Thracian Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 My youngest is about to purchase a PC and wants to know how much RAM is needed to make it suitable for downloading music and DVD's. Any advice on this and a good choice for a modest price would be welcomed.
hebangsthedrums Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 512mb is starter now, but I would go for 1gb at least
Raj Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 Check out Dell.co.uk http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/default....ndhs1&s=dhs They are doing some good deals on Pc's and laptops Get some views about new Windows Vista which is the new operating system(the last one was XP) We have just bough a Dell Inspiron laptop with Windows Vista...seems fine. BUT i know alot of people are against Vista until they sort out any teething problems.
JoeyB Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 but downloading movies isnt just about the ram you have its also about the internet speed you have.
Kent Fox Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 Check out Dell.co.ukhttp://www1.euro.dell.com/content/default....ndhs1&s=dhs They are doing some good deals on Pc's and laptops Get some views about new Windows Vista which is the new operating system(the last one was XP) We have just bough a Dell Inspiron laptop with Windows Vista...seems fine. BUT i know alot of people are against Vista until they sort out any teething problems. Thracian, do not buy Dell! I have known a lot of people to have nowt but trouble with them. They use cheap parts and are bloody hard to replace. Stick with a common name such as Packard Bell (not brilliant, but better). Better still, get a mac. That's where my (smart) money is going once this pile of shite vaio packs up. That's my opinion.
Raj Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 Thracian, do not buy Dell!I have known a lot of people to have nowt but trouble with them. They use cheap parts and are bloody hard to replace. Stick with a common name such as Packard Bell (not brilliant, but better). Better still, get a mac. That's where my (smart) money is going once this pile of shite vaio packs up. That's my opinion. Now you fcucking tell me!!!!
Kent Fox Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 Now you fcucking tell me!!!! Sorry, mate. So many people I know / have known bought Dell as they are cheap, especially the lappies and have regretted it. I used to work for a company that supplied us with Dell lappies - for a year! My missus has one now - shite. I used to work for Maplin and we used to get loads in for repair.
Raj Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 Sorry, mate.So many people I know / have known bought Dell as they are cheap, especially the lappies and have regretted it. I used to work for a company that supplied us with Dell lappies - for a year! My missus has one now - shite. I used to work for Maplin and we used to get loads in for repair.
Kent Fox Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 Oh, I just heard... ...Yours is ok. Apparently THE best Dell they have knocked up mackled built.
Raj Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 Oh, I just heard......Yours is ok. Apparently THE best Dell they have knocked up mackled built.
Finnegan Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 Downloading music has nothing to do with it, tbh. But if he wants to play half decent games, run half decent programs, multi-task, whatever then he's going to want upwards of 1gb RAM these days. It's cheap as chips and the easiest thing to upgade on a PC though. You literally shove it in the appropriate slot and close your PC again. Heh.
Finnegan Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 512mb is fine Thrac Mine is 512. Seems fine. Not if you're buying a new one now. You want to buy a computer that's going to last you. Yes, it is the easiest thing to upgrade, but if you're buying a 512mb RAM computer - chances are everything else is going to be lower, too. Get a decent, top of the range (or as close to as you can afford) computer and let it last you time. Cheaper than buying new, middle range / low range shit every few years.
Blue Bob Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 I think it depends what you are buying? A laptop or a desktop? Does the graphics card have its own memory or a shared memory as this will have an impact. Simple rule of thumb I would use is get the highest you can afford. Everything is developing at a real pace, so today 512mb is OK but in two years time it wont run anything. Sure you can upgrade but check on any PC what you can upgrade to. My PC has 2mb of RAM and it works like a dream. It can take upto 4Mb and I guess at some point it will need to be upgraded. So start with the highest possible, the same goes for processor and harddrive.
AoWW Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 Check out Dell.co.ukhttp://www1.euro.dell.com/content/default....ndhs1&s=dhs They are doing some good deals on Pc's and laptops Get some views about new Windows Vista which is the new operating system(the last one was XP) We have just bough a Dell Inspiron laptop with Windows Vista...seems fine. BUT i know alot of people are against Vista until they sort out any teething problems. I'm a big fan of Vista and haven't experienced any problems with it. I would recommend getting at least the Vista Home-Premium version though, rather than the Home-Basic which is pretty pointless, imo.
lookwhaticando Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 Buy for the future - stick as much RAM in as you can afford. It'll save you a fair bit of hassle if you buy above and beyond the current averages if you can. And for those that say don't buy Dell, either you're tremendously unlucky or I'm sensationally lucky. I've had several Dell machines and they've all be highly reliable and the customer service is always first rate - for me. My current squeeze (Dell XPS M1210 laptop) gets a battering as far as usage goes - I've not even had any serious software errors, let alone hardware ones (none to date).
hebangsthedrums Posted 7 July 2007 Posted 7 July 2007 A tip if you're buying with Dell, though it is slightly naughty. Call up on the phone knowing what you want and haggle a bit to get the best price you can - don't be afraid to call back a few times. Once you've got the best price possible and taken delivery call them back and say you've seen a better deal elsewhere (shop worn stock or something). There is a cooling of period of 14 days (or something similar) so you can get a refund, but they generally offer money back or some free bits (printers digital camera etc) to entice you to keep it. I know a few people who did this and one who spent about 700 squid on a lappy got 80 back and a case + printer.
DB11 Posted 8 July 2007 Posted 8 July 2007 I have 768 mb and it is ok for me... and I download a lot of stuff. My internet speed is pretty fast, though.
Nationwider Posted 8 July 2007 Posted 8 July 2007 For just downloading stuff and playing DVDs, you onlyt need the absolute bare minumum of RAM, which would be 512mb. Most new computers come with double that these days (1gb) - indeed I think you'll need a minumum of 1gb to run the latest version of Windows (Vista). I'm building a PC at the moment, and I've put in 2gb. If you want to edit photographs or video, or play the latest games, I'd go for 2gb as it gives you a bit of insurance for the future. Whatever is chosen, make sure there are some spare slots to add further RAM, should you want more in the future. Hope that helps.
Bojimha Posted 8 July 2007 Posted 8 July 2007 I agree 1gb is sufficient but you might aswell pay the extra and bump it up to 2gb!
Simi Posted 8 July 2007 Posted 8 July 2007 I am thinking of RAMing my computer out of my window. Fcking thing.
Joe. Posted 8 July 2007 Posted 8 July 2007 I'd say it's worth paying for 1Gb of RAM because theres not actually much price difference. I'm about to buy a laptop soon for £400 and it's got 1Gb of Ram and 120Gb worth of space. For a laptop with that spec it's a bargain I hope.
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