What is the reasonable amount of RAM these dayz?

[Wilan Wong]

I plan on running Windows NT 4 Workstation on my comp that is going to be upgraded. I am having trouble decided how much RAM I need for it. I plan on using it for Web Site Development (Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks) and using Multimedia Programs such as Adobe Photoshop 6 and LiveMotion as well. So how much do you say? I am looking at least 128Mb RAM but I might make the jump either to 192Mb or 256Mb depending on if it's needed or not.

[Steve R Jones]

NT wants more ram than win98. Go for the 192 or 256. Let you pocket book be your guide.

[Richard_Cranium72]

Slots, Slots,, How many slots do ya have.

If funds allow, and yu have only two,, AND a Intel mobo,,

I suggest two sticks of 128, make sure it's cl2 though, for real speed.

You didn't mention any O/C in this system,, what's the FSB ??

One mfg makes some 150mhz stuff.
just a afterthought..

DrVette

P.S. check www.techbargains.com (http://www.techbargains.com) then www.buycomp.com (http://www.buycomp.com)

I got some Kingston PC100 cl2 sticks for $65.00 a week ago, and this was with Free Shipping / Hdlg.

AND if I had NOT panicked and ordered it so quickly,, I could have used the coupon and got it for $55.00 a stick

[NDC]

For web related graphic work, 256MB should be enough since the files aren't going to be that large. If you were talking about desktop publishing, well..... 256mb would be less than minimum.

NT4 Workstation and Win2K are really RAM hungry OS's. They try to load as much of the OS system files to get optimized speeds. I have 768MB PC-100 RAM and as soon as NT4 or Win2K desktop icons are loaded, it gobbles up about 180MB.


And I would suggest (1) 256MB RAM Module which I'm pretty sure your BIOS supports. Why waste a precious DIMM slot? It isn't as if you have a lot of them. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif Mine has 4 DIMM sockets and all four are already filled. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/frown.gif

[This message has been edited by NDC (edited 11-12-2000).]

[Dputiger]

256-Meg DIMMS, however, carry an ugly premium.

I'd say 128 is minimal, 192-256 'reasonable', above that 'optional', but it totally depends on WHAT your doing.

[Ed_S]

Have to agree with NDC. Go with the single 256 & leave yourself the expansion room.
Might cost a little extra now, but it'll be cheaper later to add rather than replace.

[shadow]

NT4 workstation a RAM gobbler? I have found NT4 to be very efficient and fast compared to 98. Monitor and compare with something like MaxMem.

I dual boot with NT4/Win98SE and NT uses far less RAM for the same apps. and does things alot faster than 98SE. I also noted that the heat generated by the cpu is far less running NT4. BTW, I have an AMD 500@450 with 96MB RAM but no graphics intensive apps.
If you have the slots I'd try with 128 to start, monitor the RAM usage & see how things work.

[NDC]

uhhhh, Shadows......

My point wasn't that NT4 wastes memory or runs less efficiently than Win98! I think everyone who has used NT4 for a period of time knows that Win98 can come nowhere near NT4 when it comes to memory management.

My point is that NT4 requires more memory than Win98 would to run the OS at an optimal speed. ok? http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[shadow]

Hmm...ok. I have only recently begun to use NT4 and really noticed it's speed compared to Win98. The RAM I have seems to be used far better by NT4 as compared to 98.
At startup NT is hogging less ram with the same apps running.

To run the OS at an optimal speed?
I would like an explaination of that one if you dont mind. And I'm not being cheeky.

[NDC]

One of the reason that NT4 runs faster than Win98 is that more system files are loaded into the RAM at bootup. So for example, if Win98 loaded about 35% of its system files to physical RAM, NT4 would load up about 50% or so on... BTW, this isn't an exact percentage. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

That is why many people call NT4 and Win2K "Memory Hungry". If you were to run Win98 with 32mb RAM Vs. NT4 with 32MB RAM, you will notice that Win98 will use less access to the Virtual Memory, because Win98 just doesn't require as much memory as NT4 or Win2K. NT4 and Win2k will access the Page File BIG time if you have less than 128mb RAM, unlike Win98.

As for memory management, NT4 is much more superior than Win98. Win98 doesn't like to return the resources that the OS and applications use up, so you need to use a 3rd party util to recover the resources back, but with NT4 and Win2K, that isn't the case as you may have already noticed.

I hope I answered some of your questions. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif



[This message has been edited by NDC (edited 11-12-2000).]

[shady]

what is the name of that 3rd party util. Ima go get it right now!!!!!!!

[NDC]

There are a few actually. There is RAM Booster, WinRAM Booster, Mem Turbo, etc.
But from my experience using it when I used to use Win98, RAM Booster V.1.6 seems to do a great job and is very simple to use.


Here is a link to download them:

http://download.cnet.com/downloads/1,10150,0-10001-103-0-1-7,00.html?tag=st%2Edl%2E10001%2Esbsr&qt=Ram+Booster&cn=&ca=10001


[This message has been edited by NDC (edited 11-13-2000).]

[ArnoldLLerch]

http://203.53.49.82/ Take a look at this one.
Very effective and very small.

[shadow]

Thanks for the expaination NDC.
I use MaxMem found here:
http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/system.htm

[NDC]

You're welcome, Shadow. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

You should also try using AnologX NetStat Live which is another handy little program to see the speed you're connecting at on the net.

http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/nsl.htm

[rh71]

I develop with Flash & Photoshop on an NT4 Workstation at work. Let me tell you it's certainly no fun when you mix in another program like CF Studio and a browser or two. Anyway, developing requires multiple memory-hog appz running at the same time. You will need 256MB to feel comfortable. But 192MB will be sufficient, I'd say.

[LiLRiceBoi]

go for 256...rams cheap now and you can get a stick of it for about $90

[Wilan Wong]

Thanx for ur repliez!

[Warthog]

A few days ago, my Maximum PC mag came. They have an excellent article on RAM. It would have answered your question exactly.

I'm getting interested in Photoshop and (when my TV tuner comes) video editing. I have 128mb PC133 now. Only two slots for RAM http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/frown.gif http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/frown.gif. I will definately get another 128mb stick. The question is, will 256mb memory be enough two years down the road? Should I get a 256mb stick instead so I can prepare for the future?

Warthog

[NDC]

The question is, will 256mb memory be enough two years down the road?

I wouldn't plan that far ahead. We should see a some changes in memory type and many changes on other PC hardware.

As for Photoshop and memory, it really depends on what kinda files you're going to be working with. If you're going to be working with mostly web-size files ranging from 650 x 480 to 1280 x 1024, etc., 256MB should do the job quite nicely. But if you are planning to (Multi-Task) switch back and forth from Photoshop to let's say Illustrator doing web projects, I think 384MB may be a better way to go. But if you're talking about desktop publishing, 384 just won't cut it! An image size of an A4 sheet (21cm X 29.7cm) at 740dpi = 6115 x 8653 pixels, the size can be an average of 250mb (depending on the layers) in PSD format which is compression method that Photoshop uses. When that compressed file is opened in PhotoShop, the file is decompressed to about 580MB. Working with a file that is 580MB Vs. 384MB physical memory, will just run PhotoShop at a very uncomfortable pace, you know what I mean.....? So think about what you're actually going to be working with before you go out and spend your money on RAM. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif You see... more RAM isn't always better, it could be a waste of money in certain cases. Especially for people who buy RAM for bragging rights when they're going to be running general applications such as MS Office, IE, Napster, some games, etc. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

I would rather have cash in my pocket over bragging rights, wouldn't you? http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/biggrin.gif

I have 768MB RAM in my dual P3-733Mhz. Muhahahahahahahaha..... :P LOL http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif