Laptop memory. what's the advantage of 1Gb over 512Mb?

Question

I'm buying a new machine, and I want to know whether it is worth having more RAM.

Answer 1

for most basic computer tasks 512 is fine, but you should buy as much as you can afford as it is worth it. Right now 2 gigs is more than most need unless they are editing video.

Answer 2

The number one thing that slows a computer is running out of RAM memory. The RAM is the faster way to access information on a computer. If you open several programs and a couple of data files, you can easily use up all the RAM memory in your computer.

When then happens, Windows has to move something out of the fast RAM memory and into the musch much slower Virtual memory (also called the swap file). If you then need that information, Windows has to stop, move something else out to the swap file, and then reload the needed information. You have probably seen Windows do that many times. You are scrolling through a document or picture, and suddenly everything "freezes" for a few seconds. Then you are able to continue the scrolling. That was Windows moving the next portion on your document out of the swap file and back into RAM. You also wee it when you click on something and it takes "forever" to load up.

Having more RAM memory will reduce the number of times you have to stop and wait for your computer to do something. It is the cheapest thing you can do to increase the speed and power of your computer. And it is always cheaper to put in more memory now that to go back later and have to pay more to replace the existing memory chips.

Answer 3

If you have a laptop with Windows Vista, 512MB of RAM would not be enough and your computer would run DOG SLOW. 1GB would run much faster. In fact, it is VITAL to have 1GB at least.

Within 3 years, computers with Windows Vista will need 2GB and here's why.

That's the Microsoft track record. When Windows 98 came out, they said 32MB mimimum. But to keep up today, your old computer with Windows 98 should have 128MB of RAM. That's 4 times more. In 2002, when Windows XP came out, they said that 128MB would be enough, but today, that's DOG SLOW and you really need 512MB... again a factor of 4 times.

So aim to get 2GB for Windows Vista. If you have only one slot in your laptop, then GET 2GB. Look up your system at http://www.coastmemory.com and you will see what your system can take.

Good luck and Happy Computing!

Answer 4

Absolutly, as a general rule when using different progrms or having more than one open at the same time they use Ram. You will also find that gameing and the use of graphics software are also very ram intensive.
Most casual users are not aware that the more ram you have the smoother less sluggish operation you can expect.
Where Ram is concerned ,without exception MORE IS ALWAYS BETTER.
Don

Answer 5

There're many advantage upgrading your memory.
Firstly more memory means more speed, when you upgrade your ram from 512 to 1024 Mb your computer will run twice the speed.

Secondly if you're using laptop, having more memory could save your battery life, because your computer dont have to save it's temporary files on hard disk as swap (virtual memory). Spinning hard disk every second require more energy than having more memory to store your swap file.

Answer 6

If you plan to go with Vista go with 1 GB. If you are sticking to XP, 512 is more than enough for day to day use.

You can buy with 512 and check how much RAM your system is using. You can go to Task Manager and check how much RAM is being Utilized. Once you see that 80% utilization is reached you can add one more 512 MB.

Answer 7

More memory of course. If you find your computer is running a bit slow then more memory will help it out. You can always check how much memory your computer is munching away on by pressing Ctrl, Alt & Del, to bring up the program manager or whatever it's called and then click on the processes tab. It will show you the performance of your CPU as well as memory usage.

Answer 8

In the long run, yes. More RAM is always good, as it improves your system speed. This is especially true if your new laptop is going to come with Windows Vista. Generally, though, more RAM is never a bad thing.

Answer 9

The more RAM you have, the better your computer does what it does. RAM is basically the work space, kind of a 'scratch pad' where the computer does its work. The more RAM space, the more operations the computer can do and do faster.

Answer 10

It's always worth having more RAM. Applications/games will run faster, and you'll see Windows responding better too