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#1 2013-04-11 11:39:42
- northmeister
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2011-07-12
- Posts: 1000+
Processing power vs RAM?
I'm buying a laptop in the next couple of weeks to replace my old computer, and have 2 models that I'm interested in. Both are HP Pavilions (recommended by a friend), only 2p difference in the price, just the specs that are different.
One has 6GB RAM and a 750GB HDD and a 2.2Ghz Processor, whilst the other has 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD but a 1.7Ghz Processor. Like I said, the prices of these laptops are practically the same, but I'm just not sure whether to go for more processing power (and HDD space, but I'm unlikely to use more than 500 GB anyway) or more RAM. Any suggestions?
Last edited by northmeister (2013-04-11 12:09:27)
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#2 2013-04-11 12:01:08
- TheCatAndTheBanana
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2008-03-21
- Posts: 1000+
Re: Processing power vs RAM?
Hm, i'd go for the 6gb one. 6GB is plenty as it is, and it will be faster.
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#3 2013-04-11 12:13:45
- Zeusking19
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2011-07-10
- Posts: 1000+
Re: Processing power vs RAM?
The CPU specification will be fine, but it is mostly the RAM that counts, so I would go with 8gig and you will notice a significant difference anyway.
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#4 2013-04-11 12:38:52
- technoguyx
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2008-10-18
- Posts: 1000+
Re: Processing power vs RAM?
Zeusking19 wrote:
but it is mostly the RAM that counts,
No.
RAM is merely the memory that programs may use temporarily, and if it isn't enough, you can use part of your hard drive (i.e. Virtual Memory in Windows, swap partition in GNU/Linux). What truly determines a computer's speed, is the speed rate of the CPU.
TheCatAndTheBanana is right: go for more CPU and storage. You won't need more than 6 GB physical RAM (I produce music and browse with 2 GB just fine) unless you're a hardcore gamer, or run ridiculous amounts of programs at once.
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#6 2013-04-11 15:34:32
- PonyvilleSlugger
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2012-07-01
- Posts: 100+
Re: Processing power vs RAM?
You need to look at:
Cache size of the CPU
Clock speed of the CPU (in GHz)
# of cores in the CPU
For the RAM:
Clock speed
Size
DDR
~4GB of 900MHz RAM and a 2-3GHz CPU with 4 cores is pretty decent, but size of RAM really doesn't matter, as long as it's over 4GB it's fine, it's about how fast it is.
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#7 2013-04-11 16:32:50
- northmeister
- Scratcher
- Registered: 2011-07-12
- Posts: 1000+
Re: Processing power vs RAM?
Wow, turns out I'm not going to get an HP - I saw this nice looking Acer (2.6Ghz i5, 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD) that I'm getting instead. So yeah, I think this can be closed now. Thanks for the advice btw, it made me go more towards CPU than RAM.
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#8 2013-04-11 19:57:57
- Paddle2See
- Scratch Team
- Registered: 2007-10-27
- Posts: 1000+
Re: Processing power vs RAM?
Closed by request of the topic owner.
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