Buying a new PC with Win 7, how much RAM do I need?

[Metasomatized Ijolite]

My PC is 5 years old and the hard drive is making grinding sounds. I think it's going to pass away soon. I was looking on Dell's website and found a low cost model with 3gig RAM. Then I read that Windows 7 needs 2 gigs to run! If Windows is using that much memory, I wonder if 3 gigs total is enough? I have XP and 512 mb RAM now and it still runs everything I need. I'm planning on keeping this one until it finally dies but I fear that day is near.

 

[PhoenixS]

My laptop has 4gb and running Vista. I can upgrade to Win 7 if I want with no problems at all the guy said, but I have not done it yet. I think you should be ok with 3gb.

 

[SpyWizard]

microshaft says 1 gig...

I suggest 4 or 8 depending on the config of the hardware..

 

[AAP]

microshaft says 1 gig...

I suggest 4 or 8 depending on the config of the hardware..

what could he possibly be running that he needs 8gs?

 

[SpyWizard]

64 bit applications..

the point being if he's running dual quad processors, and 8 or 16 channel data streams.. he can use the 8 gig..

 

[SpyWizard]

but you know.. he's he's just checking email surfing the web... get less.. and upgrade later...

 

[AAP]

but you know.. he's he's just checking email surfing the web... get less.. and upgrade later...

I will probably get a new one soon myself. I was looking at the HP SmartTouch. Not because I want a touch screen but because I like the all-in-one concept.

Only comes in 4 gig RAM size though.

 

[SpyWizard]

is that with the amd processor or ??

That's the one i have, with swivel screen 13".. it's very nice.. has the N network card, makes a world of difference..

 

[chewyxrage]

Buy as much RAM as you can. It's cheap as hell and can only help things. I wish I would have gotten 4 gigs instead of 3 on my laptop I bought a year or two ago.

 

[Metasomatized Ijolite]

but you know.. he's he's just checking email surfing the web... get less.. and upgrade later...

The internet and photo editing and storage are almost the only things I use my PC for. The only thing else I use is a word processor and occasionally a spreadsheet. My 512 mb with XP suits my needs perfectly and I don't really want to buy a new one but as I said, I think this wonderful box full of pornography is almost dead.

 

[Dial_tone]

4GB is you're using XP, because it's cheap. 6GB is still plenty if you're going 64-bit. In either case it's unlikely your apps will use much more than 2-3GB at a time, but you want to have some spare.

 

[bakemeacookie]

My PC is 5 years old and the hard drive is making grinding sounds. I think it's going to pass away soon. I was looking on Dell's website and found a low cost model with 3gig RAM. Then I read that Windows 7 needs 2 gigs to run! If Windows is using that much memory, I wonder if 3 gigs total is enough? I have XP and 512 mb RAM now and it still runs everything I need. I'm planning on keeping this one until it finally dies but I fear that day is near.

what u gonna do? surf?

if so, doesn't matter but min is 2 GIGs. If you're a power user, get 64-bit windows 7 and start off with 4 gigs.

SSD memory industry is starting to take off. Expect computers to have 64 to 128 gigs of RAM within 10 years!

c

 

[AAP]

is that with the amd processor or ??

That's the one i have, with swivel screen 13".. it's very nice.. has the N network card, makes a world of difference..

Yeah, the AMD one. 22" size.

Has an N network card as well. The smaller size 20" had Wireless G card, not sure what the difference is.

They have the them on sale now for $899.00 and there is a $200 off discount code to bring it down to $699

 

[Dial_tone]

what u gonna do? surf?

if so, doesn't matter but min is 2 GIGs. If you're a power user, get 64-bit windows 7 and start off with 4 gigs.

SSD memory industry is starting to take off. Expect computers to have 64 to 128 gigs of RAM within 10 years!

c

SSD devices relate to hard disks, not memory. The idea being make hard drives as fast as memory already is.

 

[SpyWizard]

Yeah, the AMD one. 22" size.

Has an N network card as well. The smaller size 20" had Wireless G card, not sure what the difference is.

They have the them on sale now for $899.00 and there is a $200 off discount code to bring it down to $699

that's a sweet deal right there...

We've been very happy with it, and wireless speeds are great..

 

[bruce9241]

If you don't want to get a new pc and it's only your hard drive that's dying, then get a new hard drive. You can get a new 1 terabyte internal hard drive on sale for like $50-$60

 

[bakemeacookie]

SSD devices relate to hard disks, not memory. The idea being make hard drives as fast as memory already is.

which will come one day. Already I can readyboost my 4 gig card as memory right now. Wait til u see what's in store in 10 years!

c

 

[SpyWizard]

jet packs

 

[ortiz34]

You only need 3-4 gigs with windows 7
Is it a laptop or desktop you are looking for?

Def get a dual core processor, not a 2 core duo (POS)

 

[ortiz34]

Buy a MAC system! Everyone is moving to it!

knot


Operating System Total Market Share

Windows XP 70.48%

Windows Vista 18.83%

Mac OS X 10.5 2.82%

Windows 7 2.15%

Mac OS X 10.6 1.17%

LOL@ W7 having more mkt share than apples latest OS that's been out for awhile