Greetings ya'll from techno-challenged senior
citizen. This time I'm learning video editing with U-lead videostudio (lite) came w/my DVD burner. Painfully slow. Will more ram make significant difference? Realize my mach is "entry-level" so may not be worth spending the $100 to get 1 G of ram?. I'm just messing around with this and don't expect to really get into it, but want some more speed.

Here's what I found abput my computer:

Specifications from e-Macines support

CPU: Intel® Celeron® 2.70GHz Processor
128KB L2 cache & 400MHz FSB
Operating System: Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home2
Chipset: Intel 845GV chipset
Memory: 256MB DDR (PC 2100)
Expandable to 1GB
Hard Drive: 40GB HDD
Optical Drive: DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive (48 × 24x16 × 48); 3.5" 1.44MB FDD
Video: Intel® Extreme Graphics 3D
64MB Shared memory
Sound: AC '97 Audio
Network: Intel PRO 10/100Mbps built-in Ethernet
Modem: 56K ITU v.92-ready Fax/Modem
Peripherals: Standard Multimedia Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Stereo Speakers
Ports/Other: 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 on front), 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, Audio-In & Out
Dimensions: 7.25" W x 14.125" H x 16" D

From e-machines online store

BOM for : T2742
Part Category Description Part Number
FDD Model: FDD, SFD-321B/LTGNQ
Memory: MEM,DDR-RAM 256MB (Max. 2GB)
Modem: MODEM,FAX CONEXANT V.92 56K 56PRC CCOM 101198
ODD1: COMBO, CDRW48X24X48+DVD16X 100521
Chassis: Chassis,Nexgen 3&3LC MAIN FRAME
Power Supply: PS, 250 WATT 100744
CPU: CPU,CELERON 2.7GHZ 478P 128k F400
HDD: HDD, 40GB 5400rpm 1360
Keyboard Model: KB,9908,EN104K,PS/2,EMA CH-Gray/Blk-key 2422
LAN: LAN, 10/100 Integrated
CPU Fan Type: FAN,H/S CEL-P4 2.8 478 100611
Mouse: MOUSE,SILVER WHEEL, BLACK GLOSS 100704
Video: Video, integrated
MB: MB,SEABREEZE MBEM101220SB
Speaker: SPEAKER,SP-30A 100706

From Everest Home Edition report:
Memory bus properties
Bus type DDR SDRAM
Bus width 64-bit
Real clock 267 MHz
Bandwidth 2133 Mb/s

Is this the right piece I need below?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144001&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch&ATT=20-144-001

I see all kinds of brands and prices...whats a good deal look like on this?

Thanks in advance.

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr%2BProductline=eMachines%2B+Desktops&mfr=eMachines&tabid=AM&model=T2742&submit=Go

Yes. RAM is very important to video editing..and everything else..Newegg.com..Corsair RAM is the best bet for Intel rigs.

MB: Albatron K8X250GB Pro
CPU: AMDSempron 3300+~2.0GHZ OC @ 2.4GHz
Video: BFG nVidia 6800 GT OC 256 MB RAM
RAM: 1.5 GB GEiL PC3200
Sound: SoundBlaster Creative Audigy SE
OS: WINXP

The DDR 2700 I recommended at crucial.com......Is faster and guaranteed
to work.You get what you pay for.

You would need 2-512MB to get the
best results.

Keep the 256MB stick of ram you have,give it to a friend,or sell it.

Jim, video editting is a 'very slow' process, even with a very fast system and tons of RAM. It can take hours to convert from one format to another. Having said that, 256mb is on the low side for WinXP. Adding RAM will probably help a little, but don't expect a big improvement.

Do yourself a favor BACKUP!
Sorry, I do not check for private messages

It's not only the RAM that's slowing you down; the CPU and hard drive are just as guilty.

Your hard drive runs at 5400RPM. I'm a professional video/photo/3D artist, and find that even a 7200RPM drive is painfully slow with tasks such as moving a small portion of video from one spot in the timeline to another. It doesn't get sweet till you get into the 10000 RPM zone. Since you're just starting out, completely disregard what I said about the 10000RPM drives, and maybe consider getting a much more mainstream 7200RPM hard drive with lots of cache (16MB).

Your 256MB of RAM is your biggest weakness. Upgrade to 1GB (heck even with 2GB of RAM I found myself running short while running Avid, Photoshop, and Maya--that's why I've got 4GB now). Again, disregard what I said about 4GB, and just upgrade to 1GB.

Your Celeron CPU only has 128KB of L2 cache, which is easily overwhelmed by the huge amount of data you deal with while working with video. Though based on what you have now, your RAM and hard drive should be higher on your priority list than the CPU.

You've got an integrated graphics card that relies on system memory and the CPU to draw what you see on the screen. If your particular video editor has the ability to use a stand-alone 3D graphics card to accelerate rendering/special effects, you'll probably want to upgrade your video card (though only if you've got an AGP or PCI Express slot). This way, your weak Celeron CPU wouldn't be as much of a bottleneck in the rendering process. I don't know if ULead does GPU-accelerated rendering; this may only be reserved to higher end video editing packages.

If your going to be sticking with entry level video editing, I'd just upgrade the RAM and the hard drive. Anything more than entry-level, and I'd get a whole new computer.

Jack,

Thanks. Good info, and what I was looking for. Since I'm just puttering around with this, I'll just look into upgrading the RAM on this machine for the time being.