No matter what your operating system is, a question many ask is "What should I have to do modern computing?" In this article we’ll address RAM specifically. Should you run 2GB or can you get away with 1GB or 512MB?
First, a quick look at cost.
Cost-wise, RAM is the cheapest it’s ever been. 2GB Desktop PC memory is under the 25-dollar mark, so assuming your computer can support it physically, there’s no reason not to go 2GB.
Second, a look at operating systems.
32-bit Windows NT, 2000 and XP will easily support 2GB RAM on-board. And although you could put in 4 it is unlikely you’ll see any difference performance-wise (assuming the OS can even access it).
The same can be said for Mac OS X and Linux on a 32-bit platform as a desktop OS. In general use you will not see any huge leaps in performance from 2GB to 4GB RAM. Maybe if you were running a server you would, but on the desktop side, most likely not.
Third, a look at performance (the performance that matters, that is).
The Big Question: Will you see a performance improvement going from 512MB or 1GB to 2GB? Yes – but not necessarily in the way you would expect.
For example, if you upgrade from 1GB to 2GB, here’s what you can expect:
- Faster application launch and shutdown times.
- The ability to run more apps at once without having your computer "think" about it as much.
- Smoother switching between apps.
- Smoother web browsing (especially on Flash-intensive web pages).
And here’s what not to expect:
- Better gameplay on high-end video games. (This is highly dependent on not only RAM but video card RAM, clock speed and hard drive access times – just the RAM upgrade isn’t enough.)
- Better video performance. (That’s the video card’s job – not the physical RAM’s job.)
- Faster large-file read/write. (Even with more memory, if your hard drive access times are slow, that has everything to do with the hard drive and nothing to do with physical RAM.)
Is 2GB RAM now the standard?
I say yes. The RAM is dirt cheap, the installation takes only minutes and there’s nothing in your operating system you have to change or adjust once installed. Just install, boot and enjoy.
If you have absolutely no idea how to fit RAM for your computer, head over to www.crucial.com, select your make/line/model and it does all the work for you. Or just use the System Scanner.
I wish hardware manufacturers would get their stuff together with putting together decent 64-bit drivers for 64-bit XP and Vista (maybe it’s better now, I tried going 64-bit about a year and a half ago and it was a pain). As cheap as memory is now, putting together a 4GB system is easy to do but you can’t take advantage of it without a 64-bit OS.
I agree that 2GB is standard, unless you are running 64bit Vista – then I say go 4GB. Reasons? Well, really only one – Vista sucks up about 1.5GB just on boot up. Period. That’s after a fresh install, optimized tweaks and no software loading up automatically.
About 2 months back, I bought an Intel Quad Core 2.6Ghz with 6GB’s of RAM and 1.5GB’s got chewed up instantly before anything was even running. After being an XP fanboy since it’s release, to say I was in total shock would be an understatement.
I’m going to put another 2GB in as RAM is so cheap nowadays and I can then reclaim my lost 1.5GB’s, but that’s just b/c I’ve generally got about 5 things happening at once. My PC runs super smooth without the extra 2GB but an extra RAM chip never goes astray!
1.5GB on start up? No offense but I have a hard time believing that. The most I ever had is just under 1GB.
Whether you believe it or not is up to you, but you can’t argue with facts. When I see 25% of 6GB RAM used when I do a fresh reboot, then you tell me – what’s 25% of 6GB? Just b/c you don’t believe it to be true doesn’t mean to say it isn’t.
You’re most likely unaware that Vista preloads empty RAM with files it thinks you’ll be using soon. It’s called Superfetch. Vista flushes the RAM it has pre-cached if you end up needing it later on.
By the sounds of it, your system most likely has between 2-4GB of RAM, therefore only pre-caching a certain amount into RAM when it boots up. Thus, the difference between your ‘just under 1GB’ and my 1.5GB.
Look it up if you want more information: http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1048