Hello

There are two PCs here, one with 1.5Gb RAM (Win XP Pro PC tower) and another (Win 7 PC tower) with 3Gb RAM. I am thinking of upgrading the 3Gb RAM to 4Gb RAM so that I can install Mac OS X virtually.

Ideally, what I would like to do is remove a 1GB RAM card from the Win 7 PC and install it in the XP Pro PC tower, and then buying a 2GB RAM card and installing it in the Win 7 tower. But I am not sure if the RAM cards are compatible. How would I find that out, please, and how would I find out which type of new 2Gb RAM card I would need to buy to upgrade the Win 7 PC?

Thanks

High1www.crucial.comWhat a great site! Many thanks.

Is this message/warning that appears on the site having scanned the PC very important: 'Although the memory can be installed one module at a time, the best performance comes from using matched pairs of modules'.

The reason I ask is that this PC is only a few months old and it seems a bit pointless to get rid of 3Gb of RAM (2 x RAM cards) that I have at the moment, just to install 2x2Gb matched pairs.

CheersMatched means all the small detail specifications are exactly the same.  This is necessary in order for the memory to function in dual-channel mode which is the highest performance.  Right now, it's not functioning as dual-channel because 1 module is 2GB & the other is 1GB.  Are you using Win7-64bit or 32bit?  If 32bit, Windows may not even RECOGNIZE the change from 3GB to 4GB.  I suspect since the machine is only a few months old, it's 32bit because most 64bit machines will come with a minimum of 4GB RAM.  If this is the case, there is no benefit to go from 3GB to 4GB.
Download, install & RUN this utility for more complete information:  www.hwinfo.com
Choose 32 or 64bit versions depending on what you have.Hello Commando

Thanks for getting back to me.

That looks like a useful piece of software.

It's a 64-bit machine (PackardBell), so I would need to ensure that (Module Part Number:) GU512303EP0201/2 were compatible with the cabled XP Pro PC downstairs.

The only reason I am hoping to upgrade this new PC is that 4Gb RAM is the recommended minimum for a Mac OS X virtual operating system.

Thanks again for your help.
Yeecchh... Why would you want to run Mac OS X instead of Windows?Just to put a knowledge of Mac on my CV (RESUME) and to learn a bit more. Don't worry, I am loyal Win FAN!It's illegal (as in against the Apple EULA) to install any version of OSX in a VM or on non-Mac hardware. The only thing you are allowed to do is install OSX Server in a VM, provided that the VM is hosted in OSX on Apple hardware. And provided, of course, you have the appropriate license or licenses.