Question on typical RAM use of win7
 

I`m currently running a quad-core with 4 gigs of RAM, and I have a habit of keeping an eye on my CPU and RAM usage. When I start gaming, I usually end up spiking at least two of my cores to 60%+, but my RAM use doesn`t typically vary more than 10-15%.


When I start my computer up, I end up at about 60-62% RAM use, and when I game it ends up at 70-75%. Would it be beneficial to move up to 8 gigs, or is that more or less pointless?


Stats are as follows:
Q9400 @ 2.66GHz
4 Gigs of RAM
Radeon 4650

Typical gaming at the moment is L4D2, Supreme Commander 2, etc etc. I`ll be upgrading my vidcard in a few months when the new generation comes out, so that`s something to bear in mind.

If it's for gaming, I'd go w/ 8GB of RAM if you have the budget for it ...

What do you have running at startup that uses over 2GB right away?

Startup programs are:

AVG
Nateon
Skype
PowerISO
Steam
uTorrent
AdAware
Spybot

in windows vista and 7 the more ram u have, the more it will allocate to the ram. it looks like u are using a lot of the ram, but windows is actually putting the more used programs into the ram for faster access. unlike XP which does not allocate your available memory to good use.

i have 8GB on my windows machine and starts up i'll use about 40%, but if i take out the ram, and down to 2GB, i'll still only use about 40% at start up

Yup, Win 7 loves to cache. That's why your RAM looks like it's getting eaten up, but it's really not.

Would using Speedboost (via flash drive) be beneficial in this case?
I have 2GB of ram, so would adding a 4GB flash drive allow a better memory allocation?

do you really need AVG, AdAware AND spybot?

Better safe than sorry

I run nod32, AdAware and SpyBot

i only use ms essentials. is that good enough or should i put adaware in there too? does it slow down startup by much?

I'd nix at least the bolded ones at startup unless you REALLY use them that much. I have no clue what Nateon is. Personally I prefer to have as little as possible running at boot so that when I do need my computer up quick it is quick.

Well, I use Malwarebytes and NOD32. But for the most part, I use my brain and be wise as to what I do on the internets.

where can i download brain?



firefox w/ noscript + cookie monster is very good protection.

what hyde said, i noticed the exact same thing, i hover around 32% when i start up. i have 6 gigs of ram.

I don't think many people would need 8gigs of ram, especially if the most intensive thing you do is game.

... coming from someone who has never gone from 4 to 8 GB of RAM, clearly ...

Huge difference ...

Uh, if you read carefully, I never said it doesn't make a difference.

I'm saying if all he does is game, the money can be spent on a better video card.