Does your PC need more RAM?
- Why does Memory Increase performance
- How do I know if I have enough RAM
- What is Virtual Memory
- What is taking up all of my memory
- Windows task manager
- Places to buy extra RAM
What is taking up all of my memory?
Now I know a few of you will have looked at the task manager and thought I haven't got that much running and why do have only a small amount of physical memory left. But maybe you need to examine what actually is running on your machine at the moment that can take a fair amount of memory up. Which of these are running on your system?
- Operating system (well I'm sure it is)
- Anti virus software
- Firewall software
- Device drivers
- Keyboard and mouse software
- instant messenger (MSN, AIM, Yahoo)
- Printer software
- E-mail client in the background
- Media player client
- Network resources
- Peer to Peer Software
- Plus many more
You may think that your not using many of these things on your machine. But take note that some of these programs reside in the system tray even from the moment you start your machine. Not the full program but a client is still there taking up some memory in order for that program to load quickly when its called upon. This can be a drain on resources of you don't monitor which programs load into the system tray.
Windows Task Manager again is a great little tool for finding out what programs are taking up memory. By loading the task manager the same as before as soon as your computer boots up you can find out which programs and processes are loading straight into memory before you even load the first of the applications you wish to use. Once inside the Task Manager select the "processes" tab and you should be presented with the following screen (Windows XP).
The first column displayed as "image name" lists the names of all the processes loaded into memory at the current time. The list is usually quite long as it includes all the processes that Windows is using. The second column is displayed as "user name" and is simply showing you what has started the process running. the processes that show a user name of SYSTEM have been started by the operating system and are usually required for the smooth running of the OS. Local services are similar and are also started by the OS as and when they are needed. Network services are again started by the OS and are used for networking facilities you may have on your PC. You should then see some processes with username you should recognise. These are process that have been started up as a preference when you log on to windows. Some are required and you will want to keep and others you may be able to do with out. For a list of common processes and what they are for visit this guide of Windows XP processes.
The session ID is a identifier that you need not worry about. The CPU column shows how much of the CPU's cycles are being used by that process at the current time. It is shown as a percentage of the total "CPU Time". Finally the section we are looking at in this article is the memory usage. This is a simple display showing exactly how much memory each process is taking up, allowing you to recognise what is taking up that precious memory and letting you decide whether or not you need that process to be active.
Once you have discovered how much memory the processes take up just after boot you may want to load up some applications that you normally use and see how much extra memory is being used by those programs. Remember that one application can load more than processes if it requires extra tools to do its job.
Hopefully this has provided an insight into how valuable having enough RAM to cover every application and game you use really is. It can be the most effective and cheapest upgrade you will ever make to your PC.
If your looking to buy extra RAM why not try the following retailers.