I need help deciding which laptop to buy from someone who knows a lot about computer memory!?

Question

I'm buying a laptop for college and i have a few choices.
a) 512 MB DDR RAM (whatever that means) and 40GB HDD
b) 1GB DDR RAM and 40GB HDD
c) 256 MB DDR RAM and 40GB HDD
Can anyone explain these terms in easy to understand english?!?
How much memory would an average college student actually need??
HELP!!!

Answer 1

Get the most RAM. Random Access Memory is where all of your programs put themselves when they are running (or at least components of them). Windows XP needs 512 to run with any sort of performance, and is much happier with a Gig. Laptop memory is EXPENSIVE, so get all you can now.

A college student will probably need as much or more than the average user. You'll be accessing the college web site, downloading all sorts of material from the classes, and you want good response from your computer when it's 3:00a.m. before a paper is due (trust me on this one)

Answer 2

One of the most important items when buying a laptop is to get it fully loaded. Typically add-on's later come at a premium.

512 megs of ram should be fine except if you want to play the latest intense video games. In that case get 1 meg, but you will also need to be concerned about the video adapter in the laptop. Many laptops have only limited graphics cards. So it is something you must shop for before buying.

The definitions:
"512 MB DDR RAM" - RAM is used by all computers to run programs and temporarily store information. When you turn off the computer the RAM forgets everything. The more RAM you have the less often the computer has to read from the hard drive. It's 1000 times faster reading ram vs hard drive. the "DDR" is just the type. DDR is good, but the true measure is how fast it is, and you don't specify that. The "512" is "how much" you have. Typically the more the better especially where 1 gig only costs about $40. I remember paying $100 for 1 meg, that equals $1000/GIG...(I'm an old timer).

The 40GB HD is your hard disk. This is where you store your programs, music, and documents. Personally I think 40 GB is a bit small. The smallest I would recommend is a 60 GB.

I know some college students and they have desktop computers rather than laptops. And that is by choice. The desktops are cheaper, faster, easier to add to, and have better graphics. They said they rarely lugged around their notebooks. So you may want to talk to someone about this.

Good luck in your studies.

Answer 3

You want at least 1 GB (gigabyte or 1 billion bytes) of RAM, which is the blank memory your computer uses to run programs. The more RAM you have, the better and faster your programs will run.

A 40 GB hard drive is a little small by today's standards and I'd suggest you look for one with at least 80 GB of space. This is where you store the files you use on the computer. The could be graphics, written documents, audio files, videos or other files, but the trend is for bigger and bigger files... and more of them. Also, all the programs you run are stored on the hard drive when you're not using them, and this consumes space too.

My suggestion is for a computer with 1 GB of RAM and at least an 80 Gb hard drive. Even more is better but it gets expensive.

Answer 4

generally the more the better, more ram , bigger hard drive ( 80GB is better than 40GB ) and so on.
However, laptop prices are very competitive these days, and you do not get something for nothing, I bet if you get two similarly priced laptops, one with 1GB RAM and 40GB HDD and another with 512MB RAM and 40GB HDD, then the one with less memory must have better specification else where to justify its price !
Here is the golden rule for buying laptops:
- slimmer and lighter the better and more expensive
- 40GB HDD will suffice , this is just storage space, if you intend to download a lot, go for 80GB
- 512MB is enough, unless you intend to do do very heavy graphix or gaming , do not get less, more usually doesn't mean much unless the above
- Processor speed - faster the better, Pentium M ( centrino ) and Turion are best, Celeron and Sempron are cheaper and OK.
- Screen size ( in conjuction with weight )
- Brand and service-ability - Sony are worst , more expensive Dell's are OK , Fujitsu is best.

So it is not just RAM and HDD !

Answer 5

Option B. I know from experience this will be difficult for you to understand because my wife still gets RAM and the hard drive confused.

1 gigabyte of ram is necessary to run windows XP/Vista smoothly. Anything below that and it'sl going to slow the system down a great deal.

If you want to download MP3 songs or anything like that, I recommend a 60 or 80 gigabyte hard drive as well.

Avoid Dell, Emachines, Acer. Try sticking with Compaq, HP, or Macintosh if you have the $. If we're talking about notebooks anyway.

Answer 6

ps3 has each little thing geared up in no longer basically like the 360. the ps3 comes with geared up in instantaneous, hdmi output ports, the ps3 on line provider is loose to apply, the administration pads are charged by using usb particularly of batteries. I certainly have the two the 360 an ps3 an ps3 is thru a procedures a miles better an extra effective console. and now maximum video games are multi platform the 360 basically has some exclusives which incorporate halo3 which grew to become into crap while in comparison with call of accountability 4, gears of conflict and fantasy 2. ps3 has mgs4, very final fantasy, uncharted, ratchet and clank, haze, killzone 2. the ps3 has extra exlusives. having a ps3 is like having yet another pc and an leisure device in one, basically keep ur action pictures on ur ps3 no longer uncomplicated tension an watch it by using ur hd television. for the long-term the ps3 is deff the splendid determination because of the fact because of the fact the years go on its going to win the console conflict because of the fact its the main effective console and has the main versatility and can do something the wii and 360 can do yet much extra effective. the only solid subject the 360 has is xbox stay and thats no longer something that helps u pick a console, plus the 360 appears like a airplane approximately to take off i cant even pay attention the television while im taking part in my video games.

Answer 7

Other answerers have explained what DDR is & how much you'll need. All laptops will have at least 256.

If you can't use memory from crucial.com (have to buy it from the PC company) [Dell, for one] purchase another brand.

Answer 8

i would buy the second one
the RAM is memory to help the processor work faster. (your computer will be faster)

40 gigabyte harddisk : how much information you can store on your computer

1gb DDR RAm should be enough for a regular student

Answer 9

512 mb of Ram is fine. But if you can afford it go for 1GB of ram..If not, dont worry 512 will easily do all you should need it to

Answer 10

DDR = double data rate.

You want 1GB DDR Ram or more, more is better.