Memory: To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade

Many people have problems with the speed of their desktop or laptop computer. Today’s computer users tend to open up several applications at work. Whether in the workplace or at home, the ability to multitask is very important to a computer user. For example, if a person opens up a web browser, a computer game, a chat platform such as AIM, and a music player at one time, it often leads to the computer performing very slowly or even freezing up in some cases. This can be a huge inconvenience which can often be remedied by getting a computer memory upgrade. For the purposes of this article, memory upgrade refers to “RAM memory.” Some people also buy Hard Drive memory to increase the storage space on their computer. However, RAM memory refers to the memory used for temporarily storing the data which the computer is using at a specific instance. When upgrading computer or laptop memory, it is important to shop around and do research. RAM memory can be expensive and it is important to research the best upgrade for each computer. It is important to make sure that the technology of the memory is in sync with the computer.

Not only can increasing the RAM availability make it possible for the user to run many different programs at once, it also enables the computer to run more sophisticated software programs. Without the required amount of computer memory, a program will not function smoothly, if it runs at all. In addition, there is a greater risk of the computer freezing up completely. When using a home computer, this can be very frustrating. On the other hand, if a computer at work does not have enough RAM, it can greatly slow down productivity. The amount of money the extra computer memory would cost can pale in comparison to the loss of productivity a slow computer can cause.

Laptop memory is often more difficult to upgrade than desktop memory. Laptops are generally more restricted in the amount of memory that can be installed into a system. Today, laptops typically run somewhat slowly with 1 GB of RAM, optimally with 2 GB of RAM, and best at 4 GB of RAM. How much an individual gets usually depends on the programs he or she plans to run on the laptop. Laptops generally have two slots available for memory modules while desktop systems have four or more. When buying a laptop, it is important to determine if it has enough RAM, or if the amount of RAM needed is installable. For many people, the portability of a laptop computer makes up for the lower memory capability.

Whether buying Apple memory, Compaq memory or Dell memory, most computer stores can offer advice on what the best memory upgrade is for each computer.

Need More Memory?

“I need more memory!” is something people often exclaim when their computer is going too slow. However, many of them don’t really know what they are referring to when they are speaking of computer memory. RAM and hard drive space are often both called “memory” although they are completely different.

Hard drive space is disk space on a computer used for large amounts of long-term storage. Hard drive is measured in Megabytes (MB) and Gigabytes (GB). There are 1000 MB in one GB. Whenever a file is saved, whether it is a word processor file, a music file, or a movie file, it is saved to the hard drive. Once this information is saved by the user it is magnetically encoded to the hard drive.

RAM is also often called memory and it is measured in MB. It comes in the form of computer chips which plug into the motherboard of a computer. The purpose of RAM is to provide fast storage for the computer when it is in use. For example, information in RAM is stored every time a letter is typed in a word processor. This information is not stored permanently in the hard drive but is stored temporarily until the user decides to save his or her progress. In this way RAM is extremely useful as it would be quite inconvenient to save progress after every letter typed on the keyboard.

Both RAM and Hard drive memory are important to a computer’s functioning. For example, if someone buys a computer game from a store, it will show system requirements on the box. It is always important to check these requirements as the computer will not run the program properly or at all unless it meets these standards. The RAM requirements will be less than the Hard Drive requirements because they affect the game differently. For example, The RAM requirements will specify how much memory the computer needs to have to run the program at a specific time. Let’s say someone buys a game, the computer will only need to hold the information for the specific part which the user is playing. There is no need to load any data from the second level if the user is playing the first. However, when the user advances to the second level, the game will save the first level’s progress to the hard drive. Then, from the hard drive, he or she can recover the progress from the first level later if the computer is turned off. In addition, when one downloads the game onto the computer, all the information must be on the hard drive to be used when needed.

People will often buy both types of memory to make their computer faster. There are many online stores and retailers who sell Apple memory, Dell memory, laptop memory and much more. Sometimes one must search extensively for the best deals as prices vary quite a bit depending on the computer and amount of memory.