Computer Storage: Ram vs. Hard Drive Space

I cannot count the number of times I have had the following conversation:
Client: I need more memory for my computer.
Me: Do you mean memory as in RAM or memory as in Hard Drive space?
Client: Uhhhhhhhh

Many people simply don't know the difference between these two frequently mis-applied forms of 'memory'. Your computer employs two types of 'storage' - RAM or Random Access Memory and its Hard Drive. RAM is temporary storage for the Operating System (usually Windows) and any Applications you may be using. RAM holds the data in place only while the computer is powered on. The Hard Drive stores all the applications and data on your computer for use and retrieval whether powered-up or not.

Consider the following metaphor. In your physical workspace you probably have a desk, a chair and a filing cabinet of some kind for assorted hard-copy documents. We can best liken your computer to your physical environment in this manner:
RAM is like the surface of your desk, while Hard Drive Storage is similar to your filing cabinet. When you are working with documents, the larger your desktop, the more documents you can view at once. If you have a very large desk, you can open many documents and arrange them so that they can all be viewed at one time. What happens when you have more documents than desk area? You have to take one off and put it away in the filing cabinet (or in a pile on the floor - but that ruins my metaphor) and take another document out of the filing cabinet and place it on the desk to work with it.

A computer functions in the same manner. The more RAM you have, the more applications and documents you can have open without degrading performance. When you exceed the RAM on the system by having too many windows or documents open, the computer 'virtualizes' more memory by swapping the applications and documents out to the Hard Drive. This dramatically reduces performance, as the Hard Drive is much slower than RAM.

So the question remains: Do you need more memory? I don't know about you, but I need more memory… It seems like I forget more things every… Oops, wrong kind of memory.

Most computers built today come with a minimum of a 20-Gig hard drive - and as large as 80-Gig. For most users, 20 Gigabytes of storage is going to be more than adequate to install all the programs they will use and store all their data. If you are the proud owner of a teenager, this may be thoroughly inadequate, as teenagers love to collect 'free' programs and music - which will rapidly fill up a 20-Gig hard drive. Choose your drive size accordingly.

When it comes to RAM, more is better, isn't it? That depends on your Operating System. With Windows 98, installing more than 128 Megs of RAM typically has little impact on performance, but does enable you to open more applications. Windows 2000 Professional wants a minimum of 128 Megs and performance improves with more memory. With Windows XP, however, 256 Megs of RAM should be the minimum. The maximum depends on what you do with your computer, how much the motherboard will accept and your budget.

If you routinely edit large graphic files or edit video or audio - you'll need more RAM. Ideally, you want to be able to load the entire file you are working with into memory so that you are not swapping this data out to the hard drive. This will give you the best performance. Given the above, 512 Megs or a Gig of RAM is not out of the question - and given today's low memory prices, you should simply install what you need when you purchase your computer.

This brings me to the topic of upgrading your memory and hard drive. In many cases, computers more than three years old may not accept more memory than they came from the factory with. The lower-end 'compact' computers frequently were built maxed-out on memory and it is not an option to upgrade them. Several vendors produced Intel Celeron-equipped computers that would not accept more memory than they were shipped with, so before you plunk down your hard-earned dollars for more memory, research your model's capacity by reading the manual or going to the manufacturer's website.

A similar situation exists with Hard Drive upgrades on some older computers. In many cases, the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) will not recognize drives larger than 8 or 10 Gigs. You can install a 40-Gig drive, but the computer will only use 10 Gigs. While there are Drive Overlay programs that will get around this problem, I do not recommend them, as they render your drive harder to recover in the event of a crash. It is sometimes possible to Flash (upgrade) the BIOS on a motherboard to accept a larger drive. Once again, research your system's capacity before you spend money on a new Hard Drive you may not be able to install.

Should you upgrade or should you replace your computer? The rule-of-thumb we employ is simply this: If the upgrade is more than 50% of the replacement cost, you should seriously consider replacing your system.