[ILUG] RAM specifications

[Braun Brelin]

Hello all,

I was just given a free second hand computer (desktop, not
laptop) and I'm looking at doing some major upgrades to it.
It has 1GB of RAM in it but I'm probably going to expand it to 4 GB.  It
used to be the case that you had to
know what motherboard manufacturer you had and the type of RAM (SIMMs,
DIMMs, SIPPS, etc.)  you needed
This was some years back so I'd like to know has this situation changed?
I.e. if I go in to a PC store like Power City
or IT Direct, can I just buy "standard" 1 GB modules off the shelf or will I
have to crack open the case and look at the
RAM and motherboard I've got? The system is probably not more than a year or
two old.

Thanks,

Braun