If you’re considering a new computer or upgrading your current one, then the question of which is better between RAM vs. SSD might come up. There are pros and cons to both, so it’s a difficult decision to make. I’ve put together a few guidelines that should help make your decision a bit easier. Hopefully this will help you decide whether you should upgrade your existing system to SSD or if you should go with ram for your new machine. It’s not an easy decision!
The first thing that you need to do is determine the difference in RAM size when going between RAM vs. SSD. For instance, if you have a dual core i7 processor that uses eight gigabytes of memory, then you would want two 8GB sticks of RAM. If you have an older dual core processor that uses six gigabytes of memory but uses only four gigabytes, then you may want to upgrade to six gigabytes of ram vs. eight gigabytes of RAM to save a little money. You’ll probably be able to find exactly what you need in either case so don’t let anything limit you from your decision. Just know that there are some big differences between the two and you might decide that ram vs. SSD are the way to go.
Before you start shopping for RAM vs. SSD upgrades, you need to make sure you understand all the options. Obviously you can upgrade both your RAM and your SSD at the same time but that isn’t usually recommended. The reason is that memory and hard drive space are limited and upgrading both at once can create an imbalance. Instead of upgrading both at once, you should stick to upgrading RAM first and then look into getting an SSD upgrade. This way you won’t be stuck with two drives, which takes up valuable storage space.
Another reason not to do it at the same time as adding RAM to your machine is because some newer motherboards actually support the installation of a full blown ram system. If this is the case, then you should check to see if your motherboard will support the additional RAM. Not all motherboards will support the installation of this many drives. If it will then you should avoid going to the store to purchase your upgrade ram only to find out that your motherboard will not handle the additional RAM.
When you find out which motherboard will support the additional ram you’ll want to check to see what the maximum RAM is for that specific model. If you plan on purchasing one of these ram upgrades, then you’ll definitely want to take this into consideration. Usually the maximum RAM is four gigabytes but it can vary depending on the specific make and model of your computer. By adding ram to your machine, you could potentially double the amount of performance.
So, how do you determine whether to get an eight gigabit or eight gigabyte ram upgrade? Well, it just really depends. For most, an eight gigabyte upgrade is more than enough to handle what they are doing and most home users won’t notice a difference anyways. However, if you are someone who routinely uploads large pictures or videos to YouTube or another such site then you will definitely want to consider upgrading to a larger hard drive. If you add a terabyte RAM to your machine, you’ll be able to upload twice as much material without experiencing any slowing down or other problems.
One thing that people often forget when thinking about whether or not to get an upgrade RAM versus a cheaper one is the cost. Although an eight gigabit may cost you three hundred dollars or more, if you were to go out and buy a cheaper model you’d be spending at least five hundred dollars or more. Adding a larger hard drive will also increase the price because you need to buy the necessary hardware and then expect the company to install it for you. Whereas with the cheaper model, you might have to pay a few hundred dollars for the whole machine. Therefore, it really does depend on your current budget as to whether or not you should upgrade ram vs SD.
These two reasons are why people often debate whether or not to get an upgrade in ram vs SD. It’s important to keep in mind that an upgrade can improve performance significantly so you should always consider it if your computer is performing below standard. You never know when performance problems may arise so it’s better to be prepared. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on an upgrade then you should probably stick to buying a cheaper model that can still perform as well as the others.