Has anyone ever seen a removable hub containing extra RAM space? (Compare the five-port high-speed USB hub I recently put in one PCI slot.) If such a thing exists, I'd like to get one, because I need more RAM than 256 MB, but my PC has only two slots, both occupied. (Which seems a poor design decision. It should have more room than that.) It would be a lower-cost alternative to buying a new computer, which I can't do at the moment.

I've never heard of such a device, but it seems like the solution to your problem would be buying some larger modules. Depending on how old your computer is you should be able to find 512MB or 1GB modules for pretty cheap.

Um.. I doubt that would help you. First off usb is horribly slow for ram, in fact usb is just adequate for harddrives. Usb harddrives are typically 10-20mb/s slower than internal ones. The point is, the PCI bus is much slower. Theres really not enough bandwidth. Thats why all the graphics cards are moving to PCI-express,agp and so forth.

Your'e better off going with with the other posters suggestion and getting larger memory modules. And if your computer is so ancient that you can't, then don't waste any more money on it and get a new computer.

[QUOTE=slantoflight]Um.. I doubt that would help you. First off usb is horribly slow for ram, in fact usb is just adequate for harddrives. Usb harddrives are typically 10-20mb/s slower than internal ones. The point is, the PCI bus is much slower. Theres really not enough bandwidth. Thats why all the graphics cards are moving to PCI-express,agp and so forth.
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Fair enough. I was not aware of that.

I guess I need to decide firmly whether to upgrade or buy a new computer, don't I, then. If there's any significant possibility of my buying a new machine soon, all upgrades are a waste of time and money. I'm not even sure I should have bothered with the new USB hub.

You can always use the USB hub in your new machine. Depending on how similar the new and old system are, you might be able to use any RAM you get to upgrade your current system in your new one also.

You can always use a memory stick as swap, although it's to slow to be of any use.

I didn't know memory sticks were slow, either. Although I admit that carrying an entire hard drive in your pocket (that's what a memory stick is for, isn't it?) is a tempting idea, I really think it's overkill for most people. Also, the temptation has so far been outweighed by my refusal to bother with most of the new gadgets--pocket memory sticks, IPods, etc.--because I'm stressed out enough already without submitting to the dubious urge to stay technologically current. Besides, even though I'm hardly an anticapitalist, I'm anti-consumerist, and I know the manufacturers want us to think we need every new device they invent. IPod? Ha. My CD player suits me fine, thank you. Memory stick? I'm still cheerfully using CD-RWs and even floppy disks. DVD player? The only clear advantage *I* find in DVDs is that they take up less space than videocassettes. Otherwise, they suffer damage more easily and you can't watch the damn program without fiddling with a mostly superfluous menu. If the one I was given as a gift hadn't been a VHS/DVD dual player, I would have been annoyed.