PC Memory question,amount not right?

Ok folks i added a 512 chip to my PC that already had a gig inside. but its only reading it as 1356MB.I went to crucial.com and it scanned it as 1024 and a 512 which is correct.

When i only had the one gig it would show up as 856mb why is it doing this?

 

am i explaining it right?>

 

Do you have video thats using shared system memory ?

 

i have a ATI Radeon express 200 video thats integrated if thats what you mean?

 

yep, its using system memory. ATI Radeon Express 200 is designed that way, nothing to worry about.

 

is that an OK video card?

 

Its not for serious games.

Is it doing the job for your needs ?

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_14603_14616^14663,00.html

http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonxpress200intel/index.html

 

NOT REALLY! am i able to upgrade it?

 

If you have a custom built machine I am sure you can buy a new video card and put it in. If you have an OEM machine (a brand name, like Dell/Compaq/whatever) then maybe. You would need to see if the motherboard has an AGP or PCI-Express slot (some OEMs remove this on lower-end systems). What do you have?

 

As Notok points out you'll need to see what slots your MB has.

Upgrade and turn off the onboard GFX and it'll free up the dedicated memory.

 

its an emachine, what kind of slot am i looking for a regular PCI slot? Also how do i turn the onboard GFX off?

 

What model eMachine ? so I can look at the spec's.

You would turn the IGP off in the bios prolly under Intergrated peripherals.

 

one should also keep in mind that there is typically very little "extra" power capacity in a cheap OEM computer
Its been selected to do its job plus maybe an extra HDD and thats about all for an upgrade path

a serious Vidcard upgrade could "tax" an OEM PSU
likely will run it for awhile but at a greater risk, higher potential for instability and accelerated "wear"

capacity for added RAM is rarely an issue, and its actually pretty low for Drives as well once they are spinning (they drop to about a quarter of their maximum draw once spun up)
but depending on what vidcard is selected....

 

You wouldn't be looking for a PCI slot, but a PCIe x16 (PCI Express) or AGP slot, which would be above the PCI slots. Here's a couple labeled pics from Google images:

AGP

PCIe

 

I have an E-machine T5082 Desktop.Pentium 4, 3GHZ 800mHZ with 2GB of Ram now.
it has availiable expansion slots :1 PCI,1PCI-E x1,1PCI-E X16

 

Crucial can also scan your graphics card and recommend upgrades

 

Yes crucial gave me some options so i can upgrade but my question is what do i do with the express 200 thats on the Motherboard?

 

As was stated by FastGame, you should be able to turn it off from with in the BIOS. However 2 things to keep in mind. 1#) Obviously wait until you have your new video card installed. 2#) As Ice_Czar stated, check into the specs. on the power supply. While it seems from what you have written you have a fairly high-end E machine, they do tend to cut corners on some components. The PS may be one of them. Check the wattage. It should be on a sticker on the outside of the case or on the power supply itself. To little power can be as damaging to a PC as to much can.

 

i was just thinking to upgrade just a bit, there is a Ati thats a level or two above then the express thats in there now,i dont want something for 300 bucks there is on for 95 dollars thats better then what i have now.

 

found this for the E-machine T5082http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=T5082

 

Just about any add-on card by a name brand manufacturer will be better then an on board card. I am running a SLI pci-e card that only cost $110 and it does all I need. Although will be adding a second one in the near future to take advantage of it`s full potential.

 

Yeah im gonna buy one today. Should i install it first and then when it starts up go to the bios? what do i look for to turn the on board one off

 

Good info. No reference to the PS unfortunately.

 

ThunderZ,
What info are you looking for i can open my PC up quick and look?

 

There will probably be a sticker either on the outside of the case or on the PS itself that should say the watts of the powersupply. I am guessing what you have is fine. But I believe you have upgraded the memory and now maybe the graphics card, a little more wattage will not hurt.