RAM is cheap and you need every bit you can get
I won’t bother you with old fuddy-duddy talk about how 2 MB was once considered a huge amount of RAM for a PC but I do have to say that the amount of RAM that programs consume these days is really beginning to mount. I have 512 MB on my computers and some times I am close to using all of it. First Windows XP takes quite a bit of RAM. Then firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware and spam filter take up a good chunk. Open a few browser windows, Microsoft Office, and a big application like Dreamweaver and the RAM consumption is really up there. Still another big chunk would go if I didn’t have separate video RAM.
Now I read that the new Microsoft operating system Vista may require close to 512 MB all by itself to run at its best. That number may come down when Microsoft finishes tuning it up but it is still going to be a pretty resource-intensive system. No doubt it will be able to run on 256 MB by paging to the hard drive but that would certainly slow it up. On top of the regular RAM requirement, the new 3-D interface is going to want a 256 MB video card.
The conclusion is that anybody contemplating a new PC ought to go for 1 GB or more of RAM plus a hefty video card. I notice that new boxes with 1 GB are already much more common and the gamers are going for 2 GB.
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