Computer geeks - 512 MB of SDRam vs 1GB

[NewJeffCT]

I'm just wondering, what difference does this make in a computer?

512MB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz vs 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz... or, if I upgraded the 400MHz to 533?

Will that make a difference in watching DVDs on the computer, or anything? what does the upgrade do?

Thanks
'

[Deja Q]

1. More RAM allows you to run more programs. But if one program

is hogging the CPU, you could have 4GB and it'd make no difference.

Look at the Task Manager and you'll see how many processes are being ran and which one uses most RAM and CPU time. Might be a different sort of performance issue than RAM quantity.

[liberalpress]

2. The more RAM you have...

...the smaller the pagefile needs to be. (The pagefile is essentially virtual memory -- the computer finding the extra RAM it needs by using some harddisk space). Since the pagefile is n the harddisk, which is slower the RAM, more RAM speeds the whole deal up.

[Deja Q]

8. Depends on the OS. WinNT/2k/XP creates a page file 1.5x RAM size. Also,

Windows by default won't make full use of the RAM; there's some registry setting that will optimize RAM performance. I'd be careful using those, but I have and have had no problems.

[barackmyworld]

3. keep in mind you can install RAM yourself

pretty easily. I installed my own RAM into my powerbook and saved a bundle of money.

[SmileyBoy]

4. I have 512MB, and still most of my hard drive is vacant...

And I've had this computer for two years now.

[Guy Fawkes]

5. Playing a lot of video games? Get ram.

s'bout all I have to say (every thing else has been said).

[Endangered Specie]

6. well, one could say that...

512 will become obsolete much sooner...

Its true that you may not need 1GB now, but 1,2,3 years...

Programs keep doubling in ram requirements about once every 2 years or so.

DVD's can play reasonably well on 512 I believe, but you wouldnt be able to do as much in the background. and 1gb of ram is needed for the cutting edge of current applications/games.

[Deja Q]

9. RAM used to be treated as precious. Now it's squandered.

Like oil only far more so.

In the 8- and 16-bit computing days, ASSEMBLY language was used to optimize usage and speed.

These days people laugh at assembly writers and use C++ and java hoggy slow wasteful code.

Microsoft started that trend once hardware costs became affordable, but anybody likely would have.

[Technowitch]

7. At this point in the technology, I'd recommend more RAM vs faster

Also, 512MB is marginal anymore, particularly if you do want to play DVDs and/or games.

I had 1GB in my last machine -- and actually began to feel that wasn't quite enough. So when I got a new system about a month ago, I went with 2GB, and am very happy.

[NewJeffCT]

11. well, this thread has left me thoroughly confused

You seem pretty knowledgeable, and say get more RAM, the person below says 512 is plenty...

[Technowitch]

12. I often have numerous applications running on my system

These include a wireless weather station, Tivo Desktop, Notmad, Firefox, Word, Outlook, Trillian, ObjectDock, WinBar, antivirus, ZoneAlarm, HandyBackup and several other applications and services.

The question to ask yourself is "Will I be doing just a couple things at a time with this machine, or will I be running lots of applications?"

If the answer is "just a DVD, or word processing, or web browsing, but not all at once, and I'm not planning much else at the same time" -- then 512 is enough. But I would still make sure the machine COULD hold more, should you want to add another stick or two later.

If, on the other hand, you run lots of apps at once, more memory means less page-file swapping (i.e., uses your hard disk to swap active memory in and out).

This help?

p.s. I'd still consider 100% more memory to be better than a 33% increase in memory speed. But that's just me.

[mike_c]

10. depends on what you use the computer for....

512 MB is plenty for watching DVDs, office tasks, internet use, playing music, and so on. If that's the sort of thing you use your computer for, you'll never notice any shortage of RAM, at least not for another few software release cycles, and by then your processor will likely be outdated anyway. And as someone else pointed out, you can always add more later if you need it. I've squeezed a few more years out of several computers by adding more RAM and relegating them to "slow" activities, like net access and office tasks.

On the other hand, if you're a gamer you might want more-- rule of thumb: if you need a high end graphics card to support your applications, you'll probably benefit by having lots of available headspace, too. If you use your computer for memory intensive tasks, like rendering 3D scenes, or video editing, or processing large amounts of scientific data, more memory is always better than less. If you do anything that is significantly sped up by manually increasing the application's buffer size, well, you'll likely want to accomodate big buffers.

on edit: reading some of the other replies in this thread is somewhat shocking-- I quite easily play DVDs on an old PIII laptop with 128 MB of RAM. Granted, I don't-- I have better platforms for doing that, but I used to do it all the time. I have a mini-ITX VIA M10000 system with 512 MB RAM that happily plays DVDs while simultaneously serving mp3s to my stereo and running a web browser (and a full Gnome desktop's worth of overhead), all with no discernible slowdown.