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    Definite Answer? RAM Increases speed?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by ipodlover77, Aug 16, 2009.

  1. ipodlover77

    ipodlover77 Newbie

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    saw this question at macrumors. no answers so i thought the comp experts could help!

    Looking to upgrade my ram from a 2 gigs to 4 gigs. Was wondering if it would make a noticeable difference. I dont do anything graphic heavy. I only use the laptop for one or two games (sims 3, roller coaster tycoon) and alot of youtube and web surfing. Would upgrading to two gigs be beneficial for me? Would upgrading allow me to run my games smoother or would i not be able to tell the difference?
     
    ipodlover77, Aug 16, 2009
    #1
  2. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

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    Will not affect games much, but will result in a general speed increase for daily use, though it may not be my much.
     
    Lithus, Aug 16, 2009
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  3. Trottel

    Trottel Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yeah, I really can't tell doing anything on the desktop.
     
    Trottel, Aug 16, 2009
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  4. jessi3k3

    jessi3k3 Notebook Evangelist

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    Unless you're hitting the 2GB RAM cap and causing your hard drive to be used as backup then no, you wont see a difference. I personally upgraded from 2GB to 4GB and saw absolutely no speed improvement in games. The only thing it did allow me to do though is run more Memory intensive apps and games without having to default to my hard drive as backup ram.
     
    jessi3k3, Aug 16, 2009
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  5. T61Dumb

    T61Dumb Notebook Consultant

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    I think a 2GB chip is about $25 these days. Will that break you?
     
    T61Dumb, Aug 16, 2009
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  6. Melody

    Melody How's It Made Addict

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    Well for one thing, it'll depend. Games and applications are each coded differently and in consequence, use different amounts of memory(i.e. RAM). Usually professional software(such as Photoshop, AutoCAD and such) are the things that consume lots of RAM on their own. Most day to day applications don't consume lots of RAM.

    Mind you, it depends on your OS as well. XP(and supposedly Windows 7) is a very light OS RAM wise while Vista is a bit more heavy. 2Gb on XP is considered plenty while 2Gb on Vista is considered adequate. Normally you'll notice an increase in speed if you tend to run lots of applications at the same time, hence more RAM will be used up and you'll hit a critical point(i.e. your maximum amount of RAM).
     
    Melody, Aug 16, 2009
    #6