How Much RAM Should You Buy?

The most ideal situation in deciding how much RAM to buy is the maximum allowed by your motherboard. Not everyone can afford this even though RAM prices have fallen over the years. It also depends what you use your computer for to determine how much RAM is enough. In this article I will give you tips and show you the bare minimums allowed by your OS.

Bare minimum is what the your operating system needs to function. If you are using Windows 98/ME your bare minimum would be 64MB for Windows 98 and 128MB for Windows Millennium. Windows XP requires 256MB of RAM. Windows Vista requires 512MB. Just to remind you that these amounts are bare minimums and your computer will run better with more RAM.

Your motherboard specs determines the maximum allowed amount of RAM you can use. Older machines can be kind of tricky cause you maybe at max already. If that is the case and your computer is running slow it may be time to buy new. There comes a point where upgrades won't do you any good and you might as well save your money for new machine.

The next thing you have to determine besides the maximum allowed is the speed of the RAM your motherboard allows. You cannot mix and match in most cases cause your computer will not run correctly and it may not even boot up. So you must get the same type of RAM and the same speed.

Older computers may stop with speeds of 66/100/133. Where newer machine will run 333/400/800. Not only do you have to match speed but also the same type. For example DDR and DDR2 are not the same type. It all depends on what your motherboard supports.

There is also a difference in laptop RAM and desktop RAM. Laptop RAM is smaller. Laptop RAM will put some of your systems memory on the motherboard itself with normally two slots for expansion. Just like with desktop RAM there are different speeds and types in this category as well.

In both cases of laptop RAM and desktop RAM check with your manufacturer to find out which RAM your computer supports.

If you don't know how much RAM your computer is using. To find out you just right click on my computer or go to start/control panel/system. In the general tab you should see the amount of RAM your system has installed.

In summary, you can never have too much RAM up to the maximum your computer will allow. The more RAM your system will perform better. This is a good thing if you have enough run those RAM hungry applications. If you can afford it and your system could stand a boost in performance than take the plunge and purchase the RAM you need.

Final note, RAM prices can very slightly by manufacturer and you could find a good deal if you shop around. Buying RAM online is sometimes better than buying retail cause you can get a better price.