How much RAM should I have

[ultimatewinner]

How much RAM should I have? I mostly just surf the web and do research but my computer is sort of slow. Should I have more RAM? I think I have less than 512MB
thanks

 

[Blain]

Post the rest of your system specs. along with your OS.

 

[dguy6789]

512MB-1GB will allow for very smooth pc usage. If all you do is web browse and such, then I would recommend a capacity in that range.

 

[Ausm]

I prefer 1 gig or above


Ausm

 

[savvy]

2 GB for gaming, 1 GB for surfing.

 

[HannibalX]

You need to monitor your ram usage (via task manager if on Windows).

If you see you are constantly going over your physical ram then yes buy more. If you are not using up your physical ram something else is slowing your machine down.

 

[rudder]

Run windows 2000 and use 256 megs with no problem.

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: rudder
Run windows 2000 and use 256 megs with no problem.

Hehehe

 

[Blain]

There's nothing wrong with 2000 at all.

 

[ultimatewinner]

thanks you guys. I think I might go for the 1 gb. This may sound really dumb but does more RAM usually make it go signicatly faster or does it just make it go a little bit faster?

 

[ultimatewinner]

On my task manager it says 260080 total physical memory 17248 available and 79768 system cache the CPU usage is at 100% too if that matter

 

[Blain]

What are the rest of your system specs?

 

[ultimatewinner]

sorry for my stupidity but what are system specs?

 

[Gondola71]

Depends on your OS too. 2000 and 98 have lower requirements than XP.

 

[ultimatewinner]

I use windows xp

 

[Gondola71]

XP really wants 512mb to work smoothly; a gig if you want to multitask some heavy programs like Photoshop or a bunch of Office documents while surfing or play recent games. .

 

[Bobthelost]

The way RAM works is confusing. You only notice the RAM when it runs out, when that happens the computer will pause or slow down for a second or two, normally when you change programs or between windows.

If you only ever use 450mb of RAM and have 512mb installed there would be no speed increase by going to 1GB of RAM. You've only got 256mb of RAM so going to 1GB will be a nice improvement.

 

[Crescent13]

Excuse me for being so stupid as to not automatically know your PC specs your OS and what you do on your computer, but without that, I have no idea.

Based on XP 32 bit.

Minimum 256
Surfing 512-1Gig
Multitasking/gaming 2GB.

nothing more than 2.

XP 64 bit

Minimum 512Mb
Surfing 1-2Gig's
Multitasking/gaming 2 GIgs.
3d rendering/ other high end stuff 4Gig's +

XP Server 64 bit.

Probably at least 2GIg's if not more.

 

[Skeeedunt]

Throwing in an additional 512 megs should do the trick, if your system can support it.

By system specs, Blain is referring to what CPU, motherboard etc you have. This should help indicate whether you have room for more ram or not, and whether your CPU is also slowing you down noticeably.

Unless of course you're just full of viruses and spyware.

 

[ultimatewinner]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
The way RAM works is confusing. You only notice the RAM when it runs out, when that happens the computer will pause or slow down for a second or two, normally when you change programs or between windows.

If you only ever use 450mb of RAM and have 512mb installed there would be no speed increase by going to 1GB of RAM. You've only got 256mb of RAM so going to 1GB will be a nice improvement.

thanks for that explanation. I'm kind of new to all this stuff but I'm trying to learn everything I can

 

[ultimatewinner]

Originally posted by: Crescent13
Excuse me for being so stupid as to not automatically know your PC specs your OS and what you do on your computer, but without that, I have no idea.

Based on XP 32 bit.

Minimum 256
Surfing 512-1Gig
Multitasking/gaming 2GB.

nothing more than 2.

XP 64 bit

Minimum 512Mb
Surfing 1-2Gig's
Multitasking/gaming 2 GIgs.
3d rendering/ other high end stuff 4Gig's +

XP Server 64 bit.

Probably at least 2GIg's if not more.

No that's not what I meant at all. I am new to this and I really don't know what this stuff means. I'm sorry I really don't want to sound mean. thanks so much for the info

 

[Crescent13]

Originally posted by: ultimatewinner

Originally posted by: Crescent13
Excuse me for being so stupid as to not automatically know your PC specs your OS and what you do on your computer, but without that, I have no idea.

Based on XP 32 bit.

Minimum 256
Surfing 512-1Gig
Multitasking/gaming 2GB.

nothing more than 2.

XP 64 bit

Minimum 512Mb
Surfing 1-2Gig's
Multitasking/gaming 2 GIgs.
3d rendering/ other high end stuff 4Gig's +

XP Server 64 bit.

Probably at least 2GIg's if not more.

No that's not what I meant at all. I am new to this and I really don't know what this stuff means. I'm sorry I really don't want to sound mean. thanks so much for the info

hehe sorry for sounding mad. I'm not having a good day

 

[bob4432]

the only way additional ram is going to make a difference is if you are exceeding what you already have. you need to see how much you are using before buying stuff that may not help you out.