How much RAM?

Just like your computer needs RAM (Random Access Memory) to operate smoothly, your video card needs memory of its own, usually called VRAM (Video-RAM). While its easy to replace or upgrade the RAM in your computer, VRAM is permanently built into your video card. If you want more VRAM, you need to replace the video card entirely. No VRAM, no vroom.

Discrete or Built-in?

Most motherboards come with built-in video. When your computer uses the built-in video, it uses part of your RAM for normal computing and part of it for video. Obviously, sharing is not as good as everyone having their own resources for their own tasks. If you install a discrete video card, the motherboard will automatically use the newly installed card as the video source instead of its built-in video capability.

To understand this arrangement, imagine a TV with a built in VCR. A motherboard is like that TV VCR combo. You can still attach an external DVD player or a Blu-ray player to a combo TV if you want to. If all you need is a VCR, then what’s built-in works fine. If you need DVD or Blu-ray, then you need to add something extra, bypassing the VCR. Video that’s built into a motherboard is adequate, but for high performance, you want to add something external, a discrete video card which bypasses what’s built-in.

Is it Built-in?

It can be difficult to tell whether a computer has a discrete video card. Manufacturers don’t like to admit when video is built-in. The phrase to look for is ‘up to’. If the spec sheet says, ‘Video: 256MB’, then that’s VRAM in a discrete card. If the spec sheet says, ‘Video: up to 256MB’, then it’s built-in and that’s the amount of RAM that the motherboard is able to divert to video, leaving less RAM for the computer to work with.

Most inexpensive computers don’t bother to put in a discrete video card, they just use built-in video. A decent Video Card will bump the cost of an entry level computer by 10-30%, and when the industry is as cut throat as it is, you have to do everything you can to keep costs down.

On a desktop, it is easy to add a discrete video card in later, so there’s no risk buying something underpowered. You can just upgrade. On a laptop, adding a video card in later isn’t really an option. Hard drives can be replaced on a laptop or added via USB, memory can be upgraded, optical drives can be added via USB. But, the video card and screen are the part of a laptop that you’re really stuck with if you buy too little at first. If you buy a laptop with built-in video and you need more, you’d better hope the store has a good return policy.

Cost vs Power

An underpowered video card can slow down an otherwise snappy computer, but the reality is that many users just don’t have a need for that much horsepower. Certain graphics-intensive programs, like video games, need a video card with kick. But, if all you’re likely to use the computer for is word-processing, email and web browsing, then built-in graphics will suffice.

Consider what you’ll use the computer for, and if you need power, don’t skimp on the video card, especially on a laptop. If you do buy a laptop with built-in video, make sure you understand the terms of the return policy.

Upgrading

RAM is one of the easiest things to upgrade in your computer. It comes in sticks that insert into slots in your computer. Turn the machine off, open up the case, flip open the clips on the slot, pull out the old stuff if you don’t have open slots and gently pop the RAM into place. When you restart the computer it will automatically recognize the new RAM and start using it, as long as it’s the right type.

It is very important to make sure that you have the right type of memory. Memory comes in different speeds, and the wrong speed of RAM won’t be recognized by your computer, although most RAM has the ability to operate at it’s normal speed and one speed lower. Sometimes the higher speed of RAM is cheaper, so buying faster RAM and letting it operate at less than it’s optimal speed might make sense. If you’re unsure, take the computer into the store and the nice people behind the counter will charge you a nominal fee to take care of all the grunt work. Some types of RAM must be installed in pairs.

Discerning Your Limitations

Every computer has a motherboard. It’s a large piece of silicon that everything else plugs into. It’s like the frame of a car. Everything else gets bolted on. Every motherboard has a maximum amount of RAM that it will accept. As a rule of thumb, most computers ship with motherboards that will accept twice the amount of RAM they came with. If your computer comes with 2 Gigs of RAM, it will usually be upgradeable to 4 Gigs. When you’re looking into buying a new computer, check to see what it’s capable of handling.

Slot Me In

Laptops usually come with two slots for RAM. Desktops often come with two, but sometimes come with three or four slots. Having extra slots is a real advantage. If you only have two slots, and both of them are filled with RAM when the computer ships, you’ll need to remove some of the RAM you’ve already paid for to be able to put your new RAM in. If your computer has empty slots you can buy more RAM and not have to take out what you’ve already paid for. Smaller amounts of RAM are less expensive, so it’s usually cheaper to put 4Gigs of RAM in your machine by buying 4 x 1Gig than 2 x 2Gigs. When you’re buying a new computer, check not only how much RAM is included, but also if that RAM is taking up all the available memory slots. It’ll save you money in the long run if you don’t have to toss out memory you’ve already paid for.

32bit or 64bit OS

When computers first came out, they were 8bit systems. This means that the information that the computer uses internally came in 8 digit chunks. Combinations of ‘0′ and ‘1′ that were 8 long, ‘01010101′. Then, 16 bit systems came out. These used binary code that was 16 digits long, ‘0101010101010101′. These systems were more powerful, because they could communicate larger numbers more quickly. 32bit systems replaced those, and we’re now making the transition to 64bit systems.

The reason why this makes a difference for a discussion on RAM, is that 32bit Windows systems cannot use more than 4Gigs of memory (Mac limits are more generous). Because RAM is not the only type of memory on a system, a 32bit Windows system really doesn’t make use of more than 3Gigs of RAM, even if 4Gigs are physically installed on the machine. 3Gigs is still a decent amount of RAM in this day and age, but 64bit computers are already starting to come out with 6 and 8Gigs of RAM installed.

If you buy a 32bit PC today, it is probably going to come with 3 or 4Gigs of RAM installed. It is not possible to upgrade a 32bit system beyond 4 Gigs and there’s no point in putting in more than 3Gigs, but manufacturers aren’t making that clear in their promotional material. 3Gigs of RAM is probably fine for a typical user, but most people buy a computer with the expectation that they will be able to upgrade it, and anyone who buys a 32bit system with that expectation is in for a shock when they go to bump up their RAM. Buyer beware.