Add More RAM, Easily

I consider myself a pretty tech-savvy fellow, at least when it comes to navigating around the internet and lusting after the latest gadgets. But even the simplest hardware modifications scare me off, and I end up buying totally new gear rather than upgrading my old stuff.

That means that even though I'm pretty demanding when it comes to computer performance—I like to have at least twenty Firefox windows, ten documents, a few spreadsheets, and a couple of mail clients open at all times—I've always been reticent to crack open my computer and make a quick, cheap fix by throwing in some extra RAM. Mainly because I didn't even know where to start.

But thanks to the How-To Geek, I downloaded the SIW tool that tells me exactly what kind of RAM I need to use and how much space I have to expand. (If I had been feeling really lazy, I could have used the tool at RAM-dealer crucial.com, which tells me exactly which of their products I need to buy.)

After I buy some cheap RAM online (if $40/gig from Crucial is still too much, consider bargain hunting at TechBargains), all I need to do is grab a Phillips Head screwdriver and follow the simple tutorial over at LifeHacker to crank up the juice in my desktop. How Stuff Works has a similar tutorial for laptop users, but again, all you'll need is a screwdriver and the ability to follow instructions.