1 or 2 gigs?

[bloodslush]

I recently bought this computer.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8226341&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat103700050069&id=1166840609823

It only has 1 gig of ram and is running Vista which is eating up all of the memory. Would adding 2 gigs to this computer be a big difference as compared to only adding 1 gig. The price difference is 70 dollars.

Thank you.

 

[darious00777]

I recently bought this computer.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8226341&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat103700050069&id=1166840609823

It only has 1 gig of ram and is running Vista which is eating up all of the memory. Would adding 2 gigs to this computer be a big difference as compared to only adding 1 gig. The price difference is 70 dollars.

Thank you.

A $50 graphics card would work just as well. My ATI X1300 made things a little bit smoother all around.

I got the slightly cheaper GT5408 Gateway model with the E4300 processor. Got the graphics card in and looking to replace the RAM within the next couple of months. The stuff that's in their is good as is, but another gig would help.

 

[bloodslush]

of course. I stuck my 7900 gt in it and it did definitely help. I just don't know enough about RAM to know if the 2 gigs would make a big difference over adding one. with XP i heard that more than 2 wasn't necessary but with Vista I really don't know anything.

 

[mcain591]

I would get the 2. With XP, 2gigs was the sweet spot, and with Vista, 3gigs is. So that extra gig would do good. If you're not a gamer, 2gigs is plenty.

 

[ethel]

I recently bought this computer.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8226341&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat103700050069&id=1166840609823

It only has 1 gig of ram and is running Vista which is eating up all of the memory. Would adding 2 gigs to this computer be a big difference as compared to only adding 1 gig. The price difference is 70 dollars.

Thank you.

You can reduce the amount of memory Vista uses significantly by disabling a lot of unnecessary services that it starts up. I also don't run Windows Defender as I don't feel I need a real-time spyware scanner, but that's up to you.

I've got Vista running at about 350-420MB (it varies with Superfetch), without sacrificing any of the nice stuff.

This is a good place to start:

http://www.nsharp.org/09/vista-tips-and-tricks-1/

 

[grifter33]

I recently bought this computer.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8226341&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat103700050069&id=1166840609823

It only has 1 gig of ram and is running Vista which is eating up all of the memory.
Thank you.

First thing you should try is disabling superfetch. It's a neat feature but when you only have 1 gig of RAM it's probably doing more harm than good. Try that first and see how much of a difference it makes.

 

[Athalus_nubie]

I would definatly reccomend 2 gigs (or more) RAM for Vista, vista is hungry!!

 

[darious00777]

Nah, Vista just likes to use what's there. That extra usage isn't going to be using that much more electricity, but it will speed things up. When I add in another couple 512 sticks I'm already expecting that Vista will automatically start using above one gigabyte during normal usage. I'll have to wait and see though. Should be Saturday.