HP desktop PC (core i7 2600, GT240) used for office work, e-mail, browsing, and light gaming. Is 8MB enough? In the screen shots there's not a lot going on, but I occasionally run some 'classic' games via Steam.
BTW I was just able to get a nice Core i7 notebook form HP with Win7! Not sure if there's many Win8 fans here, but I would hope not. It's a screamer (dv6t-7000 Quad Edition).
Thoughts?
Atarian,
8 gb is a nice sweet zone for most users. If you are doing heavy photo/video editing then one could could argue that more is always better. I myself have 16gb but I just wanted it as much as I needed it.
Another part of the puzzle is finding out the speed of of your ram and what ram speeds your mobo will support, this means that not only the amount but the speed and quality of the ram makes a difference. My 16gb's are currently running at 1866 mhz and the ram in my other system again 16gb is clocked at almost 2100 mhz.
Always cross-check Crucial System Scanner with PC/mobo model RAM seach to compare specs.
Watch your Resource Monitor to see how close you come to using all of the RAM and CPU cycles. There's even a Win7 CPU/RAM gadget for the desktop,
or apps that will put them in the Systray or Taskbar:
Taskbar Meters Turn Your Taskbar into a System Resource Monitor
Last edited by gregrocker; 26 May 2013 at 22:41.
Good catch Greg,
Look to an SSD as well if you aren't using one for your OS and software then you're missing out on a huge upgrade that has fallen into an affordable realm. Let us know your thoughts on these suggestions and then as well get the systems PSU spec's at it could be a limiting factor!
There is absolutely no need to upgrade an 8GB system for the average user. The only reason I can think of for more than 8GB of RAM are if you do CAD, run several virtual systems concurrently or want to use a RAMdisk.
Do what Greg suggested and check in Resource Monitor > Memory tab. You will see that 99% of the time your 8GBs are not fully used.
Within limits adding more RAM will improve performance. But there will always be a point of diminishing returns beyond which adding more will do very little. That point is heavily dependent on the workload but for typical uses you are likely far past it with 8 GB RAM. It is possible that with your heavy workload you would significantly benefit from more RAM but the screenshot of Task manager does not show this. Not even close. With 75 % RAM available it is clear you have more than enough RAM for the current workload. A screenshot under heavy load might show otherwise, but I doubt it.
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