Yesterday, in my office we were talking about a friends new PC, she switched to Vista because her laptops monitor died. In the course of the conversation, I mentioned what I felt was the biggest mistake that people make when they buy a new computer. Yes, you know what I am talking about because of the title; but you may be scratching your head as to why?
When anyone goes to Dell, HP, Gateway, or whomever; they are always presented with a default memory option. This is always way to low for what many users really need. You are now wondering why, right?
Microsoft recommends 128mb of RAM for Windows XP. I emphasize the minimum because this is what you need to turn the computer on and have it load XP. This does not mean that you can run programs with any kind of speed or efficiency. I recommend that you use 1 gigabyte of RAM if you are going to be using eMail and the Internet. If you are going to install games, Adobe products, do some audio recording – you will need more. And I mean 2 gigabytes of RAM [total].
I have an older machine that has a 2 gigahertz (GHz) AMD processor with 2 gigabytes (GB) of RAM. I run 2 Anti-Virus programs, 2 chat clients, Weather Watcher, and a few more programs in the system tray. I am now running iTunes, Firefox, Thunderbird, Writer, & 3 Miranda windows, and I have no visible slow down to my system. I can play Call of Duty 2 while I run Thunderbird, my chat clients & music player. I even have memory left for BitTorrent.
Okay why? Because I can, that is why. The cost for his hardware was not much, but I have to confess I didn’t buy top of the line hardware either. My 256mb video card is the most expensive piece of hardware in my machine. I have been using the same beige case since 2003 and I still have a few other pieces of hardware that are leftovers.
I expect that with Vista, one will need to start with 2 gigs of RAM and make sure that they have expansion slots for 2 more. I know they say that you can run 1 gig of RAM, but they also tell us we won’t have the Aero Glass interface, which looked pretty cool in Vista RC1 [or Release Client 1]. In fact, if you have, or are willing to spend, the money when you buy your system, I would tell you to get the 4 gig of RAM right off.
WHAT!?! Spend an extra 200 to 400$ just for memory!!!
YES!
Why? longevity & the health of your system over all. You will have the extra memory on hand and be able to use instead of trying to find the right memory later.
The company I work for right now provided a minimum system bought 3 or 4 years ago & it has 512mb of RAM in it. I get online doing research, with Outlook [MS’ eMail Client] open, and I get a large attachment and my systems hangs. Just for a few seconds to a minute or two and then I get to sit there and wait. That drives me crazy!!!
Don’t hate Windows because it is slow, upgrade your memory.
iron wil
technolust
This is very good advice and can be applied to not only memory, but for anything we (meaning, those of us who suffer from a severe case of technolust) want to buy. “Buy as much as you can afford at the time that will fulfill your needs,” is what I always say. This is a lesson our friend, the PS3 slave, is learning with his flat panel TV shopping experience.
technolust
This is very good advice and can be applied to not only memory, but for anything we (meaning, those of us who suffer from a severe case of technolust) want to buy. “Buy as much as you can afford at the time that will fulfill your needs,” is what I always say. This is a lesson our friend, the PS3 slave, is learning with his flat panel TV shopping experience.