I have written often that usually the quickest, easiest, and most effective way to speed up your PC is by increasing the amount of memory or RAM.
The simple and easy way to know what your options are and how much they cost is to use the Crucial Advisor Memory Tool.
Here is a video showing you how to use that tool.
With Windows XP you probably want to shoot for 2 GB of RAM. With Windows Vista or Windows 7 in 32 bit mode, 4 GB is better – although Windows may only “see” 3 GB of the 4 GB.
With 64 bit Windows 7, go ahead and add more yet if you think you are going to push the machine to the limits. Upgrading memory is usually not terribly costly and should definitely speed up your PC.
