I am wondering whether it is worth upgrading from 4 GB to 8 GB of RAM. I know the question has been asked many times, but I can't transpose that to my case. I'm using Windows 7 64-bit.
I did a test and launched all the software that I have almost daily simultaneously started.
Resource Monitor tells me that I'm actively using about 3 GB of my total 4, and almost all remaining is in "Standby" (BTW, what is "Standby"? Is that Windows's SuperFetch stuff?)
In addition, a few weeks ago I set up a RAM disk (about 256 MB) and have put Firefox's temp files in it.
So, I do know that I almost never reach 4 GB actively used, but since Windows has some pretty SuperFetch stuff, is it worth upgrading? Also, I think that with 4 additional GB, I may use about 2 of them as a RAM disk and put things like Windows's page file in it?
Best Answer
More RAM means you can open more applications without crashing your computer. Even if you don't intend to use more applications at the same time, it'll be beneficial. Windows will reduce disk usage for page file/virtual memory/swap as it'll get access to huge free memory resource. So, you'll get performance boost because RAM R/W speed is much higher than disk.
RAM capacity isn't only key for performance. For ultimate performance boost, upgrade to DDR3 RAM (if its not). But, you'll need to replace your motherboard for it because RAM slots are not version compatible.