I'm going to buy DDR3 RAM...

Discussion in 'hardware' started by Rasheed187, Nov 17, 2018.

  1. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    With the occasional fluctuation, more bang for your money has been the general trend since the beginning of time.
     
  2. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    I just upgraded the RAM in my Lenovo E580 laptop from 4GB to 8. I bought two modules of Kingston 4GB DDR4 2400MHz KCP SO-DIMM. The original RAM module I removed and static-bagged it for safe keeping. I didn't want to risk any incompatibilities, even though I matched the specs of the original Samsung RAM. At least now I can surf with multiple tabs open, play a youtube video and still remain under 50% usage :)
     
  3. Stefan Froberg

    Stefan Froberg Registered Member

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    I think it should be a crime to even sell a laptop with less than 16 GB these days....

    My old trusted work horse laptop (for coding stuff) kicked the bucket about 1 month ago and
    of couuuurse the new one came with DDR4 8 GB (so I could not use my old DDR3 16 GB sticks)
    and **** W10 preinstalled....

    *sight*

    It's reaaally fun to try to compile latest QWebEngine with proprietary video codecs when you have lousy 8 GBs....:mad:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 16, 2018
  4. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    I guess it depends on the individual's needs. 8GB now seems like plenty enough and then some for my needs. RAM isn't cheap these days either, at least not in my neck of the woods. I paid just over a $100 incl taxes for 8GB (2x4GB).
     
  5. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    Clearly, you needed to shop around some more. It is your fault if you decide to buy a computer that does not have the specs you want. If budget constraints restrict what you buy, that is nobody else's fault. Fact is, your $/£/€ really cannot buy more power than any point in time so you sure can't blame the hardware industry. So you should been prepared for when your "work horse" died and had the necessary budget set aside. Or you should have waited to buy so you could build up your budget until you could have afforded what you really wanted.

    Don't blame others for your poor planning, your choices, or your shortcomings. Sorry, but nobody said life is fair.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2018
  6. hawki

    hawki Registered Member

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    FWIW:

    I have recently been thinking about buying a new PC. I was surprised to see that today most mid-range, pre-built PCs ($800-$1,200) come with only 8 GBs RAM installed, with an additional empty slot.

    I have now read and viewed umpteen articles and YouTube videos about "How Much Ram Is Enough?"

    The view seems to be unanimous that for most peeps, unless you do a lot of video editing, work with multiple, open spread-sheets, or are a gamer wanting to future-proof your PC for the next generation of PC games, that 8 GBs RAM is more than sufficient.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2018
  7. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    Based on my brief run so far with 8GB, I'd agree.
     
  8. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    I agree with that and in some cases 4GB will be more than enough.
     
  9. __Nikopol

    __Nikopol Registered Member

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    In my view you can never have enough RAM. There is always one thing that needs more than you have. I have the most crappy laptop with 1st gen intel core i3 and I put 8GB in it. I am still able to max that out (Using virtual box, but still), I also come close with factorio. And if you really have too much you can always make a RAM disk - hell, I guess you could put the OS on a ram disk if you're crafty enough.
     
  10. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    It really depends on your usage. On my main laptop I have 12GB of RAM, on the laptop I use for DJing I only have 4GB, as for my usage on that computer, it is more than enough.
     
  11. __Nikopol

    __Nikopol Registered Member

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    I guess this doesn't include audio editing, like a composer with samples and stuff. Because even my PC was not able to do that. Or maybe I was using the wrong program.
     
  12. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    I wasn't doing anything like that, but 4GB is really not much RAM these days, so it not suprising that often more RAM will be needed. But for just running my DJ software (Mixvibes Cross) and sometimes having one or two broswers tabs open as well, 4GB is enough.
     
  13. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    Many, including me, say that 8GB is the "sweet spot" these days. That is, for most people, less than 8GB and performance suffers (though it may not be that noticeable, depending on your usage). And with more than 8GB, any performance gains will be marginal, at best.

    If all you do is surf the Internet, process your email, update your social media accounts, create Word documents, pay your bills, and watch YouTube videos, then 4GB is surely enough - even with integrated graphics (assuming a 64-bit OS).

    However, we put 8GB in all our builds. And for my personal machines, and for our "strategic thinking" clients looking down the road as far as possible, we typically recommend 16GB. This is for several reasons. (1) Most people really don't know what their needs will be in 3 or 4 years. (2) It is usually cheaper to buy all at once during the build instead of upgrading later. (3) Ensuring compatibility during the initial build is easier. And (4) Availability of compatible RAM in 3 or 4 years is not a given. Sadly, it is not uncommon upgraders must shelve perfectly good old RAM and be forced to buy all new "matching" RAM just to increase their RAM because compatible RAM is no longer in production or available.
     
  14. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    Using Chrome browser with 4-5 tabs open and a youtube video going, I was pushing 70+% usage. That's without another program running other than Windows Security. I always found myself cognizant of keeping only a few tabs open, especially if I wanted to run another program. Now I have no concerns about that. What I'd really like to upgrade next is my h/drive to an SSD.
     
  15. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    Well, Chrome has never been known to be thrifty with resources. Nevertheless, nothing alarming about 70+% usage - as long as you have enough free space on your drive for the OS and its page file to operate freely in (which is were having a SSD really helps).
     
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