How much RAM for Windows 7

jimauburn · 07-03-2010, 06:22 PM

Is 2 gigs enough? Will I see any difference in my notebook if I spend more money on 4 or more?

Ken-L · 07-03-2010, 06:43 PM

I think you should have at least 4 GB of RAM. I will get at least 6 GB, and preferably 8 GB or more, when I get another system.

JDtech · 07-03-2010, 06:45 PM

All depends on what you do, typically. You can certainly get by with 2 gigs on a notebook if the purpose is primarily email and surfing the web. I have no more than 4 gigs on my desktop machines, and I don't feel like I'm missing out.

Thunder9 · 07-03-2010, 06:58 PM

Running 2 gigs now with win7 32 bit and no problems. Used to have 4 gigs but I had two sticks go bad on the same day. Took me about 5 days to figure out what was wrong, kept switching out two sticks at a time and was getting all sorts of odd errors. So two works fine for me but I would get 4 if you can afford it. I can't myself afford to replace the two bad sticks at the moment and really only notice the difference if I am running, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, streaming media and access all at the same time.

Jon Foster · 07-03-2010, 10:12 PM

I have 2 gigs in a Windows 7 machine we use as a cash register in our store. It's so slow it's a nightmare to use. I keep saying I'm going to bump it up to 4 gigs but it really shouldn't need that kind of memory.

The same machine running Ubuntu is so fast it seems like there should be skid marks left on the desktop from programs opening and closing.

Jon.

jcjacob · 07-03-2010, 11:25 PM

Adding additional RAM is usually the single most important upgrade you can make to improve the performance of a PC, however before spending money upgrading, you should consider a few points:

What CPU does your notebook have?

If you have an older slower CPU, and your applications are processing intensive, additional RAM may not make a much of a difference in performance.

What is the speed of the Hard Drive?

Many notebooks have very slow hard drives, often spinning at 5,400 RPM, where desktop drives typically spin at 7,200 RPM. If what you do is very disk intensive, a faster drive, maybe even SSD would be the best upgrade choice.

What version of the OS are you running?

For general computing, that is word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail and web browsing, 2GB is totally sufficient. If your applications require more horsepower, for example photo/video editing, 4GB would surely help. Unless you are running the 64-bit version of Windows, the operating system will not recognize more than 4GB of RAM.

If you could provide more information about your notebook hardware configuration and what applications you run, we could make a more informed and better recommendation as to what upgrade path would best meet your needs.

edk · 07-04-2010, 04:01 AM

i run 4Gb on mine and i wouldn't run any less. guy i work with runs 12Gb on his and says the difference is huge, he uses PSCS4 to design 3D flight sim topography/landscapes.

jimauburn · 07-04-2010, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Foster

I have 2 gigs in a Windows 7 machine we use as a cash register in our store. It's so slow it's a nightmare to use. I keep saying I'm going to bump it up to 4 gigs but it really shouldn't need that kind of memory.

Performance like that is not usually due to having not enough RAM.

Sidebyte · 07-04-2010, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Foster

I have 2 gigs in a Windows 7 machine we use as a cash register in our store. It's so slow it's a nightmare to use. I keep saying I'm going to bump it up to 4 gigs but it really shouldn't need that kind of memory.

The same machine running Ubuntu is so fast it seems like there should be skid marks left on the desktop from programs opening and closing.

Jon.

You have something else wrong with your machine. I have at least 4 PC's running all the time and really see NO diff. between Ubuntu and Win 7 on a "dual boot" PC. Something is eating up the resources on your machine either running in tha background or maybe misconfigured BIOS slowing it down.
Have you ever reformatted a hard drive, loaded any O/S and wonder why it's so fast before you load other programs on it?.....background!

jcjacob · 07-04-2010, 10:23 PM

That's a good point, Sidebyte.

I have two desktops, one of which has a core 2 duo E6600 CPU and 4GB RAM. The system performed really well for me with Vista.

I did an upgrade with Windows 7, and for 6 months it performed like a dog. Sometimes I had to wait seconds to see characters I typed in a document. 2 weeks ago, I bit the bullet and did a clean install of Windows 7, then re-installed ALL the software and data I had before I wiped it.

I have to say the performance now is even faster than it ever was with Vista, which leaves me to believe that there were either background processes or old drivers left over from the upgrade that were interfereing with how the system should perform.

One of my laptops has 1.5GB of RAM, and even that PC is pretty snappy once it boots.

07-03-2010, 06:22 PM	#1
jimauburn Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 10	How much RAM for Windows 7 Is 2 gigs enough? Will I see any difference in my notebook if I spend more money on 4 or more? __________________ Members don't see ads in threads. Register your free account today and become a member on Tech Today Online, gaining access to posting privileges, contests, free plug-ins and other downloads, unlimited online storage for your photographs, reviews, free marketplace listings, and much more.

07-03-2010, 06:43 PM	#2
Ken-L Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 150	I think you should have at least 4 GB of RAM. I will get at least 6 GB, and preferably 8 GB or more, when I get another system. __________________ "An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way." - Bukowski

07-03-2010, 11:25 PM	#6
jcjacob Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Doylestown, PA Posts: 159	Adding additional RAM is usually the single most important upgrade you can make to improve the performance of a PC, however before spending money upgrading, you should consider a few points: What CPU does your notebook have? If you have an older slower CPU, and your applications are processing intensive, additional RAM may not make a much of a difference in performance. What is the speed of the Hard Drive? Many notebooks have very slow hard drives, often spinning at 5,400 RPM, where desktop drives typically spin at 7,200 RPM. If what you do is very disk intensive, a faster drive, maybe even SSD would be the best upgrade choice. What version of the OS are you running? For general computing, that is word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail and web browsing, 2GB is totally sufficient. If your applications require more horsepower, for example photo/video editing, 4GB would surely help. Unless you are running the 64-bit version of Windows, the operating system will not recognize more than 4GB of RAM. If you could provide more information about your notebook hardware configuration and what applications you run, we could make a more informed and better recommendation as to what upgrade path would best meet your needs. __________________ -John

07-04-2010, 10:23 PM	#10
jcjacob Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Doylestown, PA Posts: 159	That's a good point, Sidebyte. I have two desktops, one of which has a core 2 duo E6600 CPU and 4GB RAM. The system performed really well for me with Vista. I did an upgrade with Windows 7, and for 6 months it performed like a dog. Sometimes I had to wait seconds to see characters I typed in a document. 2 weeks ago, I bit the bullet and did a clean install of Windows 7, then re-installed ALL the software and data I had before I wiped it. I have to say the performance now is even faster than it ever was with Vista, which leaves me to believe that there were either background processes or old drivers left over from the upgrade that were interfereing with how the system should perform. One of my laptops has 1.5GB of RAM, and even that PC is pretty snappy once it boots. __________________ -John

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07-03-2010, 06:45 PM	#3
JDtech Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 308 Blog Entries: 1	All depends on what you do, typically. You can certainly get by with 2 gigs on a notebook if the purpose is primarily email and surfing the web. I have no more than 4 gigs on my desktop machines, and I don't feel like I'm missing out.

07-03-2010, 06:58 PM	#4
Thunder9 Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: SW FL Posts: 40	Running 2 gigs now with win7 32 bit and no problems. Used to have 4 gigs but I had two sticks go bad on the same day. Took me about 5 days to figure out what was wrong, kept switching out two sticks at a time and was getting all sorts of odd errors. So two works fine for me but I would get 4 if you can afford it. I can't myself afford to replace the two bad sticks at the moment and really only notice the difference if I am running, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, streaming media and access all at the same time.

07-03-2010, 10:12 PM	#5
Jon Foster Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: White Lake, MI Posts: 149	I have 2 gigs in a Windows 7 machine we use as a cash register in our store. It's so slow it's a nightmare to use. I keep saying I'm going to bump it up to 4 gigs but it really shouldn't need that kind of memory. The same machine running Ubuntu is so fast it seems like there should be skid marks left on the desktop from programs opening and closing. Jon.

07-04-2010, 04:01 AM	#7
edk Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Australia Posts: 49	i run 4Gb on mine and i wouldn't run any less. guy i work with runs 12Gb on his and says the difference is huge, he uses PSCS4 to design 3D flight sim topography/landscapes.