Solved Does an OS need more RAM over the years?

WryCuda · Sep 7, 2021

Ghot said:
As you know, you can keep track of overall RAM usage via Task Manager.

In particular, Windows itself, may over the years, function a bit better with more RAM.
But... as mentioned above, if you have 16GB you should never be able to even get near to using that.

Various programs can seriously use RAM. Many browsers with many tabs open, image/video editing software... etc.

The secret to keeping Windows speedy, is to "keep it clean". For example...

Let's say you're testing a bunch of DVD ripping programs one day. After the testing, you can attempt to try to clean all the leftovers... OR, you can just restore from a backup, and then only install the program you've chosen.

Anything you do, in Windows or with 3rd party programs, leaves "tracks" all over the place. After a few years of this... Windows will start to slow down because of all the crud it has to deal with whenever you try to do something.

Intelligent use of backup software, can do wonders for Windows, and as we all know, for many problems that might arise.
But mainly.... backup software is very useful for keeping Windows clean and sharp. :)

/edit

Short version...

As soon as you first install Windows... make a full OS image backup.
Then test, play, abuse Windows all you want. When you're done and have made your choices of settings, 3rd party software etc... restore from a backup and use just those settings and 3rd party software, that you decided on.

Then make a fresh backup to use for the future testing, playing, abusing of Windows.

The "restoring" cleans out all the crud from the testing, experimenting, etc.

Almost everything in this post is just plain wrong.
As for RAM to run Windows, just install 16G and be done with it. If you have $100 spare, install 32G.

SlicEnDicE · Sep 7, 2021

WryCuda said:
Almost everything in this post is just plain wrong.
As for RAM to run Windows, just install 16G and be done with it. If you have $100 spare, install 32G.

Not entirely wrong but sidetracked from the topic in question.

Haydon · Sep 7, 2021

I would not be so harsh, I would say that the topic has been made more precise as the discussions progressed, which is a very good thing to happen. 'Does the OS in a particular machine use more RAM over the years?'

BunnyJ · Sep 7, 2021

Haydon said:
I would not be so harsh, I would say that the topic has been made more precise as the discussions progressed, which is a very good thing to happen. 'Does the OS in a particular machine use more RAM over the years?'

Not really.. the amount of memory needed stays about the same from version to version of Windows. Give or take a few percent there's no need to get more memory. Unless you need it for the apps you're using or to upgrade for better performance.

The min of 4gb is a baseline that most users should have. Having anything less would hinder the PC/device.

Haydon · Sep 7, 2021

BunnyJ said:
Not really.. the amount of memory needed stays about the same from version to version of Windows.

Well, the data point that is quantified the best (in post #40) says otherwise.

A W10 machine with 4GB of installed RAM. RTM version of the OS loads 1.1GB into memory. 21H1 version of the OS loads 1.5GB into memory. Come to think of it, the increase is only 0.4GB, but that's an increase of 36%!

I would not be surprised if the EOL version loads 1.6GB or 1.7GB into memory, that's 0.5GB or 0.6GB more than the RTM version. Still not enough to slow the machine down, I think. Although user apps will have 0.5GB or 0.6GB less available to them.

Edit: I have a similar machine, BTW (the 23.5" Gateway AIO that I mentioned earlier) so my hunch of not spending anymore RAM $ (so cheap it may be) turns out to be correct.

BunnyJ · Sep 7, 2021

Haydon said:
Well, the data point that is quantified the best (in post #40) says otherwise.

A W10 machine with 4GB of installed RAM. RTM version of the OS loads 1.1GB into memory. 21H1 version of the OS loads 1.5GB into memory. Come to think of it, the increase is only 0.4GB, but that's an increase of 36%!

I would not be surprised if the EOL version loads 1.6GB or 1.7GB into memory, that's 0.5GB or 0.6GB more than the RTM version. Still not enough to slow the machine down, I think. Although user apps will have 0.5GB or 0.6GB less available to them.

Edit: I have a similar machine, BTW (the 23.5" Gateway AIO that I mentioned earlier) so my hunch of not spending anymore RAM $ (so cheap it may be) turns out to be correct.

Ok.. what are you trying to prove?

SlicEnDicE · Sep 7, 2021

BunnyJ said:
Ok.. what are you trying to prove?

That everybody should upgrade their RAM if they have 4GB or less :zany:

BunnyJ · Sep 7, 2021

SlicEnDicE said:
That everybody should upgrade their RAM if they have 4GB or less

That was a given. Most if not all users should have at least 4gb of RAM to start with, even with earlier versions of Windows.

SlicEnDicE · Sep 7, 2021

BunnyJ said:
That was a given. Most if not all users should have at least 4gb of RAM to start with, even with earlier versions of Windows.

I agree. Ever since Vista any 64-bit OS should have 8GB of RAM or you might as well stick to 32-bit platform. Today I would not buy any computer if it has less than 16GB RAM. And if the computer is really powerful (GPU/CPU) then I would have a minimum of 64GB or it is a NO deal for me. ...unless the components and the whole computer is designed for gaming only, then 16-32GB is fine, depending what resolution I would be playing in.

BunnyJ · Sep 7, 2021

SlicEnDicE said:
I agree. Ever since Vista any 64-bit OS should have 8GB of RAM or you might as well stick to 32-bit platform. Today I would not buy any computer if it has less than 16GB RAM. And if the computer is really powerful (GPU/CPU) then I would have a minimum of 64GB or it is a NO deal for me. ...unless the components and the whole computer is designed for gaming only, then 16-32GB is fine, depending what resolution I would be playing in.

I'm thinking of upgrading/updating my RAM to 32GB from the current 16GB. I could use the extra for image processing, Photoshop.

If I were helping anyone spec out a rig I would strongly suggest they get at leas 8GB or RAM anything less is not worth it. IMO

SlicEnDicE · Sep 7, 2021

BunnyJ said:
I'm thinking of upgrading/updating my RAM to 32GB from the current 16GB. I could use the extra for image processing, Photoshop.

If I were helping anyone spec out a rig I would strongly suggest they get at leas 8GB or RAM anything less is not worth it. IMO

An Intel i3 system with 8GB of RAM makes sense if you wanna have basic office performance.

BunnyJ · Sep 7, 2021

SlicEnDicE said:
An Intel i3 system with 8GB of RAM makes sense if you wanna have basic office performance.

I agree.. I go with the more is better concept. While 8GB is a decent amount I really think that 16GB is the sweet spot RAM wise. Price wise it's not a lot more than 8GB and it doesn't hurt to have more than you need.

SlicEnDicE · Sep 7, 2021

BunnyJ said:
I agree.. I go with the more is better concept. While 8GB is a decent amount I really think that 16GB is the sweet spot RAM wise. Price wise it's not a lot more than 8GB and it doesn't hurt to have more than you need.

Exactly

Haydon · Sep 7, 2021

Well, I came to a different conclusion for the machine in the quote below (i3, W10Pro, 4GB RAM, 9 years old, the oldest machine in my stable, starts to slow down, but the data posted in post #40 shows that the slow down is not because of insufficient RAM, it must be general aging issue > will keep the machine as is until OS EOL or hardware EOL)

Haydon said:
I have a similar machine, BTW (the 23.5" Gateway AIO that I mentioned earlier) so my hunch of not spending anymore RAM $ (so cheap it may be) turns out to be correct.

I don't disagree, though, that for a new machine I would go for 8GB+ of installed RAM. But there is a lot of older machines out there which is what this thread is all about.

SlicEnDicE · Sep 7, 2021

Haydon said:
Well, I came to a different conclusion for the machine in the quote below (i3, W10Pro, 4GB RAM, 9 years old, the oldest machine in my stable, starts to slow down, but the data posted in post #40 shows that the slow down is not because of insufficient RAM, it must be general aging issue > will keep the machine as is until OS EOL or hardware EOL)

I don't disagree, though, that for a new machine I would go for 8GB+ of installed RAM. But there is a lot of older machines out there which is what this thread is all about.

My other laptop is almost 10 years old and it was sold with 4GB of RAM. I purchased a second 4GB module at the same time I got the laptop. Today I still consider upgrading it to 16GB :wink:

Haydon · Sep 7, 2021

SlicEnDicE said:
My other laptop is almost 10 years old and it was sold with 4GB of RAM. I purchased a second 4GB module at the same time I got the laptop. Today I still consider upgrading it to 16GB

There is a general tendency for installed RAM to increase, in line with the rest of HW and SW developments. So, for middle of the line machines it is 8GB today, and it will be 16GB tomorrow. And of course some people need more, others need less. (My workhorse today has 16GB)

In any enthusiast community, there is a tendency to go for extremes. The rest of the world is more sober.

Haydon · Sep 7, 2021

SlicEnDicE said:
An Intel i3 system with 8GB of RAM makes sense if you wanna have basic office performance.

I am surprised that (especially) you say that. Bottom of the line W10 biz computers these days are i5 machines, although the lowest of them are sold with 4GB, not that I agree with that. Now that the minimum system requirements have doubled, I would expect that bottom of the line W11 biz computers this year end will be i5 machines with 8GB (and the lowest of them still have HDD, not SSD)

SlicEnDicE · Sep 7, 2021

Haydon said:
I am surprised that (especially) you say that. Bottom of the line W10 biz computers these days are i5 machines, although the lowest of them are sold with 4GB, not that I agree with that. Now that the minimum system requirements have doubled, I would expect that bottom of the line W11 biz computers this year end will be i5 machines with 8GB (and the lowest of them still have HDD, not SSD)

Naah, i3s with 8GB are more than fine. Only if you run some heavy apps, you need more powerful hardware.

Haydon · Sep 7, 2021

I think this is representative for a bottom line biz computer, it's buyer beware of the 'up to' in the link below. Of the 4 models shown in the link, the cheapest one has indeed i3, two have i5, and one has i7.

Dell Vostro 3888 Compact Desktop Computer | Dell USA

www.dell.com

I have started a poll thread on this issue, BTW, please add to the poll, thanks!

What's the i in your computer at work?

I am curious what is being used for typical office productivity work.

www.elevenforum.com

Colif · Sep 7, 2021

Win 11 should require 8gb of ram as otherwise we will see really bad specs passing as Win 11 computers

It doesn't need it to run but it sure runs better with it. less use of page file and no one wants to use that.

last 3 PC have gone from having 4gb to 32gb. I don't need 32gb now really. I just got it because maybe I go mad and play Star Citizen. It chugs on PC with 64gb of ram.