First of all, before you can figure out how much RAM is right for your needs, you must first know what it is. RAM is short for Random Access Memory, and it is basically how much memory your computer has. Many people get confused and think that this is how much storage space you have, which is wrong. You’re computer’s memory has nothing to do with storage space. That is a completely different piece of hardware (HDD).
Your computer’s RAM does many things to make your job easier. When you open up a program on your computer, that program uses your RAM so that it an run properly. The more RAM that your computer has, the more programs that will can run smoothly at any given point of time. Now, if you’re just using this as your personal home computer, then you don’t really need a lot.
But you should know a 32 Bit Operating System (OS) like MS Windows XP and Vista (32Bit) are only able to handel 3-3,5GB of RAM. So if you tune your Computer you should know what kind of OS running on your PC.
Many users still using Windows XP with 512MB or even with 256MB. 512MB is really the minimum of RAM you should have running Windows XP. But if you run more programms it is helpful to have more. The OS will not swap (put the date on your harddisk which is much slower than RAM) all the time and is much faster. So poweruser or gamer should use about 2-3GB of RAM.
1/03/2009
What is RAM and how much I need?
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Here is another tip, those who have Windows Vista 64 bit version, they support a high number of ram. I think the minimum amount of ram support for the 64 bit version is 8 GB of ram! :)
Very educational post for computer illiterates, like me. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks also for having my ad on your blog.
Tasha
Wow, I thought Windows XP can support 4Gb RAM. So, my RAM upgrade was not fully used. Thanks for the tip.
@Super: Yes, with PAE enabled Windows XP can support up to 4GB RAM. Some 32-bit versions of Windows can support more than 4GB RAM using PAE, however 32-bit software can address no more than 4GB at any one point (though you can run multiple memory hungry applications to utilize the extra RAM) - of course this limitation also applies to 32-bit applications running on a 64-bit machine, but at least you have the option of using 64-bit apps there.
The rule for RAM is always the more the better, it's probably (discounting 3D hardware for gaming) the single best bang-for-buck upgrade you can do for any PC, assuming your machine supports it.
Due to wonkiness in some BIOSes though, it's typically a good idea to stop at 3GB on 32 bit systems, unless you know that your machine will utilize the extra RAM.
Thanks for the info. I would have never known that RAM had nothing to do with a computer's memory.
Sorry, I meant storage space...
It also makes surfing the net faster, especially with videos like youtube.
I just use 512MB RAM
But I'm still comfort with that :D
Nice blog
What I do to preserve as much RAM as I can is delete the programs that I don't need which helps my computer to run more smoother. Brilliant article here.
Yeah 512mb is good for me right now. I'm looking into getting a macbook soon anyways. Nice post on this matter.
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