O.T. Computer RAM...

[Ray]

Yesterday, I upgraded my computer's memory to 1.25 Gb or RAM (512+512+256).
I had a problem with Photoshop trying to apply a filter and this scared me,
as I didn't want to loose my work.

Then, I realized.. My first PC computer, only 8 years ago, had 8 Mb of RAM
(and that was 4Mb extra over what was the regular kit). At that time, a
server had 256MB of RAM.. I found this funny that my computer today has more
RAM than a server had, only 5 or 6 years ago.

Also equally funny is that my computer can hold a complete CD in RAM, 1/4th
of a DVD disk (4.7 GB), it has 312 000 times the memory of my first (but
still running) programmable calculator (4K). My first hard drive can fit
2.5 times in my current computer's RAM (420Mb). Finally, I have as much RAM
in my computer that I have available, in the form of Compact Flash Card, for
my camera!

With all these advances in technology (and RAM), one thing it shares in
common with my very first computer, a Tandy (Radio-Shack then) Color
Computer I (grey) with its 64Kb of RAM : It crashes just as fast and when
least expected as the first one!

Ray

[BobHill]

Ray,

Is there a question in there somewhere? Most of us that have been around computers for awhile have experienced similar comparisons. I've found, especially when trying to compare the cost of then vs now, is DON'T. I don't want to know how much I've spent on computers and computer gear. Scary. My first "hard card" (before hard drives) had 1mb of memory and cost $1,000 and I thought that was fantastic. Just like my first CGA color monitor for $1,000.

Bob

[DS Nelson]

I remember it was *only* about 10 years ago that hard drives dropped below the $1 per megabyte barrier. I bought a 340 Mb hard drive for less than $300! Thank goodness they've continued to drop - the 120 Gb monster I just bought would have set me back about $100,000!

Dan

[JoAnn Amerson]

Like I said before I used to work for Gateway . I was always amazed by how far some people would go just because "someone" told them they should.

I talked people out of upgrading operating systems just because there was a new one. Yes, I made commission but that's no reason to sell them something they didn't need.

Upgrading RAM is another one of those things that may or may not need to be done. I'm running Elements on my P3-550MHz with 384MB of RAM. It's fine. Do I wish it was a smidgeon faster? Dumb question, of course I do. But it's not all that slow.

My fiance's system is our second computer. It's a P4-2.26GHz with 1 GB of RAM. His runs AutoCAD beautifully - and you should see the spreadsheets he cranks out. They are so large that on a rare occasion they choke his system.

We both have room to expand the RAM but we're not going to. There are alot of other things that can affect the speed of a computer. Hard drive speed, front bus speed, speed of the RAM, and we won't even get into programs that run in the background.

No question here either - just running at the mouth as usual.

[Ray]

JoAnn, you're right. Only in my case, Photoshop choked because I applied
several filters on one of my 10D pictures (they are huge files...) I tried
it again yesterday evening and it worked fine now. So, the more RAM was
really helpfull in my case :)

Ray

[Susan S.]

JoAnn - this is one of those YMMV issues - in my case I only had 256Mb of memory (and it wasn't that long ago that I was wondering why I needed all that!) and I was getting unexpected quits in PE2 with memory intensive filters (liquify mainly), and the spinning beach ball of death quite often on iphoto. More memory has fiixed things up. It's a bit faster on PE, but the main issue is reliability.
And now I can have itunes iphoto Elements explorer and other stuff all open at once without the system grinding to a halt. Memory is so cheap now it's an easy fix for a problem.

susan S