2GD vs 4GB ram?

Hey all,

I'm just curious as to how big of a difference 2GB and 4Gb has.
The upgrade to 4GB is an extra $200 and I don't think it's worth it, but I don't know how big of a difference there is so if anyone happens to know please fill me in

Also does Vista 64bit need 4GB to run/run better with it? I know the whole deal about 32bit only reading up to 3GB RAM so no need to explain that deal here.

 

I just upgraded my 2 GBs of RAM to 4, no BIG difference, but more memory is always good for multitasking. I spent only $70 - Ebay is your friend. DON'T pay 200! Get the cheapest RAM and upgrade it yourself - you'll save money.

I don't know if 64 bit vista REQUIRES at least 4, but it's certainly better to have 4 to run it. I'd get 4, it's better either way.

 

Windows Vista Ultimate has no real change between 2 GB and 4. Trust me, I've tried it.

 

Myself, I went straight for 4GB as RAM is cheaper where I live, and I reckon that if I put in that 4GB, it'll be there when I need it in future and no need to fuss about upgrading.

 

Do not purchase 4GB of RAM from your notebook vendor. Yes, there is a difference between 2 and 4gb. But the best way to get it is to buy the RAM separately from new egg or tigerdirect and install it yourself. You will $ave a TON. There are guilds here on Notebookreview that could help you if you wouldn't feel comfortable doing that yourself.

 

Seriously? Another 2gb vs 4gb thread? There's like 3 of these a day.

If you have Vista, and it's the 64-bit version, I'd suggest picking up 4gb. But as Crimson Roses said, do not upgrade through the vendor. It's terribly overpriced. Go to newegg or some other reseller and buy RAM through them since it will be much cheaper.

And yes, there is definitely a difference between 2gb and 4gb of RAM if you're running Vista. You will notice differences depending on what type of stuff you do/run on your machine also.

Just get 4gb since it's cheap, just not from your notebook vendor.

And search the forum before posting. Your answers are all over the place, no need for another thread.

 

I just don't understand why RAM costs so much compared to other types of memories like thumbdrives, flash memory, and memory cards..
4GB (2x2GB) for $100? You can buy 32GB flash drive for $99. I am sure there are a lot more things involved, but come on, who can justify that price difference.

Also, does Vista or XP support single 4GB bank? I think since most laptops have 4GB limitation, you would have to get 2x2. The bad thing is, most manufacturers keep 1+1 GB on laptops, which sucks, since you cannot make much use of these if you want to go up to 4gb.

For place to buy suggestion, Kingston. They've got 2GB for $50
http://shop.kingston.com/partsinfo.asp?promo=PRCGRBR&ktcpartno=KTT667D2/2G

 

Vista and XP both support up to about 3.12GB of RAM. There has been discussion on this regarding the whole "dual channel" located here for your reference:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3723021

 

I could be wrong, but I think you're mixing up storage and memory. A USB stick qualifies as a storage device, not as memory.

RAM is pretty cheap if you wait for good deals and buy from anywhere but the vendor.

I bought 2GB, albeit 1x2GB from a forum member for $20 and it really rejuvenated my notebook. These sticks came out of a laptop that was loaded with 2x1GB sticks, so the owner popped them out and sold them. That's how you get around that problem.

 

There is that ReadyBoost thing that you can use your USB stick as RAM.

 

Cool. Would that be more of the exception though? I mean, why use a USB slot for RAM when you can pop one in the right slot.

 

Thanks Forte for that link. I guess it is best not to spend $$$ unless you are having issues, like programs running out of memory or when you want to edit images that are over certain file size.

After reading this, I will stick to 2GB I have for now.

PS: The biggest impact on computer's performance seems to be the grapic/video memory. When I upgraded my desktop's GPU from internal intel to PCI ATI Radeon 128MB, it made such a big difference on XP's performance, I was blown away.

 

Just for convenience. Popping one in the right slot is indeed faster than a flash drive, which is not slow and still can be accessed in less than a millisecond.

Its a feature thats there just for people who have a USB stick lying around and just for convenience. Keep in mind though it will recognize no more than 4092GB or RAM.

Though USB flash drives are slightly slower, there is still a decent and noticable performance increase. Programs like outlook if it takes 7 seconds to load, it can speed it up to take only 3 seconds. Of course, this depends on the existing RAM in your computer.

Yeah, Video card is very important, though its more of as long as you do not have too bad of a gfx card. Intel's current IGP can run Vista just as well as any other graphics card can.

 

There have been some people claiming that they get 3.5GB supported in Vista 32 and XP. What do you think of that?

Where did you get this 3.12GB number?

 

This is probably the most confusing post I've ready today

You seem like you know what you're talking about after your first paragraph, but in the first paragraph I think you're mixing up flash storage and memory.

And memory really isn't that expensive now. Also, ReadyBoost is a joke if you have 3GB of RAM already.

 

synic, I know, certainly the difference between Storage and RAM, but I was just thinking out loud, why does that have to be so expensive, and RAM has been around such a long time, yet storage memory (which -in my uneducated guess- should cost more to manufacture, as it actually stores what's written on it) costs much less in comparison. Again, just was thinking out loud..

Regarding using USB as RAM, I don't that would benefit anyone, in the end, bandwidth difference is not even comparable. (Which may accommodate the high er price of RAM)

Regarding not being expensive, for us, people who buy %80 of stuff online, is not. But for regular consumer, who shops at Best Buy or Circuit City, it is pretty darn expensive. ie $65-$99 for 1GB RAM. (Edited)

 

You seemed to have answered your own question. And the other 20% of people need to learn

 

Its from Microsoft's own documentation that I am too lazy to find right now.

Vista shows up as 3.5 the same reason why Vista SP1 shows up as 4. The actual amount of RAM used is lower.