RAM, Processor, L2Cache, Etc. - What gives you the most "Bang for your buck"?

"People are talking about RAM, but not saying why.

When you run a program, your operating system copies the program code from your hard disk to your RAM. The same thing happens if you open a file, or view a web page: the thing you're looking at on your screen has to live in RAM.

When your RAM gets full (because you're running too many programs, or have too many documents open), your operating system starts taking stuff out of RAM and putting it back on disk (in a ""swap file""). If those bits of memory are needed again, it will swap something else out, and then bring them back in.]

This is slow.

If your computer is swapping, you will benefit from more RAM. A symptom of swapping is: you alt-tab to a window you haven't used in a little while and it is slow coming up, and your hard disk is grinding.

So, RAM-wise, you want enough to stop your system swapping. Over this point, you may get benefit from more, but it will be much less. How much is that? For typical Windows XP usage, 2GB. I have read that typical Vista usage needs 4GB. Personally, I doubt you'll get any benefit from more than 4GB unless you're doing something really memory-intensive (and, also, you need to be running a 64-bit operating system to even see more than 4GB)."

"If your buying a new computer buy the one with the best processor the Pentium Core i7 if you can afford it or the new uprated 3.4Ghz Pheanon. The black series pheanons are excellent if you like to overclock.

You dont need a computer with massive amounts of RAM at the beginning, and as previously pointed out RAM is cheap, replacing a processor often means replacing the motherboard etc as well.

When it comes to upgrading again there is no point in going out and buying ram simply for the numbers, you have to establish your systems bottleneck as described by Amdahl's law. At this point its most likely going to be RAM or the graphics depending on usage."

"It may not be ""bang for your buck"" but I find that the problem most ""average computer users"" have is that they don't know how to look after a computer. You need to be defragging fairly frequently (once a month of so for an average user), keeping track of what programs you have installed and deleting things you don't need, taking a look at what programs are starting up as soon as you start your PC and getting rid of ones that aren't necessary.

If you look after a computer properly it runs quite smoothly at little to no cost what so ever :) Of course, if you do look after it properly and want a hardware upgrade then RAM is definitely your cheapest option."

"You can never go wrong getting the fastest cpu and hard drive / SSD that you can afford. You take care of those two components, there is nothing you cant do non-gaming related.

RAM is like air, money and women...you only notice it if you dont have enough."