8 gigs enough RAM for WIn10 in a lap top

[Viper69]

Saw a laptop on sale with these specs Core i7-6700HQ processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB solid state drive, and Nvidia GTX 950M graphics powering a 15.6" 4K touchscreen.

Samsung-Notebook-9-Pro-Model NP940Z5L-X01US

The RAM is soldered onto the board unfortunately.


Is 8 Gigs enough RAM to run Win10 doing various MS Office, web surfing, multimedia activities (no vid editing) ?

I was pretty certain I was going to get something with 12gigs of RAM, but this computer w/the HQ CPU.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rescuetoaster]

Absolutely, yes.

 

[Alaric]

Opening a half dozen tabs in Firefox might run in to memory issues, but otherwise for basic computer usage 8 GB should be fine.

 

[Viper69]

Absolutely, yes.

Thanks. I haven't found a single laptop that has everything I'm looking for. Each one has something I like that the other doesn't, sometimes it's a nice to have feature, other times it's a must have feature.

So far the best all around one I have come across for my needs is the Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga 14

Here http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-...lid-state-drive-black/4456400.p?skuId=4456400

It has all the ports I would use. Building my own PC is so much nicer than sorting through all the laptops.

The other option is from Samsung - Notebook 9 pro 15.6" 4K Ultra HD Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 8GB Memory - 256GB SSD

The issue w/the Samsung is the SSD is considerably slower, and the RAM is soldered in. I know w/the Lenovo Yoga 14 I can upgrade the SSD if I want AND the RAM (single slot, so 16 Gigs).

The form factor of this Lenovo is "meh", but the functionality seems pretty decent. Longer battery life of course than the Samsung....

Decisions, decisions...



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Opening a half dozen tabs in Firefox might run in to memory issues, but otherwise for basic computer usage 8 GB should be fine.

Really, thanks for letting me know this. I frequently open 10-15 taps open on my desktop....jeez.

 

[rescuetoaster]

Well, to be fair - I don't think there is any amount of ram that firefox will be happy with (or chrome for that matter).
I use my surface exclusively for the type of work you just described, it has 8 gigs of ram. I currently have about 12 tabs open on chrome, 14 PDFs open on foxit, running onenote with a huge amount of images, and have edge open + a few word docs, and am currently using about 3 gigs of ram.
I think the most I've used is around 4 gigs when onenote has gone rogue and sprung a memory leak.

 

[wingman99]

I have 45 tabs open on desktop windows 10 64bit and only using 6.5GB.

 

[Alaric]

I have never had Firefox or any of it's derivatives handle memory in a coherent, conservative fashion, in XP, W7, or W10. I haven't tried Chrome, but Opera seems fine. Except Opera is slooooooow. Like dial up XP slow. Stupid slow. I'm-going-to-dump-it-and-try-something-else-before-I-lose-my-mind-slow. That kind of slow. LOL

edit: If I open 6 tabs in Firefox and walk away for 30 minutes (phone, bathroom, knock at the door, etc.) it will eat over 12 GB and climbing with 16 GB of DDR4 3000! 6.5 GB in a 8 GB system will slow things down noticeably. That was with 6 cores of CPU and 8 GB DDR3 1600.

Really, thanks for letting me know this. I frequently open 10-15 taps open on my desktop....jeez.

I've heard Chrome is much better now, so unless you're tied to FF 8 GB should pose no issues. And shutting off the plug in container through Task Manager clears the RAM instantly in Firefox.

 

[wingman99]

Use Chrome you will not have any problems, the screenshot above is with all the tabs that have been used for 6 months no memory leaks. Desktop Browser Version Market Share Link: https://www.netmarketshare.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=2&qpcustomd=0

 

[trents]

Take this for what it's worth but I work on all kinds of computers in my repair business, including laptops and my impression is that Lenovo's build quality is inferior to most other major brands. They just seem to be cheaply made. Dell's former quality edge seems to be gone and HP and Acer quality is on the rise. That 's my take. Haven't had much experience with Samsung, however. They make great tablets and phones, though. These are generalizations and each individual model needs to be evaluated on its own merit.

 

[Alaric]

I've seen some nicely built Acers in the last couple of years, including a cheap Chromebook that was surprisingly good quality. Lenovo is what's left of IBM's personal computing arm after it was sold to Red China. Probably not where I'd go for quality, either. But I'm not a fan of China or anything they do or make. At least not if they're the last word in the quality control or design of the product. My $.02

 

[Viper69]

Well, to be fair - I don't think there is any amount of ram that firefox will be happy with (or chrome for that matter).
I use my surface exclusively for the type of work you just described, it has 8 gigs of ram. I currently have about 12 tabs open on chrome, 14 PDFs open on foxit, running onenote with a huge amount of images, and have edge open + a few word docs, and am currently using about 3 gigs of ram.
I think the most I've used is around 4 gigs when onenote has gone rogue and sprung a memory leak.

Thanks a lot for this specific info. This is a bit like I tend to use my computer but with less PDFs open. VERY VERY HELPFUL!!

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I have 45 tabs open on desktop windows 10 64bit and only using 6.5GB.

View attachment 185705

Thank you very much!!! Far exceeds my uses, very very good to see indeed. Much appreciated the screen shot too!

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I have never had Firefox or any of it's derivatives handle memory in a coherent, conservative fashion, in XP, W7, or W10. I haven't tried Chrome, but Opera seems fine. Except Opera is slooooooow. Like dial up XP slow. Stupid slow. I'm-going-to-dump-it-and-try-something-else-before-I-lose-my-mind-slow. That kind of slow. LOL

edit: If I open 6 tabs in Firefox and walk away for 30 minutes (phone, bathroom, knock at the door, etc.) it will eat over 12 GB and climbing with 16 GB of DDR4 3000! 6.5 GB in a 8 GB system will slow things down noticeably. That was with 6 cores of CPU and 8 GB DDR3 1600.



I've heard Chrome is much better now, so unless you're tied to FF 8 GB should pose no issues. And shutting off the plug in container through Task Manager clears the RAM instantly in Firefox.

I'm not tied to FF. However it's the browser I know the best (not a guru on it mind you). I have not used Chrome. I've been concerned, perhaps mistakenly, that Chrome will share info or everything done in Chrome will be sent to Google. So I 've never used it.

 

[Viper69]

Take this for what it's worth but I work on all kinds of computers in my repair business, including laptops and my impression is that Lenovo's build quality is inferior to most other major brands. They just seem to be cheaply made. Dell's former quality edge seems to be gone and HP and Acer quality is on the rise. That 's my take. Haven't had much experience with Samsung, however. They make great tablets and phones, though. These are generalizations and each individual model needs to be evaluated on its own merit.

Thanks for this input, it's quite helpful. I've always liked HP. My netbook was an HP, and I LOVE it. If it only it had enough power to get out of its own way. No viruses, no corrupted registry it's just "old", about 5 yrs perhaps. If anything I can always keep the HDD. Though I will see if I can use it for SOMETHING. What I'm not sure yet.

I've seen some nicely built Acers in the last couple of years, including a cheap Chromebook that was surprisingly good quality. Lenovo is what's left of IBM's personal computing arm after it was sold to Red China. Probably not where I'd go for quality, either. But I'm not a fan of China or anything they do or make. At least not if they're the last word in the quality control or design of the product. My $.02

So true regarding Lenovo. I'm familiar w/the IBM Thinkpad more so than the quality of China's. I used one for a year, and it was fine (business laptop). But we'll see, I haven't quite figured out what I'll run with yet.

Acer, I don't know... You may be right. They have at times come out with good products, but the initial shock when they first started hasn't changed my mind entirely to suggest them regularly, let alone buy one. But I never say "never".

 

[wingman99]

I'm not tied to FF. However it's the browser I know the best (not a guru on it mind you). I have not used Chrome. I've been concerned, perhaps mistakenly, that Chrome will share info or everything done in Chrome will be sent to Google. So I 've never used it.

The only thing chrome sends is usage statistics and Crash reports, to make a better browsing experience.