Do you know your RAM?

This blog post is really for those, who do not actually know, or are interested in what is going on inside of their laptops or desktops.

Some of you might even have been wondering, why the upgrade to Windows 10 was so troublesome or why their machine seems to have slowed down. Perhaps you are experiencing more ‘freezes’ or crashes?

Of course there may be many reasons. However, a common one tends to be the lack of ‘RAM’.
I’ll try and explain – Random Access Memory, usually shortened to “RAM” or simply “memory,” is one of the most important parts of any computer or laptop.

RAM is a component in your computer that allows your system to perform many of its usual tasks, such as loading applications, browsing the Web or editing a spreadsheet in Excel. Memory is what allows your computer to perform its basic functions. As a general rule, the more memory you have, the better.

As an example – If you turn on your computer, load Excel, and begin working on a spreadsheet, you’ll have just used memory in several different ways. Whether it’s loading and running applications, responding to commands, or toggling between multiple programs at once, memory is almost always being actively used by your computer.

All operating systems and programs will require a certain amount of storage on your hard drive – but are unable to perform efficiently, if you do not have enough RAM (Random Access Memory) built into your machine.

Hence you may wish to check how much RAM your laptop or PC actually has. You should find this information on your Windows machine by looking at ‘System’ on your control panel.

Ok – so I got a lot – and you might not need as much.

Once you check – and it says 4 GB on your machine, you are running Windows 10 and your machine is not as fast or responsive as before – you might wish to add a further 4GB RAM. However, you would need to check whether your PC or laptop is able to take this additional memory. For everyday use 8GB RAM should give you enough space.

Memory is your system’s short term data memory (it stores the information your computer is actively using). The more programs your system is running, they more memory you are likely need. If your system is slow or unresponsive, a memory upgrade can be one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to improve performance.

In a way, memory is like your desk. It allows you the space to work on all sorts of projects, and the larger your desk, the more papers, folders, and tasks you can have out at once. If you leave your desk and want to put your projects away, you might decide to put them in a filing cabinet for safekeeping (your storage drive).

It’s worth adding that the Windows 10 operating system has these minimum requirements: Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor, RAM: New device: 1 gigabyte (Gb) for the 32bit, and 2Gb for the 64bit, update: 1 gigabyte (Gb) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit, Hard disk space: 16Gb for the 32-bit version or 20 Gb for the 64-bit and that is just the Windows operating system!

Also remember there is a massive difference between the minimum, recommended and ideal specification.

Engineer Artur

It’s IT support, Jim, but not as we know it

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