Is Your Computer Slow? RAM Could be the Solution!

Slow, sluggish computers can be incredibly frustrating because nobody wants to wait five minutes for their Facebook feed to refresh. If your computer is running slower than ever, you might want to try adding RAM.

RAM, or random-access memory, allows users to run several programs simultaneously. Simple tasks, such as opening a word document, use RAM. Applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel require large amounts of memory, along with graphic-filled web pages. Many users run multiple programs at once, but don’t realize that this coupled with insufficient RAM may cause their computer to lag. A RAM upgrade is a simple and cost-effective solution that could improve functioning speed.

A universal sign that a memory upgrade may be needed is if there is a noticeable delay when switching between programs. The virtual memory manager causes this delay by swapping out applications to the hard disk that have not been recently used. The hard disk runs much slower than RAM which is why you may notice a lengthy delay when clicking between programs.

Finding out just how much RAM is installed on your computer differs depending on the Windows software and edition your computer runs. With the most recent Windows, 8 and 10, merely click the start screen, or menu, and type “ram.” Completing this search will prompt an option for “View RAM info.” Click this to see how much available RAM your computer has.

So how much RAM is enough? 4GB can be sufficient for Windows and Chrome OS, but the recommended amount is 8GB for Windows and MacOS systems. When your RAM outweighs the amount needed to run your programs, there should be no noticeable delay or swapping. Once you reach that amount, adding more RAM won’t have any effect on the performance of the computer.

If you’re interested in adding more RAM to your computer, contact Networks Unlimited today. We can order what you need and install it in our in-house shop.