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Upgrade to 3GB of RAM, and video card to play PC Games at better video quality settings

Recently, I upgraded my Windows 8.1 32Bit desktop computer with an Intel Dual-Core Core2Dou 1.86GHz CPU to 3GB of RAM by adding an extra 2GB of RAM to my computer which originally had 1GB of RAM. I bought 2GB kit (1GBx2) DDR2 PC2-4200 DESKTOP Memory Modules A-Tech Brand for $18.99 to add an extra 2GB of RAM on my desktop PC to increase my amount of RAM to 3GB from 1GB.

I also upgraded the onboard video  which is built-into my PC to a $60 Asus Nvidia GT 620 1GB video card which I bought from a local PC store a year ago instead of using the slower Intel onboard video which is built-in to my 2007 desktop computer. If seen the Nvidia GT 620 1GB on Amazon, eBay, and online for $50 or less with free shipping, so the GT 620 is very affordable.

Asus video cards also comes with a fre  tweaking program called ASUS GPU Tweak which help you tweak settings for your video card, and overclock your video cards Graphics Processor Unit, and Memory for faster performance to increase your video frame rate, so video looks smoother and nicer at high settings.

Now I can play more games like Dragons and Titans, Need for Speed World, Runescape, Gameloft Asphalt 8, Team Fortress 2, League of Legends, and other games at medium to high video settings, and low settings for newer more intensive games without seeing much or any noticeable video problems like slow video frame rates, annoying video pauses, or video lag.

Upgrading the RAM and video card also improves my computer performance when using programs like web browsers, office suite, and other programs which I use on my computer which I got in 2007. I now experience fewer not responding, force close, and freezing errors when I use programs like Web browsers like Firefox, and Chrome. My computer start-up, and shutdown times are faster, and programs start faster after opening them from their desktop shortcut icons after I upgraded the RAM, and video card on my desktop PC.

It is simple to upgrade the RAM, and video card . I just need to buy the right type of RAM to install on my PC’s motherboard. I can find out what type of RAM I need by looking in my instruction manual for my PC, the PC maker’s website for my PC model, or by searching the web to see what type of RAM a particular computer or motherboard uses.

There are free programs like  Piriform Speccy, and  Belarc System Management Advisor which tells me what type of RAM my computer uses. These programs also tell me how many sticks of RAM are installed on my PC, and how many empty RAM slots there are.

I notice many  older computer with DDR-DDR2 RAM slot can only use 1GB RAM stick per RAM slot, and there are only 2-4 RAM slots. This means a lot of older computers can only have a maximum of 2-4GB of RAM. 32Bit Windows  operating systems like Windows 8.1 32bit, 7 32Bit, XP 32Bit, and other 32bit Windows computer can only use up to 4GB of RAM, so even if you installed 5-6GB of RAM, Windows can only use and see 4GB of RAM.

Installing a separate video card like the Asus Nvidia GT620 can also free up some RAM because a video card uses RAM installed on the video card instead of using system RAM like onboard video card. A video card also free ups CPU cycles for faster performance from CPU, and the video card is faster at processing video than most inexpensive onboard video. Most video cards these days use the PCI-Express slot for installing a video card. Installing a video card is simple for me. I just need to open the computer case, and unscrew the PCI metal plate near the PCI Express slot at the end of the PC case. Lastly, I slide in the video card into the slot, and screw it in. In some cases, you may need to go into the computer BIOS , and set the BIOS to use the video card instead of the onboard video before installing the video card, so your computer knows that it should use your video card instead of the onboard video chip.

If you plan on upgrading to a more powerful video card like the Nvidia GTX 650-670, you should also upgrade your desktop computer’s power supply to a 450-500+ W power supply, so your computer has enough power to power your more powerful video card.

After upgrading the RAM and video card, my computer can play more games at higher video settings which require more RAM like 3GB of RAM, and a better video card. I only spent about $80 upgrading my older computer’s RAM, and video card. The Nvidia GT 620 cost about $60, and the 2GB of RAM cost about $20.  Upgrading the RAM, and video card is a lot cheaper than buying or building a new $500-700 PC for gaming, or buying a dedicated game console which can cost $500 or more. I am also using an older 19 inch monitor and PC speakers for gaming which is cheaper than a 40 inch TV, and surround sound TV system or Sound bar.

I also use a keyboard, and mouse for gaming, so I don’t need to buy separate controllers and joysticks to play games.

Upgrading the video card and RAM can extend the usable life of a computer for a few more years. Hopefully, my computer to 3GB of RAM, and a Nvidia GT 620 video card, I can use my 2007 computer for 3+ years longer before it breaks where it is too hard to repair.

Plus, there are a lot of free to play and affordable games like Need for Speed World, Team Fortress 2, Minecraft and League of Legends which can be played on desktop computers with a dual core 1.9 GHz CPU, 3GB of RAM, and an affordable $50 video card like the Asus Nvidia GT620 1GB. Almost all Facebook and web browser based games like Runescape which uses the Java, Unity, and Flash Plug-in to run or HTML5 games can run on a computer with 3GB of RAM with a dedicated video card  like the Nvidia GT 620 or similar AMD video card.

If a computer is still slow at playing games after installing more RAM, and a better video card, uninstalling your current antivirus program and antimalware/antispyware program, and switching to a more lightweight antivirus like Immunet Cloud antivirus can free up RAM, and CPU resources to make games run Faster. Iobit also has a free Game Booster program which will stop unnecessary programs like web browsers, office suites, programs running in your system tray and background services from running. It also defrag your RAM, change your power plan to high performance, launch games in game desktop, and clear your clipboard to boost your Gaming performance. There are also free system utility programs like Wise Care 365 and Advance System Care which can speed up your computer by optimizing your startup settings, and other Windows settings for the best performance by deleting junk files, cleaning the registry, defraging your hard drive, tweaking Windows settings, and disabling startup programs. It also makes tweaks to Windows for faster gaming performance. Setting the video quality of the game to low to medium, and lowering the resolution would make the game run faster as well.

Linux based operating systems like Ubuntu, Lubuntu, Steam OS, etc are becoming better operating systems for gaming now that Steam for Linux is available, and more PC games are being released for Linux. Linux also uses less RAM, CPU, and video card resources than Windows. There are also games like Tux Kart Racing, Assault Cube, Open Arena, and Quake which run well even on slower computers running Linux.

Installing more RAM like 3GB of RAM, and a faster affordable video card like a Nvidia GT620 1GB is an affordable way to improve the performance of a computer, so it can play more games at higher video and audio settings, and use programs like web browsers with slow down problems.

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