Are you RAM enough?

Posted by Charlie V.

While computers these days can do some amazing things, they are requiring more and more resources to do them. One resource that cannot be overlooked is RAM (Random-Access Memory). When you ask your computer to perform multiple tasks at once, and are working with large file sizes, RAM instantly becomes your best friend. 

“Well how do I know how much RAM is enough?” This is an excellent question, and it varies by what type of user you might be. Here are a few examples…

Light user - “My computer is my email, internet and word processor machine. Nothing else.”

Medium (Regular) user - “I have digital photos, videos and music on my computer and whatever else my kids have thrown on there!”

Heavy user - “Having 4+ applications open at a time is normal for me. I am in front of the computer most the day.”

Pro user - “From desktop publishing, operating virtual machines and the Adobe Creative Suite, everything I do on my computer is a benchmark test!”

Have you figured out where you stand? Most users will find themselves hovering between a couple of categories, but these give you a good generalization for determining your appropriate RAM quantities. Light users, 1GB of RAM is your new minimum. Operating systems and word processors can take up more power than you think, and you also want to make your machine last as long as you can. Medium and heavy users should up this amount to 2GB. Digital media (photos, videos, music) are both hard drive and RAM hogs. Heavy and Pro users, look at joining the 3GB+ club. I even managed to max out 3GB last night when running a virtual Windows machine, synching my iDisk, working in Photoshop and listening to music! One of the unique things about RAM is, if it’s available, your computer will use it (Unlike hard drive space, that will stay vacant until its needed). I recently updated a machine from 1GB to 4GB of RAM, and now it never uses under a minimum of 1.2GB (Think of it as someone moving into a big new house. Even though it’s much larger than their old one, they’ll still find a way to fill it!). One thing is for sure, everyone should overestimate their computer usage when buying, and opt for that RAM upgrade!

-Charlie