# How important is RAM?



## skinder506 (Jan 13, 2010)

The most I know about is ram is the more the better and its what makes the computer go fast (or slow)

I'm definatley going to buy an HP Pavilion Laptop with AMD Turion II Dual Core Mobile Processer from BestBuy. The total cost is 599.99 and the specs look great to me. The most important thing i care about is screen size, ram, and Hard drive space. 

This laptop comes with 6 GB RAM which I know is above the average 4. For 100 dollars more, the same laptop comes with 8GB RAM which is insane. There are other benefits which i will list. But among the benefits below, is the 100 worth it for the upgrade. 

To make it easier for you a simple compare list would be:

Model 1: 6GB RAM, 320 GB HDD, 15.6in Screen, 4 hrs 15 min Battery 599.99
Model 2: 8GB RAM, 500 GB HDD, 15.6in Screen, 4 hrs 15 min Battery 699.99

6 GB RAM Model:

#
Warranty Terms - Parts
1 year limited
#
Warranty Terms - Labor
1 year limited
#
Product Height
1.6"
#
Product Width
14.9"
#
Product Weight
6.5 lbs.
#
Product Depth
10.2"
#
Color Category
Black
#
Processor Brand
AMD
#
Processor Platform
VISION Technology Premium by AMD
#
Processor
AMD Turion™ II
#
Processor Speed
2.2GHz
#
Battery Type
6-cell lithium-ion
#
Display Type
High-definition LED widescreen with BrightView technology (1366 x 768)
#
Screen Size (Measured Diagonally)
15.6"
#
Cache Memory
1MB on die Level 2
#
System Memory (RAM)
6GB
#
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To
8GB
#
Type of Memory (RAM)
DDR2 DIMM
#
Hard Drive Type
SATA (7200 rpm)
#
Computer Hard Drive Size
320GB
#
Optical Drive
Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
#
Optical Drive Speeds
Drive speeds not specified
#
Direct-Disc Labeling
Yes
#
Digital Media Reader or Slots
Yes, digital media card reader
#
Graphics
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200
#
TV Tuner
No
#
MPEG
Yes
#
Built-in Webcam
Yes
#
Modem
56 Kbps*
*Capable of receiving 56 Kbps downloads. However, current regulations limit download speed to 53 Kbps.
#
Networking
Built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
#
Wireless Networking
Wireless-B+G
#
Bluetooth-Enabled
No
#
S-Video Outputs
None
#
Audio
Altec Lansing with SRS Premium Sound
#
PCMCIA Slots
1 ExpressCard/34/54
#
USB 2.0 Ports
4
#
IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports
None
#
Parallel Ports
None
#
Game Ports
None
#
Laptop Weight
Standard (more than 5.5 lbs.)
#
Battery Life
Up to 4 hours and 15 minutes
#
Pointing Device
Touchpad with on/off button and dedicated vertical scroll up/down pad
#
HDMI Output
Yes
#
Blu-ray Player
No
#
Operating System Platform
Windows
#
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
#
Included Software
Microsoft Works; Cyberlink DVD Suite; Adobe Acrobat Reader and more
#
ENERGY STAR Qualified
Yes


8GB RAM Model:

#
Warranty Terms - Parts
1 year limited
#
Warranty Terms - Labor
1 year limited
#
Product Height
1.6"
#
Product Width
14.9"
#
Product Weight
6.5 lbs.
#
Product Depth
10.2"
#
Processor Brand
AMD
#
Processor Platform
VISION Technology Premium by AMD
#
Processor
AMD Turion™ II
#
Processor Speed
2.2GHz
#
Battery Type
6-cell lithium-ion
#
Display Type
High-definition LED widescreen with BrightView technology (1366 x 768)
#
Screen Size (Measured Diagonally)
15.6"
#
Cache Memory
1MB on die Level 2
#
System Memory (RAM)
8GB
#
Type of Memory (RAM)
DDR2 DIMM
#
Hard Drive Type
SATA (5400 rpm)
#
Computer Hard Drive Size
500GB
#
Optical Drive
Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
#
Optical Drive Speeds
Drive speeds not specified
#
Direct-Disc Labeling
Yes
#
Digital Media Reader or Slots
Yes, digital media card reader
#
Graphics
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200
#
Video Memory
Up to 3195MB total available
#
TV Tuner
No
#
MPEG
Yes
#
Built-in Webcam
Yes
#
Modem
56 Kbps*
*Capable of receiving 56 Kbps downloads. However, current regulations limit download speed to 53 Kbps.
#
Networking
Built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
#
Wireless Networking
Wireless-B+G
#
Bluetooth-Enabled
No
#
S-Video Outputs
None
#
Audio
Altec Lansing with SRS Premium Sound
#
PCMCIA Slots
1 ExpressCard/34/54
#
USB 2.0 Ports
4
#
IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports
None
#
Parallel Ports
None
#
Game Ports
None
#
Laptop Weight
Standard (more than 5.5 lbs.)
#
Battery Life
Up to 4 hours and 15 minutes
#
Pointing Device
Touchpad with on/off button and dedicated vertical scroll up/down pad
#
HDMI Output
Yes
#
Blu-ray Player
No
#
Operating System Platform
Windows
#
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
#
Included Software
Microsoft Works; Cyberlink DVD Suite; Adobe Acrobat Reader and more
#
ENERGY STAR Qualified
Yes


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Ram in itself does not make the PC go faster. 
Spending another $100 for RAM that you can't use is not a good deal.


----------



## skinder506 (Jan 13, 2010)

thanks just saved me a 100 bucks


----------



## crucial09 (Jan 7, 2010)

Ram is very important. Too much, say 4 gigs or more, alot of it might not be used. 
So you don't need to buy more because it wont be used at all.

I have 3 gigs in my laptop and hardly ever even go to 60% used.


----------



## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

If you want to spend the extra hundred, this one, with 4GB RAM nets you a slightly faster proc, a 500GB HDD, and a 17 inch screen.
 HP-Pavilion Laptop Model: dv7-3065dx


----------



## skinder506 (Jan 13, 2010)

that laptop is indeed nice, but what is the most important thing that makes the computer fast; the processer, RAM, HDD,etc. I was mainly looking at RAM in the past but now I want to be more opened minded.


----------



## crucial09 (Jan 7, 2010)

Hard drives in laptops are generally just as fast as the competition. Space is what is looked at by the hard drive. 
The Processor and ram will determine the majority of your sysem speed.
A dual core processor at 2.5ghz will be decently fast in a laptop, with a combination of atleast over 2 gigs of ram.
4 gb ram will be good, however you need to look it the video card will use any of the system ram, this depends on the dedicated video memory. When the dedicated memory is filled up it will use some of the system ram. 4 gb should be plenty


----------



## skinder506 (Jan 13, 2010)

my dream laptop has 2.2ghz and dual core process. with 6gb ram. is .3 ghz a noticeable difference with the 6gbs?


----------



## crucial09 (Jan 7, 2010)

Should be fine. Idk about running games at top settings, but is will be fast either way.
I have a laptop with vista home basic on it and it only has a 2ghz 1 core processor. It works perfect for watching movies though. Games like halo 1 cannot be played on full settings though because it will lag alot. Yours should be fine for daily use and medium games. 6gb ram is plenty of ram.

If you can get a laptop with around the same specs, but a faster processor then do that. If not no big deal. That laptop looks like it has GREAT battery life too. 4 hours is alot. Mine lasts only about 2 hours with the stock battery.


----------



## skinder506 (Jan 13, 2010)

there is a another laptop. same model but with 2.4ghz and only 4gb ram and 5hrs battery, bigger screen and blu ray player for $100 more...

http://jbrlsr.com/?aid=5336121828&b...-supply-support/451604-how-important-ram.html


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

skinder506 said:


> my dream laptop has 2.2ghz and dual core process. with 6gb ram. is .3 ghz a noticeable difference with the 6gbs?


You will not see any difference with a .3GHz increase nor will you see any difference with more than 4GB of RAM.
Laptops are designed for convenience and portability. If speed is an essential need or you want to seriously game then you need a PC.


----------



## skinder506 (Jan 13, 2010)

Tyree said:


> You will not see any difference with a .3GHz increase nor will you see any difference with more than 4GB of RAM.
> Laptops are designed for convenience and portability. If speed is an essential need or you want to seriously game then you need a PC.


I am not a gamer just a student.I do multi task alot which is why the ram obsession. However, I have slowed down or even destroyed two pcs and 1 laptop in my past and im trying to be as careful as possible with my own laptop now.


----------



## crucial09 (Jan 7, 2010)

If you think you will enjoy the blue ray, then that will be fine. Thats really your choice.
It might be a smudge faster, but like Tyree said, nothing really noticeable.


----------



## skinder506 (Jan 13, 2010)

i am ending up getting a different laptop with 4gb ram but has a 12 cell battery with 6-7 hours battery life with 500gb hdd. Its the same price of 599.99. What else should I be looking for in a good laptop because I'm still researching different ones. Any help would be greatly appreciated


----------



## crucial09 (Jan 7, 2010)

You should look for these points:
CPU should atleast be a dual core. If you like intel or amd more is your choice
Ram atleast 4 gigs
a decent video card, nvidia or ati, intel is ok. but you may want to do some research on reviews of the graphic card.
Hard drive: I'd say atleast a 320 gig from the price range you are in.
Screen size will determine a lot of the price as it is the most expensive part of the system. It is your personal choice.
And I guess if you like the look and layout of the laptop.
You may want to look at the warranties.

I would suggest an HP or a Compaq only because if you have a fatal problem on the Windows partition and it is not bootable, they have a factory image partition to restore it to that image. Its alot nicer than reformatting because the drivers are already installed, and the original programs.
This is another personal choice though.


----------

