Speed Up Your Computer by Upgrading the Memory

If you are considering purchasing or upgrading a computer, one of the two
most important considerations is the amount of memory it has. The second is
the processor, which will be covered in a separate article.

There are two types of memory to consider. One is the working memory, or RAM
(random access memory). The other is the storage memory, the hard disk.

Increasing RAM will give you more increase in performance per dollar
invested than any other factor. Memory is measured in bytes, kilobytes (KB),
megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB). 1 KB is 1,000 bytes. 1 MB is 1 million
bytes or 1,000 KB. 1 GB (gigabyte) is 1,000 MB.

On a new computer for business use, 256 MB should be considered a minimum.
512 MB would be nice. For a gaming computer, 512 MB is basic and 1 GB is
needed for more sophisticated games. If you are upgrading, go from your
present level to the levels suggested above.

RAM suffers from commodity pricing, so the price fluctuates, but it is very
cheap. In 1987 we upgraded 225 computer for Tarleton State University. They
had 512 KB (kilobytes) of RAM. We were upgrading to 768 KB. That was a total
of almost 58 MB. At that time, those 58 MBs came on 1800 chips, in a 3" x 3"
x 18" box with a COD amount of $3600. The UPS man was amazed that such a
small box could cost that much. Now you can get 256 MB (more than 4 times
what we got for the whole upgrade project) on a small memory board for about
$80.

If you want to improve performance, the first consideration should be to
increase RAM.

The hard disk is used for mass storage. Your programs, operating system, and
data all reside on the hard disk. On a new computer, the basic disk size is
40 GB, which is plenty for a basic business or home computer. If you will be
saving and working with large files - music, photos or large spreadsheets,
for example - you may wish to consider a larger drive. They are available at
very reasonable prices. You may choose from 80, 120 or 160 GB. Read-Write CD
ROM drives give you additional storage for archiving data, much like the old
floppy disks that were used in the past.

The size of the hard disk does not affect system performance unless your
drive is more than 80% full. Increasing hard disk size simply allows you to
store more programs and data.