Is 8GB of ram that much better than 6GB of ram?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, this is kind of like asking "is my mailbox the right size or should I buy a larger one at Home Depot?" It all depends on how you use it. If you are running Windows 7 on your computer, then 6GB is the minimum amount of RAM that I would recommend. In the case of Windows 8, I recommend at least 8GB. (The software minimum requirements as published by Microsoft are lower than that but adhering to the minimum standards is similar to saying. "Well, I can use a car to get to where I'm going but I can do the same on a skateboard, so I'll go by skateboard instead." It gets the job done but not as effectively or efficiently.)

Now, if we presume for a moment that you are using Windows 7 and the choice is whether to keep 6GB or move up to 8GB, then we need to consider what you generally do with your computer. If, for example, you are a typical home user who browses the internet, watches a few YouTube videos here and there, and writes emails but really doesn't do much else, then 6GB should suit your needs just fine. However, if you are a more intense user who likes to have several things up and running at the same time (such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Thunderbird, MS Outlook, Quickbooks/Quicken, VLC Media Player, etc.), then 8GB would probably be the better choice as it would give your computer more breathing room to run all your desired applications and still have enough room for its basic Operating System functions without having to start swapping anything in and out of virtual memory (which is nothing more than a file on the hard drive and is literally one million times slower than RAM as hard drive access is measured in thousandths of a second while RAM access is measured in billionths of a second).

So, given this information, the best decision for you should be easier for you to make. However, if you need any further advice or pointers, feel free to drop me a line and I will be glad to assist you further.