Home Forums RAM expansion using ReadyBoost

Our main PC is a Dell Vostro 230 with only 4 GB RAM. The RAM cannot be expanded (they suckered me again!). While we plan on upgrading to a new machine (or going to Cloud) we need to wait a few months before we can afford to do so. I'm considering getting a 10 GB USB Flash Drive with ReadyBoost as a temporary solution to allow V8 to run at an acceptable speed.

Does anyone have experience using a Flash drive to try to effectively increase their RAM. I dont' expect this to work as well as if my PC had the extra RAM installed, but I'm hoping I can get performance that we can live with for 6 months or so. I loaded V8 onto my home laptop with only 4GB of RAM and, while slower that V6, it was acceptable. Then I realized that I have probably 6 GB of ReadyBoost on it from when I bought one to experiment and just left it stuck into the port and that this may be why it seemed OK.

Dear Wayne,

Despite claims to the contrary, the Dell Vostro 230 actually accepts and uses 8gb for 64-bit Windows:

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19451189

Scroll to the bottom, where users report using two 4gb chips with no problems.

But you'd probably be better off putting your money into a current Dell.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Thanks Carl. It appears to be tied to the specs on the RAM chips as to whether or not they will work with the Vostro 230 chipset and Bios. Some 2x4GB RAM works, others don't. If I were to get the ones that others have been succesful with, I'd probably be successful too.

Yes, I know I would definitely be better off with an new unit. This is to be a short-term solution to let us get by for a few months.

From what I've seen, Readyboost will give you minimal improvement, especially if your disk operates at a decent speed (7200RPM standard).

As a side note, I have actually worked with the Vostro 230 in the past. I was able to use a GSKill 8GB Kit.

Here it is:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

Are you reaching the memory limit in the task manager?

Do you have 64 Bit Windows?

I have 64-bit windows and 4 GB RAM. I want to upgrade from AC 6.6.7 to AC 8.2. The site says that the minimum RAM should be 6 or 8GB, but officially the V230 cant expand its RAM. I'm trying for a short-term solution until I can actually replaced the PC. I was hoping to avoid opening up the computer and installing chips (or paying someone to do so) but I panicked when I saw 4GB Max on the specs (which if I had noticed when I got it a few years ago would have been a sale-stopper!).

Sandeep, that looks fairly inexpensive. I haven't tried to open up a PC and change something internal in , oh, over 30 years.

Wayne,
My main computer is a Dell Vostro 230 with 4GB of RAM too (bought new in 2011). Already running readyboost. Knew that it wouldn't improve performance much but thought couldn't much hurt. I'm running Amaz charts 6.6.7 just fine (solo practice, which includes me, a receptionist, and a nurse accessing amaz charts concurrently).

Please let us know if you try Amaz Charts V 8.2 with the Dell Vostro 230 4GB.

I've got a newer faster Dell Vostro 270s with 8GB RAM I'll probably use as the main compupter, but I've already got all the backup systems, logmein, updox, quest lab interface, State immunization interface and God knows what else running just fine. I am not looking forward to moving to a new system.

RAM is probably the easiest to swap. Just push the two tabs down on each side of the memory and the old stick should pop out. Then push the new ones in (you may need a little force). The two tabs should lock the RAM in automatically.

You may want to update the BIOS before swapping the RAM if you're not on 1.2 at least. Here is a link to ver 1.4:
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us...vostro-230&languageCode=EN&categoryId=BI

To add to what Sandeep said, you should buy your RAM from Crucial or Kingston or whatever. If you go to their site, they have wizards that tell you just what to buy.

You are probably better off talking to support either by phone or chat and give them your configuration and motherboard along with your current RAM. If you have your configuration listed or in an email or online that can make it simpler. Or use a program like Belarc or SIW to run a report on your PC. It will list EVERYTHING on your computer (motherboard, apps, RAM, etc.). This way Crucial can tell you exactly what to get. Sometimes it is better to get 2 X 4GB than 4 X 2GBs. Plus, they don't always go in Banks 1 and 2 and then 3 and 4. Sometimes, they are 1 and 3 and 2 and 4.

If you talk to support, you will have a much better chance of being able to send them back if they don't work. You should also clean the banks with compressed air or a small paint brush (without paint, lol).

Thanks Guys! I may buy Ithe future. I'll have to decide if I"m going to replace the PC and when.

ReadyBoost as a short-term solution worked! I already had one I'd bought previously, so I plugged it in. I had an immediate and dramatic performance boost!!! All of the little frustrations we'd been experiencing went away. For example, just before I did it, I tried to print a pdf file. It sat there for at least 30sec to a minute before starting to print the file. After I put in the Readyboost drive, that immediately stopped happening. Everything was so much noticeably faster! So I said to myself "go for it" and went ahead and installed V8. The installation went smoothly (took about 30 min total). And now, even with V8.2.2 I'm still faster than I was before I tried ReadyBoost. Some things take a little wait on Alice's laptop, but its much better than it was a week ago. (I installed the Boost and V8 on Tuesday.)