# Can I move RAM from one computer to another?



## matrix_unloaded (Apr 7, 2009)

I have 2 computers, and want to upgrade one of them, but i have devised a plan and i want to know if it would work. 1 computer is XP professional 32 bit and the other is Vista Premuim 64 bit.
*XP specs:* Intel Pentium 4 3.5 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GD Hard Drive, ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 128MB Graphics card.
*VISTA SPECS:* Intel Core 2 Quad 2.33 GHZ processor, 3 GB RAM, 450 GB HDD, ATI Radeon 512 MB graphics card.

I would like to know if I could buy a 4+ GB RAM card for my Vista computer, and move the Vista's original 3 GB RAM card to my XP replacing the XP's original 1 GB RAM card. I know that my Vista computer can take over 4 GB RAM as it's 64 bit, but i want to speed up my xp computer and thought that using my vista's 3 GB RAM card would be a good way to do it.

Any information is much appreciated.


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## Chelcone (Apr 7, 2009)

The quick answer is yes. You can move RAM between computers. The one thing you want to do is check the motherbords compatable RAM speeds and also the maximum RAM it is able to hold. Make sure that the ram sticks you are moving over to your XP machine are all the same speed as well because this can cause problems(that is assuming it is more than one stick).


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## thaspraya (Aug 2, 2006)

If they're all the same type of RAM (ddr2 I assume), then yes.


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## Chelcone (Apr 7, 2009)

thaspraya said:


> If they're all the same type of RAM (ddr2 I assume), then yes.


 Oh yea i forgot that


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## akaHothead (Apr 1, 2009)

You can use different speeds also if same type. The faster speed will clock itself down to the lower speed.
If different speeds are used in dual-channel systems, the slowest speed should go into the first pair of slots.


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## casper0191 (Apr 2, 2009)

Well if the both computer is using A DDR2 the yeah it will work. But why don't you just buy a new RAM it'll be more great if they have their own components instead of transferring them to one another.


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## matrix_unloaded (Apr 7, 2009)

well it turns out that yes, both computers have ddr2 RAM, but i found a program on the internet that measures your RAM and apparently i have 2 ddr2 slots and each one can have a maximum of 2 GB. i havent yet managed to find an internet program that wont shutdown my vista, to find out what it has in terms of RAM cards and slots. is there another way of finding out how many slots and cards of RAM you have?
btw my XP is a Dell Optiplex 320 and the Vista is a Dell XPS 430.

thanks for the info so far has been very helpful.


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## Chelcone (Apr 7, 2009)

Easyest way is to open the case up and see how many slots there are. An XPS usualy will take between 6 and 8 GB of RAM as a max. They are high spec gaming machines and RAm is important for that. If you check the support page on the dell website and put in your service tag it should have more info.


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## akaHothead (Apr 1, 2009)

Download System Information For Windows, install on Vista machine, run and go to left side and scroll down to memory. Or motherboard.


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## matrix_unloaded (Apr 7, 2009)

I see, but i have the 2 RAM slots and there is 512 MB in each, although each can take a maximum of 2 GB. i think i wont tamper with my vista, but instead i think ill buy 2 times 2GB RAM to put in the slots of my xp computer. this is the max my computer can take.
It doesn't matter if I have uneven amounts of RAM in each slot does it? say i have 512 MB in one and 2GB in the other.


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## Chelcone (Apr 7, 2009)

No that wont matter. You can have different amounts in each slot. I would still recomend not having different speed RAM in the two slots because it can cause really random problems. One of the computers where i work had a monitor problem due to mismatched RAM speed.


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

While 4Gb is the max on the machine that runs XP, the fact that xp is the 32bit OS it will not address the full 4Gb Ram. You would only be able to address approx. 3.3Gb of ram on a 32bit OS.


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## matrix_unloaded (Apr 7, 2009)

yes i know that 32 bit OS will only adress 3.something GB, but my probem is that my motherboard won't support dual channel RAM, so i can't have the advantages of that. that's why i thought i could have mixed amounts of RAM like 1 GB and 2GB, if it doesn't cause a problem.
Also, i was thinking of upgrading to 64 bit vista.
Is there much of a difference if i got 2x2GB of RAM and put it in and if i got 2x2GB RAM dual channel?


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

The ram sticks themselves are not Dual Channel. It is the Motherboard and the placement of the correct ram that is dual channel. If your motherboard won't support dual channel then so long as you buy ram that is supported by your motherboard it will work. I would think tyhat Kingston Value Ram will work. You could go to the kingston site and run the memory configurator and get the kingston number then go buy that at where ever you can get the best price.


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