Is 4GB of RAM overkill?

The laptop I'm getting has the option for either 3GB or 4GB (extra $100).

Will 4GB give me ANY advantage over 3GB at all? Even 3 GB sounds like overkill to me, but perhaps laptops require more RAM than desktops for whatever reason.

The other specs are Core 2 Duo 2.5GHZ and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 (256MB), so it's not really going to be used to play any super straining games like Far Cry 2 or the like. I'm planning to play some semi-straining games like TES: Oblivion and World of Warcraft on it though, so will I notice any difference with 4GB in those?

Thanks.

 

Firstly, you will need 64-bit OS to use all 4GB of RAM memory. 32-bit systems can only address 3.5GB.

Getting more memory is always a wise invest. Today a great number of applications require at least 2GB to run fluently. Working with Maya, Photoshop, 3DMax without 3GB or more is not recommendable. So, it is not completely true that 3GB is overkill.

However, 1GB more for 100$ is not a good deal, because it is too expensive. You can get RAM memory cheaper by yourself, then buying from Dell, Lenovo or similar manufacturers on their sites. I would suggest taking 3GB in the first place, and then upgrading with 1GB more, if you need that power in future.

 

Chances are, if you're getting 3GB, you'll actually need to upgrade with 2GB to get 1GB more, as 99% of laptops have only 2 SO-DIMM slots. In the case of 3GB, you'll have 2+1GB, so you'll need to replace the 1GB stick with a 2GB one to yield an overall increase of 1GB (2+2GB). But even a 2GB SO-DIMM is cheaper than $100.

 

$100 for upgrading from 3GB to 4GB is way too much, I bought 2 sticks of 2GB (totaling 4GB) for $70 ($35 each), now you can find them for even less than $60 ($30 each). As MadHater has already mentioned, you can only use less than 3.5GB with regular 32bit versions of Windows, therefore buying 4GB right now especially at $100 is a waste.

 

No you do not need 4GB's as has been said.

 

3GB is plenty. Your CPU is fast already and more than 3GB will be a waste on a 32 bit system. Use The Benjamin to buy some accessories or new games.

 

The more the better, don't let anyone convince you otherwise. But it depends on the price. $100 for 1GB extra is not worth it. Get as the lowest RAM configuration to save money then upgrade yourself.

 

It all depends on what you'll be running. More RAM is always good, but it costs money and that money might just not be worth it if you won't be needing/using that extra RAM. Just as I won't recommend a high end gaming GPU for someone who plays solitaire, so will I not recommend 4Gb of RAM to someone who will not be using those to its fullest .

That being said, games should run more than fine on 3Gb, and 4Gb is near useless without a 64bit OS(32bit OS recognizes 3.5Gb in the best case scenario, but will recognize 3 in most cases). Games really tax the graphics more than anything else. RAM comes into play if you're running some background applications at the same time as the game, but if the game is your only running application, then 3Gb is more than enough and I wouldn't consider upgrading to 4 unless you see the need in the future(and as others have said, you can do it manually if you need to ).

 

I don't know about most laptop warrantees, but changing the ram probably invalidates your warrantee, so paying the extra money for them to install it (and not invalidate your warrantee) might be worth it to you.

 

2gb sticks have gone for as low as 11 bucks after rebate. Get the 3gb and put in your own 2gb stick to replace the existing 1gb stick already in the laptop and pocket the change.

 

I dont think changing ram violates warranty. I believe its usually only cpu and gpu mods/changes

 

really? I am very sure that Dell allows its customers to upgrade RAM on themselves without voiding the warranty.

 

I wish people would stop repeating this myth. 32-bit operating systems can and do handle 4GB of memory. That windows can't is an architectural issue.

 

^^^^
He's right, only the Windows 32bit OS has trouble with 4Gb RAM. Other OS systems can address 4Gb RAM, but since Windows is the most widespread, I guess the word got twisted from "Windows 32bit" to "32bit OS". Sorry for the misunderstanding

 

Technically, if the mod doesn't cause any damage, you're allowed to do it without voiding your warranty. Check out Circa69's thread about the Magnuson Moss Act of 1975 (might have spelled that wrong). There was a a lot of commotion a while back about ASUS putting a "Warranty Void if Removed" sticker on one of their memory slot covers for the EEE. Eventually, they were forced to remove it.

 

Ya think thats bad, just browsing through the acer website and came across this 2gb stick of ram £112 ($177.54). Unreal!!!!

http://store.acer-euro.com/acer/ace...l?_n_=catalog&_t_=factsheet1&articleid=298343

 

I was talking strictly about Windows. I do not use Linux and MacOS, therefore I speak nothing about them.

 

If you have 3GB of memory, you'll unlikely to notice any performance difference going to 4GB.

 

Your lack of experience with alternatives doesn't make your statement magically correct.

In the strictest technical sense, Windows is in fact addressing 4GB --but the choice is made to cache BIOS functions into main memory. This leaves the OS with a little less than 4GB of addressable space to work with.

 

Nor I write them to be so. However, differently from you, I do not provoke anybody here.

And what does it change? 32bit Windows cannot allocate more than 3.5GB (some say 3GB or 3.25GB) of RAM memory even if you put 16GB inside. In my opinion, it is worthless to put more memory than system can use, especially when the price of extra RAM stick is so high. I didn't go that deep into the matter, just trying to help the gay with understandable phrases.

 

I see really no point in 32-bit system. More ram and faster ram is always welcome if you can FULLY utilize its potential.