How to Determine How Much RAM You Need?

Answer 1

You calculate the size of RAM by going into your computer's control panel, looking up system information, and see how much RAM is there. If you're asking about the ACTUAL chips you can load up your computer's diagnostic program and it can tell you what slots hold what size RAM chips.

Answer 2

usually by BYTES, 1,024 bytes= 1024 bytes is 1 kilobyte
1024 kilobytes is 1 megabyte
1024 megabytes is 1 gigabyte
1024 gigabytes is 1 terabyte
and so on....


-CrazyFLkid

Answer 3

Different computer users make different demands on their hardware. Many people are just looking to check email and watch some video online. Others juggle a spreadsheet, video player and image editing software while demanding quick response time from their machine. More and more are putting together home videos or even editing video professionally with their computer. Each group’s demands are best met with a specific amount of RAM.

If you are only using your computer for internet browsing, but not much else, you can probably get away with the minimum requirements suggested for your operating system. For WindowsXP this is just a fraction of a gigabyte of memory. Vista requires half a gigabyte for the basic version. One gigabyte is needed by all other versions of Vista. Windows 7 requires one gigabyte of RAM for the 32 bit version and double that for the 64 bit edition. OSX demands only one half gigabyte, but suggests one gigabyte for some purposes. Most versions of Linux have similar stipulations.

For multitasking users, particularly those who are impatient, doubling the minimum amount of RAM suggested will work wonders. Multiple running applications are not constrained. They each have sufficient space in memory to avoid using the much slower hard disk. Expect to see quicker program load times, especially when other programs are already running. This is enough RAM for almost all computer users and can be quite cost effective with current prices as low as $25 for one gigabyte.

Running a large database server, or particularly editing high resolution video demands more. Here the choice is between 4 gigabytes or 8 gigabytes of memory. Your decision will likely depend on how much time and money you are willing to apply to the problem. At the moment, the cost of only the memory is about $100 for 4 gigabytes or around $350 for 8 gigabytes. There is also more footwork involved if a machine is to use more than 4 gigabytes of RAM.

All the operating systems already mentioned can use up to approximately 4 gigabytes. The exception is 32 bit WindowsXP which recognizes only about 3.5 gigabytes of memory no matter how much is physically installed. To use more than 4 gigabytes a 64 bit processor and operating system must be used. Each of the common operating systems in use today now has a 64 bit version available.

So, in short, twice the amount of RAM recommended for an operating system is enough for almost everyone. The few who do truly benefit from more than 4 gigabytes also need a computer with a 64 bit processor and operating system.