Don’t buy memory from computer system manufacturers (Dell, Apple, Lenovo, HP, etc)

Here is a tip that can save you some money. When you are in the market for a computer and you are configuring it online or standing in a store DO NOT add extra memory! You will get fleeced big time and spend way more than you need to. Memory is super cheap for new computers right now. The standard DDR3 is what is being currently shipped on all new computers. It is very easy to install, usually taking about 5 minutes to do so. Apple tries to pick your pocket to the tune of $350 for upgrading memory, see the below screenshots. Apple shows 2 sticks at 4gb each. Newegg shows 1 stick so you need to double the price at Newegg. When you are talking about $25 per stick doubling the price is no big deal.

Newegg price is below.

When you are configuring your new computer simply choose the cheapest memory configuration and move on to the next step.  If you are standing in Best Buy and the smurf (blue shirt person) who is selling you the computer tries to make you buy memory from them, tell them no.  You just need to take note of the style and speed of the memory and you can easily buy a memory upgrade from Newegg.com or elsewhere.

Let me walk you through it. Pretend you are buying a computer at Dell.com and you get to the part where you can add additional memory to the computer.

This picture shows a computer that already has 6gb of memory and they want you to spend and additional $60 for 2gb of memory. I personally would think 6gb is probably going to be enough for most users. But if you use memory intensive programs then maybe 8gb would be better, either way you are crazy to spend an additional $60 on 2gb extra of memory. Dell will not give you the 6gb of memory, the $60 additional is replacing the 6gb with 8gb.

Here is an example of buying memory from Newegg.com. You can get your 8gb of memory for $37.99 shipped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like I said before it takes about 5 minutes to install. There are many video “how to’s” out there if you need help. Or give me a call at 616.813.3685