[PLUG] Is 1 GB enough memory?

[Carlos Konstanski]

Am 16.03.2010 19:07, schrieb Richard C. Steffens:
> Michael Rasmussen and one or two others wrote this or something similar:
>> It really depends on what you're planning to do with the system.
>> Video editing?  Not enough.
>>
>> General use? Sure. Especially if you use XFCE and Chrome for your browser. 
>> Firefox will chew up that RAM.
>>   
> 
> General use is probably the right characterization. I'll be trying out 
> different distros. I'm also going to try running several virtually, at 
> the same time, for the experience. One thing I want to try is to see if 
> I can get an old copy of Win98 to run as a virtual machine and have 
> access to the SCSI controller I'll put in the box so I can run the 
> original software that came with my Epson Perfection 600 scanner. At one 
> time it worked under SANE, but somewhere in the last year or two that 
> model disappeared from the supported scanners list. The scanner on my 
> all-in-one Brother printer has developed a line running the length of 
> the scan, plus the 600 can handle legal size originals.
> 
> So, a test machine with occasional scanning, but no serious production work.
> 
> Fred James wrote:
> 
>> First - check the specs on the motherboard and see just how much memory, 
>> and in what configurations, the board will take.
> 
> Next time I have the lid off I'll see what I can figure out. I might 
> have some documentation from my sister, too. I know it has two slots, 
> but don't know the top end limits. On the other hand, this box is a few 
> years old, so I won't be putting a lot of re$ource$ into it.
> 
> 
> Tim wrote:
> 
>> However, you should consider whether or not the motherboard is
>> dual-channel or not.  Not sure if you're familiar with this timing
>> hack that motherboards have been using, but often you can get better
>> speed out of 2 or 3 smaller memory sticks rather than a single one of
>> a larger size (with all timing specs being otherwise the same).
>>   
> 
> No, I'm not familiar with that. I'll have to look into it.
> 
> 
> Update: My wife had to visit Pacific Solutions to have another machine 
> looked at, so she took my sister's old box with her. The tech installed 
> a 1 GB stick along with the 256 MB stick. The machine seems to boot XP 
> faster than before, which is what I expected. I will soon start loading 
> Linux distros on it.
> 
> Thanks to all for your advice.
> 

When you include the requirement of being able to run several VMs
simultaneously, you just added to your memory needs. Put in as much as you
possibly can.

Carlos