Is there a recommendable RAM capacity?

Hi,

I'm using a a Laptop,
Vista x32 Home
2.00gHZ
currently 1gb RAM

I'm one big gamer, (WoW or games that needs better spec)
so I'm thinking of upgrading my RAM.

Is there a recommendable RAM capacity for Vista+Gamer's laptop?

Actaully here is my question,

Is there a big difference between 2gb RAM and 3gb RAM?
I'm thinking of either adding a 1GB RAM or 2GB Ram to my current 1gb ram...

Thanks in advance.

 

3 gigs

 

Thanks for your concise and definite answer.

Is there a big difference between 2gb and 3gb ram?

Thanks!

 

Three most important things for games.#1 Video card or onboard mobo video capability.#2 Ram,from 1 to 2 gig will help a bit,from 2 to 3 gig not much.#3 your cpu speed/power.Games on a laptop will never be better than games on a desktop,not enought ass in a lappy to compete with what you can upgrade in a desktop.I won't even speak about the power supply unit difference of the two,lol.

 

There's not much difference between 2GB and 3GB. Like pugmug said, the graphics card is really the central component for gaming. You can have the fastest processor in the world, but if your graphics card suck you won't be able to enjoy your gaming. But since you are using a laptop, you are limited to the graphics card that came with your laptop. In some cases, you can upgrade if your graphics card is MXM-compatible. But even then, it's not as easy as upgrading a desktop graphics card.

 

You are using the wrong equipment in the first place for serious gaming.

Critical components:

-VGA (as fast that you could afford to)
-CPU (as fast that you could afford to)
-RAM (Vista? >=3 GB)
-HDD (>= 7200 RPM)
-PSU (enough power to run the above)

/C.

 

Don't just get it for gaming, 2GB of RAM will just improve your day to day performance heaps! Like others have said 2 -> 3 GB wont be a massive improvement.

 

My laptop runs with Vista Ultimate32 SP1 with 2GB of RAM. After reading your post I did the following test: I started as many programs as possible namely, Avira Premium + Ad Muncher + Look'n'Stop + ShadowDefender + FD PC Rescue (These are resident)+ Google Chrome + Windows Media Player + Adobe Photoshop + Windows Media Center + Firefox + Opera + Google Earth + MS WorldWide telescope + MS Internet Explorer + StarOffice Writer. The amount of used RAM was 1.20 GB (out of a MAX of 2GB). In normal conditions browsing the web the RAM used is about 570 MB.

Bottom line is IMO 2GB is enough.(I almost forgot to mention: I'm not a gamer at all, so for games may be more RAM is desirable)

 

Graphics card, graphics card, graphics card. Opps, think that was already said. With a minimum of 512 onboard.

Also as was already said a laptop, with few exceptions, was never really meant for gaming. Most max at 2 gig with some newer ones being an exception. To add to this drawback, the graphics card is built-in to the mobo = no way of upgrading.

Cerxes touched on the hard drive. Check the RPM rating as well as the read\write times of your current hard drive. Many lap tops come with a 5400 RPM drive. Upgrading to a 7200 RPM with equal or better read\write times will probably give you the biggest bang for the buck. Be aware that heat can be\is already an issue with laptops. A faster hard drive will probably increase the heat generated.

Upgrading the CPU is another way to go. Again though. Faster CPU may generate more heat.

The PS is the final link, but none the less critical. Depending on what upgrades you do you may need more watts. to handle them. To little power will damage parts faster then heat will.

Things I always tell people and try to practice myself when using my laptop; 1)Never use on a soft surface. Beds, pillows, etc. allow the laptop to sink in and probably block the air intakes, exhausts. 2)Try to keep the back side elevated. This allows air to pass freely under and around it helping to keep it cooler.
Some where, I believe on this board, is a thread about laptop trays\coolers. While from what I have read the jury is still out on their effectiveness, some are reasonably priced and, IMO, worth the possible benefits with no known negatives.

 

I don't know if this would apply to you but here goes. My Brother bought a Dell laptop which came with 1gb of RAM. He ordered it with the 1gb of RAM because he wanted to play games. This is his first computer, so he has no experience with computers. He bought a game and used it until he wanted to go to the next level. The game would not play at the higher level. He was told he needed more RAM, so he bought another gb worth. With 2 gb's the game still wouldn't play, so after looking into it he was told his graphics card wasn't big enough. The problem he was left with is that he was told the graphics cards are soldered into laptops. FYI