Laptop memory - is 1gb enough

[Michael Chare]

If I buy a laptop with Vista it will likely come with 1GB memory. Is this
enough or would I see a significant improvment for email and web browsing if
I add an extra 1gb?

I should add that my Vista desktop PC has 2gb, usually when I view the
memory usage with Task Manager it shows less than 1gb being used.

What frustrates me about upgrading a laptop, is that laptops with 1gb
typically have two memory slots with 512kb in each. To upgrade I would need
to buy two 1GB SODIMMs, and have no further use for the 512kb ones.

(The particular laptops are an HP 530 and an Asus F3F)

 

[Paul Smith]

If I buy a laptop with Vista it will likely come with 1GB memory. Is this
enough or would I see a significant improvment for email and web browsing
if I add an extra 1gb?

I should add that my Vista desktop PC has 2gb, usually when I view the
memory usage with Task Manager it shows less than 1gb being used.

What frustrates me about upgrading a laptop, is that laptops with 1gb
typically have two memory slots with 512kb in each. To upgrade I would
need to buy two 1GB SODIMMs, and have no further use for the 512kb ones.

(The particular laptops are an HP 530 and an Asus F3F)

1GB is fine for e-mail and web stuff. Personally I'd spend a bit of extra
money and get a system with 2GB just to really future proof it. Laptops as
they have slower hard drives do start to crawl if they need to go back to
the page file.

But I've tolerated machines with 1GB of RAM for light usage.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.dasmirnov.net/blog/
http://www.windowsresource.net/

*Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail*

 

[MICHAEL]

If I buy a laptop with Vista it will likely come with 1GB memory. Is this enough or would I
see a significant improvment for email and web browsing if I add an extra 1gb?

I should add that my Vista desktop PC has 2gb, usually when I view the memory usage with Task
Manager it shows less than 1gb being used.

What frustrates me about upgrading a laptop, is that laptops with 1gb typically have two
memory slots with 512kb in each. To upgrade I would need to buy two 1GB SODIMMs, and have no
further use for the 512kb ones.

(The particular laptops are an HP 530 and an Asus F3F)

Vista will perform much better with 2GB . Vista on laptops is
where many of the complaints come from. Mainly because
of RAM, the processor "stepping down" that laptops do and
usually hard drives that are slower than desktops.

Yes, go for the 2GB of RAM.


-Michael

 

[Bob]

It's enough for email and web browsing. If you plan to use memory intensive
programs like photo editing you'll need at least 2GB .

 

[S.SubZero]

For basic browsing and email it would be OK. I'd be cautious about
loading too many memory-resident apps though.

 

[John E]

If I buy a laptop with Vista it will likely come with 1GB memory. Is this
enough or would I see a significant improvment for email and web browsing
if I add an extra 1gb?

I should add that my Vista desktop PC has 2gb, usually when I view the
memory usage with Task Manager it shows less than 1gb being used.

What frustrates me about upgrading a laptop, is that laptops with 1gb
typically have two memory slots with 512kb in each. To upgrade I would
need to buy two 1GB SODIMMs, and have no further use for the 512kb ones.

(The particular laptops are an HP 530 and an Asus F3F)

I recently bought a laptop. My 'mantra' was 2GB RAM, 2GHz processor and
200GB hard drive.

It's a good machine. Wouldn't want to cut down on the RAM though.

John

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Laptops need 2gb RAM to make up for the shortfall in overall hardware
performance brought about because of overheating were they to have the most
powerful processors and video cards fitted.

Go for 2gb..

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

If I buy a laptop with Vista it will likely come with 1GB memory. Is this
enough or would I see a significant improvment for email and web browsing if
I add an extra 1gb?

Although there's no way to know for sure, I would think that if all
you do is E-mail and web browsing, you can get away with 1GB. Be
aware, though, that, depending on what apps they run, many people see
a significant performance improvement by going to 2GB

I should add that my Vista desktop PC has 2gb, usually when I view the
memory usage with Task Manager it shows less than 1gb being used.

What frustrates me about upgrading a laptop, is that laptops with 1gb
typically have two memory slots with 512kb in each. To upgrade I would need
to buy two 1GB SODIMMs, and have no further use for the 512kb ones.

I that case, I would definitely go with 1GB, and see how it performs.
You can always add the extra GB later if you need it, and it won't
cost any more than buying it up front.

 

[Kerry Brown]

If the laptop shares the video RAM from main memory then get 2 GB. If the
video chip has it's own RAM 1 GB would be OK for light use. More RAM is
always better.

 

[Phisherman]

If I buy a laptop with Vista it will likely come with 1GB memory. Is this
enough or would I see a significant improvment for email and web browsing if
I add an extra 1gb?

I should add that my Vista desktop PC has 2gb, usually when I view the
memory usage with Task Manager it shows less than 1gb being used.

What frustrates me about upgrading a laptop, is that laptops with 1gb
typically have two memory slots with 512kb in each. To upgrade I would need
to buy two 1GB SODIMMs, and have no further use for the 512kb ones.

(The particular laptops are an HP 530 and an Asus F3F)

Get 2GB if you want Vista. If you would rather buy a 1GB system, I
recommend XP.

 

[ray]

If I buy a laptop with Vista it will likely come with 1GB memory. Is this
enough or would I see a significant improvment for email and web browsing if
I add an extra 1gb?

I should add that my Vista desktop PC has 2gb, usually when I view the
memory usage with Task Manager it shows less than 1gb being used.

What frustrates me about upgrading a laptop, is that laptops with 1gb
typically have two memory slots with 512kb in each. To upgrade I would need
to buy two 1GB SODIMMs, and have no further use for the 512kb ones.

(The particular laptops are an HP 530 and an Asus F3F)

FWIW - memory is a relative bargain now. I've recently seen (desktop) 1gb
DDR2 modules under $20.

 

[S.SubZero]

Laptops need 2gb RAM to make up for the shortfall in overall hardware
performance brought about because of overheating were they to have the most
powerful processors and video cards fitted.

Go for 2gb..

I have pushed the heck out of every laptop I've owned, and even with
all the power management stuff disabled and running the fans full bore
for extended periods, I've never, in the 10 years or so I've owned
laptops, had one crash for any kind of reason related to heat. I
don't necessarily run the "most powerful" stuff but I am in the higher
tier. I usually buy the "one model under the XPS" Inspirons. My
current C2D 2.0ghz E1705 with a nVidia 7900GS Go absolutely
*destroyed* my old P4 3.0 + ATI x850XT PE desktop rig in every single
possible benchmark I could throw at it. That convinced me to replace
the desktop rig two months after I got the laptop.

A well-made laptop has no reason to fail when pushed hard for long
periods. I have no doubt a top of the line XPS could survive one of
those big two-day LAN parties without any problems.

But yeah, 2GB is the better choice regardless. 8)

 

[Michael Chare]

On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:16:46 +0000, Michael Chare wrote:


FWIW - memory is a relative bargain now. I've recently seen (desktop) 1gb
DDR2 modules under $20.

Yes, at first I thought 1 extra GB would not cost much and would be a 'no
brainer', but then it dawned on me that I would need two and would not have
much use for the original 512Kb modules! If I delay the purchase of the
memory until after I buy the laptop I will get caught by the postage costs.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Yes, at first I thought 1 extra GB would not cost much and would be a 'no
brainer', but then it dawned on me that I would need two and would not have
much use for the original 512Kb modules!

You can always sell them, by the way. You may not get a lot for them,
but it shouldn't be a total loss.

If I delay the purchase of the
memory until after I buy the laptop I will get caught by the postage costs.

Two points.

1. RAM weighs very little. It's hard to imagine that the shipping cost
can be significant.

2. If you delay the purchase of the RAM, you will have the option of
getting it from a third-party source, rather than the laptop
manufacturer. That almost guarantees that you can get it at a
significant saving, which will almost certainly be greater than the
tiny shipping cost.

 

[Jon]

Yes, at first I thought 1 extra GB would not cost much and would be a 'no
brainer', but then it dawned on me that I would need two and would not
have much use for the original 512Kb modules! If I delay the purchase of
the memory until after I buy the laptop I will get caught by the postage
costs.

I agree. I don't know where these guys are buying their ram from ( perhap US
prices are cheaper), but the last time I bought a 1gb stick of ram in the UK
it was £70. Times that by 2 and you get £140.

Not a lot you may say.

Well, I was in PCWorld yesterday looking at a few laptops, and noticed that
there were quite a few sub £400, many closer to $300, laptops with 2GB ram
and processor speeds approaching 2GHz. So considering an extra £20-£30 now
can get you a 2GB machine, rather than a 1GB imho it makes sense to buy the
machine with the 2GB preinstalled.

I notice that you're UK based, so perhaps it's worth a trip there..

 

[Michael Chare]

I agree. I don't know where these guys are buying their ram from ( perhap
US prices are cheaper), but the last time I bought a 1gb stick of ram in
the UK it was £70. Times that by 2 and you get £140.

Last March I paid £67 for 1GB Crucial memory for my desktop. I could by the
smae memory today for £27

The laptop memory I was interested in only costs about £15 per gb
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/119284

 

[Jon]

Last March I paid £67 for 1GB Crucial memory for my desktop. I could by
the smae memory today for £27

The laptop memory I was interested in only costs about £15 per gb
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/119284

Looks like the one I last bought is now £38, so yeah, prices have dropped
quite a bit in the last few months.

 

[the wharf rat]

1GB is fine for e-mail and web stuff. Personally I'd spend a bit of extra
money and get a system with 2GB just to really future proof it. Laptops as
they have slower hard drives do start to crawl if they need to go back to
the page file.

Lol. I guess I'm just old fashioned. I know it's 2007 and
memory's cheap now, but the idea that an OS requires 2 full gigabytes
of ram is somehow...offensive... My W2K laptop is a PII/400 with 128
and it does all the browsing/office/general computing stuff I want from
a portable. I've got a current centos on it and under linux I can even do
basic protocol analysis and the like.

Are the memory requirements of vista solely due to the UI or
are there other things going on?

 

[the wharf rat]

Laptops need 2gb RAM to make up for the shortfall in overall hardware
performance brought about because of overheating were they to have the most
powerful processors and video cards fitted.

Great Ghu, what do you guys do with your laptops? Solve the
human genome? Search for unknown prime numbers? Host Quake III tournaments??

All I ever do is adjust a few spreadsheets and check email...

 

[xfile]

A well-made laptop has no reason to fail when pushed hard for long

periods. I have no doubt a top of the line XPS could survive one of
those big two-day LAN parties without any problems.

Agreed, not to mention that there are mobile workstations.