How Much RAM Does Windows 7 _Really_ Require To Run Optimally?

[enaberif]

Windows 7 != Vista

Its unfortunate that Microsoft ****** up big and made Vista run like a pig through molasses and made the hardware requirements so idiotic that you had to upgrade to run it.

They pulled their heads out of their asses and made Win7 run smoother than Vista so people with old architecture or computers could perhaps use it.

[Sushi Warrior]

Any chance running it on a Pentium 4, 512mb? Without aero OFC.

[AkG]

If it runs XP....it probably can run Win 7 w/out aero.

[Sushi Warrior]

That's good to know. Think it'll be any faster than XP?

[geokilla]

Just went from 2GB to 4GB on Windows 7 RC while running both CPU and GPU folding. Feels no different in everyday things.

[listlurker]

My sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to answer. I'm seeing 4GB as the general consensus.

Of course, having been burned by Windows' RAM-hoggery in past versions, I can't silence that little voice which whispers, "So, get 6GB, just to be safe!" Pure foolishness? Please let me know.

I plan on asking for help in the Builds section here very soon; I need help filling in the gaps on the new rig I intend to have NCIX build for me and ship to me. I'm just not confident or comfortable hand-building my own rig ... yet.

I would be grateful if any of you wise folks would keep an eye out for my Build post, and lend your expertise there as well.

Trying to choose what I need, on budget, when I'm not equally savvy about all part types and brands, has been giving me fits.

Thanks again!

LL

[ayah]

6GB is over the top for Windows 7, unless you're into multiple instances of photoshop and video editing type stuff.

[trayton]

Inless your running ancient hardware and not planning on updating its best to go with X64, as for RAM the more the merrier but I would say start with 4GB and if you feel you need more later then upgrade then.

[Jake_HT]

Well if you're building an X58 system, then go with 6GB... if you're building a system that doesn't use triple channel, then 4GB is the way to go. It will be more than enough. I can't see 7 taking anymore RAM than vista does, and 4GB is enough for vista. I have 6GB in vista and I hardly see over 60% being used.

[Ritz]

Oh man, I remember just 3 or 4 years ago when 256 MB of RAM was sufficient and things were gravy when you went with 512. Now 1 GB is practically the bottom end of the scale, 2 is sufficient for today and most are recommending 4. I have 6, my friend has 8 and I saw an i7 build at Futureshop with 12 GB of triple channel RAM.

But, I would be careful with getting to much RAM too quick. Unless your computer is a media creation workstation of some sort, getting more than 4 GB of RAM isn't going to be super practical. By the time your system needs over 4 GB for day-to-day tasks, the RAM you buy today is going to be slow and outdated compared to what will be available that time in the future. Timings will be faster, and DDR3 will probably be way cheaper.