What's the minimum RAM for XP Pro

[Technomancer]

Hi Folks

I am upgrading to XP Pro, but currently only have 256MB's of RAM on board.
Can I get a way with this or will I need to add a 512MB module, to make it
work. TIA


Yours Technomancer

 

[Gordon]

Hi Folks

I am upgrading to XP Pro, but currently only have 256MB's of RAM on board.
Can I get a way with this or will I need to add a 512MB module, to make it
work. TIA

Just about - 512 MB would be better.....

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I am upgrading to XP Pro, but currently only have 256MB's of RAM on
board. Can I get a way with this or will I need to add a 512MB
module, to make it work.

The official minimum is 64MB, but that's way too little for anyone who wants
to do more than play solitaire.

How much RAM you need is *not* a one-size-fits-all situation. You get good
performance if the amount of RAM you have keeps you from using the page
file, and that depends on what apps you run. Most people running a typical
range of business applications find that somewhere around 256-384MB works
well, others need 512MB. Almost anyone will see poor performance with less
than 256MB. Some people, particularly those doing things like editing large
photographic images, can see a performance boost by adding even more than
512MB--sometimes much more.

So depending on your usage, your 256MB may be OK. If I were in your shoes, I
would start by trying it. Then I would go to
http://billsway.com/notes_public/winxp_tweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should give you
a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how much more.

If you need more memory, my guess is another 256MB, taking you to 512MB,
would be sufficient. Most people don't need more than that.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

More is better.

My machine is maxed out at 384MB and XP Pro has been working fine for over
three years. It would work even better at 512MB. ;-)

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Phisherman]

Hi Folks

I am upgrading to XP Pro, but currently only have 256MB's of RAM on board.
Can I get a way with this or will I need to add a 512MB module, to make it
work. TIA


Yours Technomancer

It will work with 256meg. Some applications (that use a lot of RAM)
will bog down due to lots of page swapping to/from your hard drive. If
you don't do alot of intense video and have few windows open, 256
should work fine.

 

[Technomancer]

It will work with 256meg. Some applications (that use a lot of RAM)
will bog down due to lots of page swapping to/from your hard drive. If
you don't do alot of intense video and have few windows open, 256
should work fine.

Hi Folks

Thanks for the help, I will be getting more memory, max I can go to is 1GB.
I just wondered if I could swap over now and be able to run things like MS
Office, Internet and play games. And add the extra memory as soon as I can
get my hands on it.


Yours Technomancer