There are no two ways about it: the more memory on your PC, the better (at least up to a point). Adding more memory to a computer will almost always result in better performance, and can help reduce freezes and crashes as well.

Windows loads drivers, applications, and documents into memory until it’s full; once there’s no more memory available, Windows starts pulling large chunks of information out of memory and storing them on your hard disk to make room for the applications that need memory more urgently.

Because your hard disk is substantially slower than memory, this “swapping” noticeably slows down your system. The more memory you have, the less frequently Windows will use your hard disk in this way, and the faster your system will be.

ram buying guide

The nice thing about memory is that it is a cheap and easy way to improve performance. When Windows 3.x was first released, 32 MB of RAM cost around a thousand dollars. The same quantity of memory (and a faster variety) available at the release of Windows Vista costs less than a ticket to the movies.

The type of memory you should get depends solely on what your motherboard demands—refer to the documentation that came with your motherboard or computer system for details.

There are many different brands of memory, and some are simply known for better reliability and stability. Some motherboards require more expensive varieties, so do your research before you buy.

That simply leaves one thing to think about: quantity. In short, get as much memory as you can afford. Like everything else, though, there is a point of diminishing returns. 1 GB (1,024 MB) is probably the lowest amount you should tolerate on a Windows Vista system. Windows 7 can take up to 4GB of RAM as of this writing.

Ben Carigtan shows you how it’s done!