How Does RAM Affect Performance?Ī computer loads programs, the operating system, and data currently being used by the CPU. The amount of RAM on your computer is vital to determining how much your Mac can do at any one time without worsening its performance.

Memory, also known as RAM, is like the short-term memory of your computer: it’s the amount your Mac can store on its system at any one time that’s ready to be immediately retrieved. Apple’s Calculator app alone uses around 28 megabytes of memory, or 45 times the entire usable memory space of a 640K RAM computer!īut how much memory do you need? This depends entirely on how much you will use your computer and what you’re going to use it for.

Although the story is probably apocryphal, it did reflect the mood of some at the time: many people did believe that the future didn’t need much more RAM than what was available more than 30 years ago.Ĭlearly, we certainly need more than that now. According to reports, in the 1980s Bill Gates said that “640K RAM should be enough for anyone”.

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