Any benefit to 8Gb of RAM?

[pkilway01]

Getting Windows 7 64-bit for Christmas. I currently have 4Gb of Ram, is it worth it to add another 4Gb of DDR2 Ram? Is there a performance increase, or is the increase not worth the price?

 

[jdjbuffalo]

It depends on what you use it for. If it's games and general purpose then no, you won't likely see any difference. 4GB is the sweet spot now that covers 90% of users out there.

If you use stuff like Photoshop, AutoCAD and other heavy duty applications then yes you probably will see an increase in performance. The other area where a lot of RAM makes a difference is if you like to run multiple VMs (Virtual Machines).

 

[pkilway01]

Thanks, I primarily use my pc for games, internet and burning cd/dvd's. So it sounds like it's not worth it to invest another $95 for Ram in this machine.

 

[fffblackmage]

A few months ago, you could have gone for 8GB total for pretty cheap, but with ddr2 prices up now, it's not really worth it, especially if you're not really using it.

I should have bought more ram when I had the chance... need ram for a cheap cpu+mobo I recently bought.

 

[hclarkjr]

simple rule of thumb - if you can afford it and your board can handle it, buy it. that is just my opinion though

 

[Spoooon]

Going from 4 to 6 made a difference on my computer when I do things like alt-tabbing from a game to check email or whatever. Kind of expensive for that, but it helps keep the peace between my wife and I being able to pause a game, alt-tab, do other stuff, then go back to the game.

 

[EnzoLT]

pretty much what most people said. i personally noticed a difference going 4gb to 8gb. ofcourse, i edit videos so i needed it. atm, i had to sell the 4gb since i needed the cash. very noticeable loss of smoothness. if you can justify the 8gb (video editing, cad, database) then go for it. if not, then just stick with 4gb, especially since ram now is getting quite expensive...