PNY Optima 1GB DDR 400 MHz PC3200 Desktop DIMM Memory Module MD1024SD1-400

I have an aging (approx. 5y old) but still functional and reliable Compaq desktop (SR 1550 NX) that originally had only 512kb of RAM running Windows XP and using Office 2007 and a few other rather basic s/w packages. Although I primarily use the machine for e-mail, surfing, writing letters and some occasional spreadsheet work, it had progressively grown sluggish and would occasionally lock up or crash when I pushed it. Loading graphic-intensive web pages was a real pain. In the last couple of years I kept pledging to add memory but could never get around to it. Finally, after suffering a couple of untimely crashes and insufferably slow internet performance, I took the plunge and ordered PNY's 2gb memory kit. Wow! What a difference! It's like having a brand new machine back in 2005 all over again. I'm an engineer who's pretty tech savvy and handy with tools, but even if you're not - no need to worry. While your situation may vary, in most cases (as in mine) removing the side cover of the box to access the motherboard is a 2-minute job, and removing the two old 256kb modules and replacing them with the the new 1gb modules took all of 2 additional minutes. I took perhaps an extra 5 minutes to vacuum out some accumulated dust on the heat sink for the CPU and a few other places on the motherboard and them buttoned things up, re-cabled and re-booted. The new memory was immediately recognized and I was off to the races. Total elapsed time: somewhere around 15 minutes. (Including vacuuming out the cubbyhole in the credenza for the box.) I wish I'd done this a couple of years ago - I'd have saved myself dozens upon dozens of hours of frustrated re-boots and undoubtedly hundreds of hours of unnecessary waiting for page loads. If you've got a sluggish but otherwise serviceable machine - the 2gb memory bump is going to pay huge performance dividends. Don't wait (and suffer) like I did.

The performance improvement in my 2004 Dell Dimension 8300 is great! The computer was constantly freezing up and taking forever just to open the internet browser. Reinstalling OS and reformat made very little improvement. The computer just could not handle the new programs that are using so much more ram. I had "upgraded" to the 512MB ram when I bought my Dell.(It had two 256MB ram sticks) Installation is easy. I did have to remove one of the existing 256MB ram sticks first as in my Dell 8300 the second set lays to the side at a 45 degree angle so they don't hit the hard drive when the case is closed. That is very easy though. Just make sure that the matching ram are in the matching spots. In mine the clips at the end are different colors. So you have one 256MB chip next to one 1GB then the same in the other two slots. The same chips do not go right next to each other unless you were upgrading or installing all four of the same chips.The computer runs like it did when it was new again. The extra 2GB of ram completely fixed the slow load ups and freeze ups. I have been running it for 2 months now with no complaints. If you have similar problems to mine on your old Dell get the 2GB of ram upgrade here on Amazon.com before buying a new computer. I didn't find it cheaper anywhere else, and Amazon has a much better return policy than any of the competitors out there.

Title says it all. I'm screwed. Description stated it was compatible with my Dell Dimension 4700 but wasn't and now the original mem stix won't boot either. Did not attempt to exceed capacity as it is listed as 4GB for this machine with the standard 266Immediate start up yields 4 internal buzzes, followed by 2 more. Nothing on screen. I tried each stick alone to see if one was bad, but all failed. Then returning my originals to the slots, same symptom. So buying and trying this product it appears I lost the whole PC.Originals are 2700s but description says 32's (400) are compatible...they weren't and possibly destroyed my PC. Good grief.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ U P D A T E ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I returned the original stix, that didn't work before after the machine was powered down for about 2 hours. It came back. Leave well enough alone, right? Not me I'm my own worst enemy sometimes...I got an idea that if I added a stick at a time, I'd see if they took. I added one, booted up and it took. Powered down added another, it took. Powered down replaced 1 512 it took. Powered down replaced the last original stick and it took. I was thinking the configuration change was so overwhelming that it didn't like a total swap out, whether that was relevant or not I don't know, but that's how I brought it back. My apologizes about the 'salesman' crack above.It's an old machine using WP Prof SP3 32 bit. I found out that when you check the 'basic information' under Performance and Maint. under the Start Menu, these machines will use 4GB of Ram, but show less than that when you check it. I've read users saying 3, 3.2, 3.5GB is showing up; mine says 3.62GB. It seems the system is using it all I understand, but can't read all of it for the basic information feature of the 32 bit XP version.Giving 4 stars cuz it works, will update rating after use if needed. chow.