When getting a new computer, some people neglect the amount of RAM and simply focus on the clock speed of the processor thinking that that will give them the best performance. What they don’t understand is that the amount and type of RAM in a computer greatly affects its speed and performance.

This is because RAM is where the computer stores information that will be accessed by the CPU. More RAM means that the CPU does not need to access the hard drive as much, resulting to faster speeds and better performance.

Different computers need different amounts of RAM, and it largely depends on what the computer will be used for. For most computers running Windows Vista or Mac OS X Leopard, 2 GB should be the minimum. For those used in video-editing or hardcore gaming, 3 or 4 GB should be the norm as those tasks are very taxing. For netbooks that run Windows XP or Linux, 1 GB should suffice.

The bottom line is that almost everytime, the more RAM a computer has, the better. RAM sticks are very cheap now anyway so getting more RAM for an old or even for a new computer shouldn’t be a big problem.