I recently came into some good luck and will be getting a new computer for basicly free, every dollar I put in to it my "friend" will put 4 Dollars down. I have been checking out Dell, HP, Sony.... so i was wondering what the bennifints of getting a comptuer with 8 gigs of ram is over 4.
4 gigs or 8 gigs
- Thread starter philbob
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That depends on the OS you're running. If you run a 32-bit version of XP or Vista, you will see absolutely no benefit whatsoever. If you run a 64-bit version, you might see some modest performance improvements in high-memory tasks (Photoshop, 3D rendering, etc.), but I'd expect that 4 GB would be more than sufficient for most people.
^ And although there's nothing inherently wrong with XP 64-bit, not all hardware has drivers available, so you'll need to be careful before you choose that over Vista.
In truth, though, you'd know if you needed 8 gigs. If you have to ask, you only need 4. Are you doing video editing on a regular basis? Are you doing 3D modeling? Are you solving math or science problems a la HPC? If not, then you don't need 8 gigs.
In truth, though, you'd know if you needed 8 gigs. If you have to ask, you only need 4. Are you doing video editing on a regular basis? Are you doing 3D modeling? Are you solving math or science problems a la HPC? If not, then you don't need 8 gigs.
I went through this same situation. I bought XP Pro with my computer, which I got 8GB for, then realized it would only recognize 3.something GB of RAM. Later I bought the XPx64 CD and reinstalled.
But, many apps won't run under x64, like Norton Utilities/Anti Virus. But there are other, similar programs that can be had, I bought Tune-Up utilities & NOD Anti-Virus to replace my Norton stuff when I switched over.
But, many apps won't run under x64, like Norton Utilities/Anti Virus. But there are other, similar programs that can be had, I bought Tune-Up utilities & NOD Anti-Virus to replace my Norton stuff when I switched over.
It depends ENTIRELY on price dude. If you can afford to get 8 gigs without breaking the bank then you may as well, but very rarely will you see any of it used. If it is an extra $100 you might be better off going up a size (or more important a brand) in monitor, or looking at a nice set of 5.1 speakers.
Vista 64 bit is the operating system to choose (forget anyone saying use XP64, driver support is crap and it is poorly supported).
Anti-virus stuff is a bad example, as that's not just software; they also include the aforementioned incompatible drivers. (Some games with malware for DRM will also fail because of this.)
If you have a system with 8 GB of RAM, my recommendation is to run dual OS.
Win XP SP3 Pro (32bit of course) and a 64 bit OS such as XP 64bit or Vista 64bit.
You can use the 32bit OS for virtually any task (incl. numerous older games/programs that should be more compatible with XP if they refuse to work on Vista), and the 64bit OS for tasks such as video editing, working in 3d programs such as 3DsMax/Maya/Lightwave, Photoshop, and the likes (essentially for software that benefits with over 4 GB of RAM).
Driver support is better for Vista 64bit, although you can find numerous drivers for XP 64bit as well (a lot of people did and are running it without a problem).
The antivirus example was indeed a bad one ... stick with NOD32 (Smart Security)/TuneUP Utilities/Spybot (probably the most safest and less resource intensive option).
Win XP SP3 Pro (32bit of course) and a 64 bit OS such as XP 64bit or Vista 64bit.
You can use the 32bit OS for virtually any task (incl. numerous older games/programs that should be more compatible with XP if they refuse to work on Vista), and the 64bit OS for tasks such as video editing, working in 3d programs such as 3DsMax/Maya/Lightwave, Photoshop, and the likes (essentially for software that benefits with over 4 GB of RAM).
Driver support is better for Vista 64bit, although you can find numerous drivers for XP 64bit as well (a lot of people did and are running it without a problem).
The antivirus example was indeed a bad one ... stick with NOD32 (Smart Security)/TuneUP Utilities/Spybot (probably the most safest and less resource intensive option).
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