a long time ago i upgraded my pc from 512 gb to 1g and it was like a whole new computer. everything was so fast. so i'm wondering, as i'm building a laptop, is the jump from 3 to 4 huge? i'm planning on running vista and some games, so i guess 2gb would be the bare minimum. what do you guys think?
3GB-4GB RAM, difference?
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Drizzt
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for xp i never notice a diffrence between anything over 2 gigs...
for vista you will most likely see a pretty big diffrence between 2gb and 4gb....
It's what your willing to spend, but 4 gb on vista would be ideal
for vista you will most likely see a pretty big diffrence between 2gb and 4gb....
It's what your willing to spend, but 4 gb on vista would be ideal
If you get 4GB, you will want a 64-bit flavor of Vista, since 32-bit can't utilize all 4GB. I don't think you will notice a huge difference between 4GB and 2GB in Vista.
A lot of people boot Vista and are amazed that they have almost no free memory. See, whether you have 512MB or 4GB, Vista will try to use all of it no matter what in order to improve performance, since unused memory is wasted memory.
In my experience, 2GB seems to be perfect for Vista both performance-wise and economically.
A lot of people boot Vista and are amazed that they have almost no free memory. See, whether you have 512MB or 4GB, Vista will try to use all of it no matter what in order to improve performance, since unused memory is wasted memory.
In my experience, 2GB seems to be perfect for Vista both performance-wise and economically.
saltynay
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Vista doesn't use all of the memory its uses 30-35% for the pre loading of programs +5%for background processes. It is much more efficient usage then xp that just works on a highest priority basis and once finished it eats into virtual ram.
4gb is totally worthwhile in Vista and even if you don't have a 64bit version 3.5gb is second best....
4gb is totally worthwhile in Vista and even if you don't have a 64bit version 3.5gb is second best....
C0RR0SIVE
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I hope your not just going by that little meter on the sidebar. That is the total system memory, paging file and RAM, the RAM is usualy totaly full, then it starts to use the page file somewhat, but it usualy depends on what your running. But 2GB is ideal for 32bit vista, 3gb would be the max for 32bit vista, 4gb for a 64bit version if your gaming and the such. But seriously, I have a laptop with 2gb with vista home basic, about to install buisness and it actualy works quite well, the only thing that slows me down what so ever is a slow hard drive.
Vista 32bit = min 1GB, good 2gb, best 3gb
Vista 64bit = min 2gb, good 3gb, best 4gb...
saltynay
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The fact your using 32bit and 64bit doesn't change ram usage its just the amount that gets recognised.
Wildside
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for faster performance in 64bit then 32bit with multitasking or benchmarks i presume. I'm gonna stick with 32bit when i get Vista Ultimate for Christmas.
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I'm running 32bit vista with 4 gigs right now. A few of my drivers still aren't digitally signed so I have to wait a bit to upgrade. It runs just fine though.
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