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How Much RAM Do You Really Need?

Having plenty of Random-Access Memory is essential, but how much RAM should you buy? Most computers are shipped with 2GB to 32GB of RAM, and their prices vary accordingly. People who have lower computer upgrade budgets will often go for 4GB, while those who are eager to squeeze as much performance as possible from their computers will choose 16GB or more.

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RAM is a special type of memory, and it is being used to shuffle applications and data as quickly as possible. When the CPU finishes processing a batch of data, it pushes the results of its work to the RAM, and then grabs another set of bits from the memory. If the RAM is full of data, the operating system will create a zone of virtual memory by using hard drive space. This works okay, but it slows down the computer a lot, because hard drives are much slower in comparison with RAM modules. And in case that you were wondering, even an SSD drive is much slower than a Random-Access Memory chip.


So, the more RAM your computer will have, the faster it will run. Additionally, computers which have plenty of RAM can run more applications at the same time. While it is true that a slow CPU will limit the number of programs that can run decently at the same time, the amount of Random-Access Memory is the main bottleneck here. Therefore, if you aren't sure if you should get a 2 GHz CPU and 4GB of RAM or a 2.5 GHz CPU and 2GB of RAM, you should always choose the former option.


It is always a good idea to purchase more RAM modules. Modern operating systems demand more and more computing resources, and even simple applications can easily use 1GB of RAM and more. And I'm not talking about resource-intensive applications such as Adobe Photoshop here; even your regular browser will use lots of resources if you've opened a dozen of tabs while you are browsing some news sites, etc.


Games are known to use a lot of Random-Access Memory as well. While Windows' built-in Solitaire game won't be too demanding, you are certainly going to need several gigs of RAM to run the newest 3D shooters. Actually, a computer that has plenty of memory will help people run demanding games even if their 3D video cards aren't that new, provided that those games will be run at a lower video resolution.


Here are some general guidelines. Lightweight users, who plan to use their computers every now and then (mostly because their main computers are their smartphones) can get away with 4GB. I know that some manufacturers ship their Windows-based tablets with only 2GB of RAM, but that's a huge mistake, IMHO. So, don't buy one of those tablets, unless it can be upgraded to 4GB.


Yeah, most people will get away with 4GB of RAM. It's not the ideal solution, but it will work for budget-conscious users. For much better results, you should pick a computer (or upgrade an existing PC) to 8GB. It's the industry standard of the moment, and this upgrade makes a lot of sense.


Gamers should definitely aim for 16GB or more. The same principle applies to heavy computer users, people who intend to run CPU-intensive applications that process a lot of data. Computers who have plenty of RAM will get the job done much faster, no matter if we are talking about rendering a complex 3D scene in AutoCAD or converting a 4K video to another format and/or resolution.


If you take into account the idea of upgrading your laptop or PC, it's important to understand that memory standards and layouts change every few years – and sometimes even more often. This means that you should consider investing some money into RAM today, or risk to pay much more for it a few years from now on. Memory prices have gone down lately, so my strong recommendation is to buy that extra RAM module today.