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Need to upgrade m/b

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Tags: Hardware, Windows

For the most part, despite my m/b being some 11 years old, my system runs fine. The one glitch is that recently, I’ve been running out of RAM, even though I’m not aware of any changes in the programs I use..
My m/b, a Gigabyte GA-H61M-S1, has a maximum capacity of 16GB, which is what I have.
So I’m looking for suggestions on a new m/b and cpu, because I don’t even know how to research this.
My needs are actually fairly simple. I don’t play games or do any graphics work. I’m running out of memory because by the time Windows and all that it loads and all my startup programs are loaded, I’m already down to about 8GB free. I do one thing that (Bob, if you’re reading this, I know you’re not in favor of) cuts down free RAM even more, which is to have a lot of open tabs in my browser. It’s covenient and worth the expense of upgrading.
The programs I use most are Firefox, Thunderbird, VLC, Jdownloader, SyncBackFree and LibreOffice.
If I’ve overlooked anything, please point it out and I’ll provide the requested information.
It’s very possible that I don’t even need a new cpu. If there’s a modern m/b with a capacity of 32GB of RAM and can take an LGA1155 cpu, then I can use my Intel G2030.

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Reply To: Need to upgrade m/b

In reply to Need to upgrade m/b

On a system that old, I would not waste time or money upgrading it. I would suggest that you start with a new computer. If you upgrade the motherboard, one of the older components could break down and you will have to replace that component later. It really depends on your budget and comfort level with upgrading it yourself.

Reply To: Need to upgrade m/b

In reply to Reply To: Need to upgrade m/b

We live overseas where everything is MUCH more expensive than in the U.S. I really don’t want to buy a new system here and I have no way of getting a new system from the U.S. to here. So for now, my best option is to just upgrade the m/b.

Re: upgrade

In reply to Need to upgrade m/b

Indeed, if you feel you need more than 16 GB of RAM because of the way you use your machine (I’m fine with 4 GB or 8GB) and your motherboard doesn’t support it and you don’t want change the way you use Windows, you need another motherboard that supports more than 16.

The specifications of the motherboard you buy will tell you what CPU’s are supported. Or ask the shop to find one that meets your requirements.

I assume you already have a SSD for fast enough virtual memory, and use the options in the current version of your browser (like Chrome) to snooze/hibernate tabs you didn’t use recently, freeing RAM (seehttps://www.androidpolice.com/chrome-canary-snooze-tabs-chromeos/ for example).

I’m looking for specific recommendations

In reply to Re: upgrade

Because there’s a wide range – both in capabilities and in price – of motherboards out there. And I want the least expensive one that will do the job.
As I wrote in my original post, I mainly use FF, not Chrome. If there’s a way to hibernate tabs in FF, I’m not aware of it.
Good to hear from you, kees_b.

16GB RAM and running out?

In reply to Need to upgrade m/b

I’ve yet to encounter that issue. Are you sure it’s not something else like the system drive ran out of space?
Or does this PC have the now out of date hard disk drive?

It’s an old system

In reply to 16GB RAM and running out?

Yes, it’s an HDD.
Always nice to hear from you, Bob.
I ran AVG to check for a virus but thankfully, my system’s clean. I don’t know why I’m running out of memory. Task Manager only shows 2 main consumers of RAM: FF at (currently) 2.7GB and TB at 550MB. There are a couple more entries over 100MB and the rest all seem reasonable.

Re: insufficient memory

In reply to It’s an old system

That csn mean the hard disk is (nearly) full, so the system can’t allocate enough virtual memory. That’s called “memory” also.

Before buying a new motherboard and RAM (presumably 32 GB, unless you can find 16 GB of exactly the same as you have now) I’d check that. And, if necessary, delete some or a lot.
Start with the normal Disk Cleanup (in the properties of the c:-drive), then the advanced version one click more, and finally have a thorough look with TreeSize Free from https://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free to see what more you can delete.

Plenty of disk space

In reply to Re: insufficient memory

Sorry, forgot to include that info in my previous post. Of 505GB for the system drive, 140GB are in use and 304GB are free.

HDDs are showing issues like yours.

In reply to It’s an old system

Folk are reporting out of memory along with other errors.

Let me skip to the biggest clue it’s the HDD. Look in Task Manager at Disk Utilization. It’s my best sign the HDD is on its way out. This is well discussed such as https://superuser.com/questions/1769435/disk-usage-at-100-during-startup

Another part of the problem is a few years ago Microsoft stopped optimizing for use on HDDs.

Just pulled up Task Manager

In reply to HDDs are showing issues like yours.

Disk utilization is in low single digits.
The link you provided is a long thread. I’ll need time for that.
Transitioning Windows to SSD is something I wanted to do a long time ago, but just never got around to it. I now need to order it, wait for someone who’s traveling to the U.S. to return here (in about 2 weeks) with that order, and install it. So we’re looking at a few weeks from now. And no guarantee that that will solve my memory problem.

Re: SSD

In reply to Just pulled up Task Manager

It might not solve your memory problem, but it will give you a much faster Windows.

You realize, I hope, that it installing the SSD, has to be followed by a clean install of Windows, a reinstall of all your application and a redo of all your setttings. It’s a lot of work.

If you can use the old HDD as data disk, there’s no need to anything with your data (Just reassign the location of the Documents, Pictures etc to point to the new drive letter of this old disk. If you already have a second HDD as data disk there should be no need to keep it in the system.

If you copy your Firefox profile from the HDD to the new SSD, all your personal data and settings (favorites, cookies etc) keep working. Same for Thunderbird profile (if you use that).

Thanks for the warning

In reply to Re: SSD

The thread that Bob pointed me to shows how to migrate an existing Windows to the SSD. There might be some hiccups that will crop up here and there, but it’s definitely much easier than doing a clean install.

A suggestion

In reply to Thanks for the warning

Let me suggest that you start with a fresh install of Windows on that SSD. Then check if your problem disappeared.

If it’s gone that might mean it’s some issue or setting in your existing Windows on the HDD. And that might mean that you just copy that issue or setting from the HDD to the SSD. Then you would have to spend a lot of money for a new MB and new RAM and have to do a clean install anyway.

If it’s still the same, it’s rather sure it’s a motherboard or RAM issue. Only then replacing those is necessary. And you still have that nice and fast SSD to use.

I wish I could

In reply to A suggestion

It’s a useful suggestion, but not all that practical. The idea of migrating my existing Windows is to avoid a lot of effort and time starting from scratch. If I do as you say, installing Windows won’t be enough. I’d have to do all the updates again (my Windows ISO is pre-2022) and then install my startup programs and some other frequently used programs in order to try to duplicate the current environment.
But I thank you, kees_b, for putting thought into my issue.

Firefox

In reply to I wish I could

It seems that Firefox is the culprit. If memory becomes too low, I shut down FF (which is a pain, because I have to save 7 pages and open them from the files on disk because they change dynamically and I want to keep up with all the changes). That frees a ton of memory and all’s well until memory gets too low again.
I’m going to report this to Mozilla, but it’s probably going to be a hassle to document it so they have something tangible to investigate.
Thank you again to all who responded.

FF memory issues

In reply to Firefox

I see that some others also have problems with memory due to FF. I’m going to try some of the suggestions made in response.

Re: Firefox

In reply to Firefox

Set Firefox to open with 7 home-pages. Or is there more than that, because you want to open them in7 different windows in stead of in 7 tabs?

Anything special in the pages? If they change via Javascript that does something, maybe there’s something in the code that uses memory but doesn’t release it., for example a recursive algorithm.. Correct that then.
The first thing that I would do is to check how other browsers behave. If one of them works to your satisfaction, use that. If all fail your test, you know that the pages you load should be optimised. That’s an issue for the developers of the site, not for Mozilla.

No, tabs

In reply to Re: Firefox

But I don’t understand how making them home pages would help. Let me give an example.
http://www.pcmag.com/News/Yesterday (I have no idea why they call it “Yesterday,” since it always displays the latest entries.
If I close FF without saving it, if there are new entries between closing and reopening FF, I may not remember what the newest entry was when I closed it and therefore won’t realize that there are new entries. (I’m not senile. If it were just that one page, of course I’d remember. But since 4 of the 7 pages are more complicated than the example I gave, keeping track of where each page was when I closed FF can be a little overwhelming.)

[driveseedsi]

Reply To: Need to upgrade m/b

In reply to Need to upgrade m/b

Hi Doniel,

Considering your needs, a good starting point would be to look for a motherboard that supports 32GB of RAM and is compatible with an LGA1155 CPU. However, finding modern motherboards for this older socket might be challenging.

You might want to consider upgrading both your motherboard and CPU to a more current platform. An Intel or AMD setup with a motherboard that supports 32GB or more of RAM would be ideal. For your usage, a mid-range CPU like the Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 series should be sufficient. Hope this helps!

Best,
Drive Seeds

Note: unrelated link removed by moderator.

• This reply was modified 3 months, 3 weeks ago by driveseedsi.
• This reply was modified 3 months, 3 weeks ago by kees_b.

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