How much does Random Access Memory (RAM) does your computer have? Not to be confused with disk space, RAM is responsible for storing and reading data on the fly. Each time your computer is turned off, data stored in RAM is automatically deleted. Unfortunately, insufficient RAM may result in several symptoms, some of which include the following.
#1) Random Freezing
Low RAM can may cause your computer to freeze at random times. When programs and apps consume all or most of your computer’s RAM, it will cause performance issues, including the potential for random freezes.
In addition to random freezing, low RAM may cause your computer to reboot at random times. You might be typing a document, only for your computer to shut itself off without warning. Your computer may run faster upon rebooting, but low RAM will continue to cause performance issues like random rebooting if left unchecked.
#3) High Memory Usage
Of course, you can often tell whether or not your computer has a sufficient amount of RAM by checking memory usage in the Task Manager. Assuming you have Windows, you should be able to launch the Task Manager to see what percentage of your computer’s RAM is currently in use. Just hold Ctrl + Alt + Del to open the Task Manager and view your computer’s RAM usage. If it’s above 60%, you may need to upgrade your computer with more RAM.
If you experience lag when typing, it could be a sign that your computer needs more RAM. Normally, your computer should respond almost immediately when you press a key. If there’s a delay of a second or longer, it could be a sign of low RAM. Lag such as this can occur when a computer doesn’t have enough RAM.
#5) Programs and Apps Not Responding
Nonresponsive programs and apps may indicate insufficient RAM. Even if you’ve already opened a program or app, it may stop responding if your computer has low RAM. The program or app may still be open — and you might even be able to click buttons or links in it — but it won’t respond to your commands. Instead, you’ll be forced to close and restart it.
#6) Blue Screen of Death
Low RAM can result in the dreaded blue screen of death. As the name suggests, this phenomenon involves Windows displaying a blue screen, which is typically filled with code in white text. Several things can trigger the blue screen of death, one of which is low RAM.
Have you been noticing slow loading times, sluggish response times, and lagging performance while working on your laptop? These are all signs that it may be time for an upgrade in your RAM (Random Access Memory) to optimize your system's performance and enhance RAM usage.
Have you been noticing slow loading times, sluggish response times, and lagging performance while working on your laptop? These are all signs that it may be time for an upgrade in your RAM (Random Access Memory) to optimize your system's performance and enhance RAM usage.
Check in Task Manager on Windows, Activity Monitor on a Mac, or type “vmstat” into a Linux terminal, and this will tell you what percentage of your memory is being used.
System updates stall productivity because your computer is so slow. You have display problems, like pulling up a page that either partially loads, doesn't load at all, or shows a blank space where data should be. You try to open apps or documents and the system stops responding.
For basic computing such as web browsing, document creation and light photo editing, 4GB or 8GB is usually sufficient. However, for more intensive tasks such as gaming or graphic design you might want to increase your RAM to 16GB or even 32GB of RAM.
There are many circ*mstances where upgrading your RAM will speed things up. Even cheap laptops can benefit from the extra memory. Depending on what you're looking to gain from your computer or laptop, adding more memory can speed up multitasking, gaming, browsing, printing and more.
RAM is physical memory and can only be added by inserting physical sticks into your computer. While this option can be expensive depending on the device you use and how much RAM you want to install, it might be your only viable option if you're constantly running low on memory.
Adding too much RAM will eventually jeopardize the computer's performance, even when you have enough of it. The additional RAM will start applying the law of diminishing returns at a certain point, meaning you won't get much value from it.
Simply open up your Windows Task Manager or Mac Activity Monitor and you'll be able to see which applications are the major culprits. You may find that an app you don't actually use is running in the background but still using up your RAM.
Google Chrome uses a significant amount of RAM due to its architecture and design. Chrome runs each tab, extension, and plugin as a separate process, which means that each one is treated as its own program.
Whenever a process takes up more running memory than is available, the extra data gets written to your page file on your hard disk/SSD. When the process requires some data stored in the page file, it is retrieved from the hard disk/SSD and is placed back into the RAM by swapping some RAM data back to the page file.
When you run out of RAM, your computer has to move things around to free up space on the hard disk, which slows down your computer. Note that RAM is different from storage: If you turn off your PC, the information in your RAM is gone, but the data saved in your long-term storage (SSD or HDD) is saved.
Upgrading the physical hardware is the most effective way to have more RAM. Still, if that's not an option, you can increase available memory by limiting the number of applications and processes running simultaneously.
For most PC and laptop owners, 16GB of RAM is a good figure to target. It gives you plenty of memory for most modern games, enough to run plenty of web browsing tabs at the same time, and you can even run demanding apps like video editing suites.
Chrome's RAM starvation may surprise many users. But even a modern browser uses a lot of RAM if you open many tabs at the same time. You should therefore definitely give your computer 32GB of RAM if you frequently play games with medium to high graphics requirements.
Introduction: My name is Msgr. Refugio Daniel, I am a fine, precious, encouraging, calm, glamorous, vivacious, friendly person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
