give you the spec's and maybe you could tell me what kind of memory I need to buy. RAM-512 DDR2 PC 4200 AMD SEMPRON 2800+AM2 MB-Foxconn 6100M2MA-RS2H I know I have to match the memory. What would I need to double it? Thanks for your help!
 
Buying a 512MB stick of DDR2 PC 4200 would double the RAM you have now. As fotr why the amount available is changing, well as Omega said that's normal. Some programs (like firefox for example) take more and more memory the longer they are left running. Any running program will take memory while it is running, some like internet explorer 7 will give most of that memory back while they are minimized. That can caus big fluctuations in the amount of available memory.
 
Just checked and my computer has 1 Kingston 512mb PC4200 DDR2 memory stick. All I would like to do is to double the memory. I checked and I can get a 512 stick for less than $30. The stick that i'm looking at has 240 pin. I assume(240 pin-correct me if i'm wrong) that's what I need. Looked inside my case and there are 4 memory slots. 2 yellow and 2 blue. The memory stick is in the yellow slot. When I install the new stick do I install it in the remaining yellow slot or use one of the blue slots? Thanks!!
 
For about $35 you can buy two 240-pin 512 megabyte modules of G.Skill PC2 4200 from NewEgg.com.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231041

I know that my Foxconn Motherboard is picky with memory. It will not let me combine different brands or models of RAM. Your motherboard may possibly be the same way. I would suggest buying two 512 megabyte modules of memory. Put them in the two sockets closest to the processor. If the memory is working I would try to add your old module and see if it works with the new memory.
 
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I would be safe with the Kingston stick?

I would be okay if I just added the 512 Kingston strip? Same brand? Why would the Foxconn MB be picky with memory? I was planning on buying the same brand(Kingston)to add. I heard you don't want to mix the brands.
 
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I don't know why my current Foxconn motherboard crashes when combining different modules of memory. I tried a 512 megabyte module of Super Talent memory with 2 gigabytes of Super Talent and it would crash. It was that way with two different motherboards of the Foxconn 6100K8MA-RS model.

How old is the memory you put in it already? Manufacturers make slight modifications to RAM over time which can possibly cause problems. If I were you I would just buy the 1 gigabyte of memory I recommended already that way you don't have to worry about conflicts. G.Skill makes memory of comparable quality to Kingston. You could buy one 512 megabyte module of Kingston and try it out to see if it works. But I wouldn't pay $25 for one module of memory when you could get two for $35.

And yes, you are correct that it generally isn't a good idea to combine different brands of memory in a motherboard. It really depends on the motherboard though. I have seen two other motherboards that were fine running with two different brands of memory.
 
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