How much Ram?

macfanuk · 14 Aug 2010 at 23:41

I am building a computer to use for web development and I want it to be as good as I can realistically afford. I'm currently going for a Core i5 760 2.8GHz, 64GB Crucial C300 SSD, 2 x 1TB Samsung F3's, and a 1GB GeForce 9800GT.

Can anyone recommend a suitable amount of Ram to go in this system?

K1LLSW1TCH · 15 Aug 2010 at 00:31

4GB should be fine for what you use it for I'd say.

Admetos · 15 Aug 2010 at 00:34

I have a system used for software development - I have 8GB, however most days only around 4GB is used.

I can have lots of dev programs open (SQL, Visual Studio, Dream Weaver), and it's rare to get above 4GB. - So yes 4GB is plenty here.

I do also run software that will use almost all my 8GB of memory, but it's photo editing, and not related to development.

franco_22 · 15 Aug 2010 at 02:14

4GB is the norm usually.

vsmora · 15 Aug 2010 at 02:27

K1LLSW1TCH said:
4GB should be fine for what you use it for I'd say.

+1

Noticeable performance hindrance to bother with less, not enough improvement to be worth getting more. Make sure you are using x64 Windows

macfanuk · 15 Aug 2010 at 13:04

Thanks for the advice. How about if I need to have a VM? Would it be a good idea to have say 4GB for my main system then an additional 2-4GB to allocate to the VM if/when needed?

Hudzy · 15 Aug 2010 at 14:00

If you're running VM and will be using quite a bit of ram anyway, then you'll want as much as you can afford I'd say. Which is a good rule for ram in any case. I'd go with 8 if you can afford it.

macfanuk · 15 Aug 2010 at 19:14

Hudzy said:
If you're running VM and will be using quite a bit of ram anyway, then you'll want as much as you can afford I'd say. Which is a good rule for ram in any case. I'd go with 8 if you can afford it.

Ok, thanks, I'll see what I can afford

Xelene · 25 Aug 2010 at 19:53

JasonM said:
I have a system used for software development - I have 8GB, however most days only around 4GB is used.

I can have lots of dev programs open (SQL, Visual Studio, Dream Weaver), and it's rare to get above 4GB. - So yes 4GB is plenty here.

I do also run software that will use almost all my 8GB of memory, but it's photo editing, and not related to development.

My experiences are similar to this, except I have 12GB, realistically speaking I should have just gone for 6GB. My work machine has 4GB and I find that a struggle to work with.

I'd recommend you buy 4GB now and if it's not enough add another 4GB, it's not a tricky upgrade to make.