Memory Upgrade

How much of a memory upgrade do you need?

When it comes to adding system memory, the general rule of thumb is the more, the better.

For most systems a memory upgrade that adds or doubles the exisiting system memory is yet another cost effective way of increasing the performance and extending the life of your computer. But how much memory do you really need?

The answer very much depends on the age of your machine and the use to which you put it but, as a general rule of thumb, if your computer is more than 4 years old then a memory upgrade may be a waste of money but if it is younger, then a memory upgrade most certainly will give you a boost in performance.

The bottom line is that adding memory makes your computer more efficient and allows you to do more things at once.

Memory Upgrade Matrix

What do you do:

Here's what you need:

Minor Administrative
Some word processing, occasional e-mail

384MB – 512MB

Fair Administrative
Word processing and e-mail, spreadsheets, fax and communication software, simple graphics programs, two applications open at once

384MB – 512MB

Intense Administrative/Student
Word processing and e-mail, spreadsheets, fax and communication business graphics, general gaming software, three or more applications open at once

384MB – 512MB

Executive/Management
Word processing and e-mail, spreadsheets, fax and communication software, presentation software, illustration software, photo editing, Web browser

512MB – 1GB

Professional and Gamer
Word processing and e-mail, photo editing, font packages and multimedia software, CAD software, CAM software, gaming

1GB – 2GB

Heavy Graphics Design
3-D CAD software, modeling software

2GB and up

Recommended Memory Upgrade Supplier

If you are looking to conduct your own memory upgrade then we can highly recommend Crucial as our memory upgrade supplier of choice.

Crucial is a division of Micron, one of the largest DRAM and flash manufacturers in the world and carries more than 110,000 memory upgrades for more than 20,000 desktops, notebooks, servers, and printers. As well as Flash memory cards, High-performance Ballistix™ gaming memory, and graphics cards.

Best Memory Manufacturer
Personal Computer World, January 2007

"With huge files and hungry apps, high-performance memory is vital to system performance, especially if you're a keen overclocker. From standard memory to the Ballistix memory often used in PCW's Hands On Performance column, Crucial offers a vast range.

Readers voted for the company by a margin of almost 2:1 over the nearest competitor in this category. Price and customer service were important factors in its success, as too was Crucial's website memory selector, mentioned by many readers, which makes it easy to find the memory chips to match any system."

Crucial even offer a Free Diagnosis & System Scan to ensure that any memory upgrade you order is 100% guaranteed with free shipping.