Ram amount

ok, i'm confused now. 4gig is all you need to run a 64 system, but i have read that the Asus G71g-A1 and A-2 have 6gigs in it which other posters have said that its not needed and is overkill. then why is the np9262 being offered 8gigs if the extra memory isn't needed. plus, to make matter more complicated, next yr windows 7 will be out and it uses less memory that vista does. so much memory is really needed in any system.

on another note, would it be consider future proofing to have the extra extra memory?

 

If the NP9262 came with 10000000000000 TB of RAM, would that convince you that 10000000000000 TB of RAM would be needed?

Unless you work for Pixar, six GB of RAM on a laptop *is* overkill.

 

@ icon007: It depends... You may need to ask yourself on the kind of things or applications that you run on your system, and that the application itself by nature uses alot of RAM; like photoshop for example.

If you're intention was to do gaming and only gaming, including surfing web, MS office and the everyday stuff, Generally 2 - 3GB on an x86 platform for optimal performance. Go for 4GB if you're on an x64 platform to take maximum advantage of the x64 memory address architecture. But of course, the amount of RAM choice is yours to make if you want an x64 system.

Take me for instance, I do workstation and graphics design stuff all the time; if you're doing stuff like what I do, running applications like Photoshop CS4, CorelDRAW or Virtual Machines, (VMWare for example) then 6-8GB is preferred for optimal performance especially in Photoshop if you're dealing with tons of layers, and a huge 300dpi paper space.

So yeah, the amount of RAM you actually need depends on what you're intending to do and the kind of applications you run with the system.

As for your RAM choice when customizing your system, you can choose not to have 6GB if there are other RAM amount options available.

Here's a real world example whereby having more than 4GB RAM is useful for these selected applications.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=305464

 

I think you are little bit confused about 4GB and 64bit. Well, you don’t need 4GB to run a 64bit OS (you can run a 64bit OS with less RAM; i.e 2GB). But you must have a 64bit (Windows) OS to address 4GB or more. Because 32bit Windows OS s are limited at 3~3.5GB.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Besides OS is not the only thing consuming RAM. Newer applications and games always require more RAM. I'm sure 8GB will be the norm in a couple of years.

 

Centrino 2 Technology
T9400 Core (2) Duo 2.53Ghz
Storage: 500Gb(2*250 GB) 5400 RPM
PC2 6400 DDR II 4 GB,Blue Ray Drive
P.S:Logitech G9,without which am handicapped!
Nvidia 9600GT

Can this rig on a 64 bit Vista address 8 gig of RAM?

 

Some photographer friends of mine noted that for PhotoShop CS4 users with systems having 8GB of RAM there was a marked improvement in the speed of editing photographs. Since most of what I do is work with and edit digital photos I went ahead and got the 8GB of RAM.

As to future proof - RAM prices will likely become more affordable, so waiting might be prudent. If your manufacturer is having a big sale AND if you need the extra RAM get it now. Sony normally charges $700 for the 8GB upgrade, but with their current sales I upgraded for $100 over what it would have cost before the sale. Otherwise I'd wait.

 

Isn't there also limit on the chipset for using the whole 4GB Ram. Or more.

 

Usually the limit isn't the chipset but the BIOS. Even the older 965 chipset should be able to handle 8GB.