New Dell computer....

The minimum requirements for memory and drive spcae are based on space not speed or performance. The minimum requirements is what is needed to run the software, not what is needed but more will make it run better. The challance is null and void, because even if I wanted to entertain the notion, there are not sticks that small that will run in my system. I would be suprised if I could find a 256 MB or even a 512 MB.

Originally Posted by djwayne

Why can't you admit that more memory=better performance ??

BECAUSE IT DOESN'T, NO MATTER HOW MUCH RAM YOU PUT IN YOUR SYSTEM IT WILL STILL RUN AT THE SAME SPEED AS IF YOU WHERE RUNNING THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS. I DON'T CARE IF YOU ARE RUNNING 500 GB, IT WILL STILL RUN AT THE SAME PERFORMACE LEVEL AS IF YOU WHERE RUNNING 2 OR 4. The only acception is if you change the speed, even then it is not because you changed how much RAM is in the system it is beause you changed the speed.

If you are putting together you system to impress other, you are a bigger looser then I thought you were. Put it together for yourself, and what you need, not to be popular with people that only understand buzz words.

No, I'm upgrading my computer to suite myself and my needs. A 64 bit system will work fabulous for me, based on the experiences of others that have already gone down that path. Yes I am getting guidance from more experienced pro's, does that make me a loser ?? No, I don't think so. The professionals of which I speak, are the people who are creating music scores for tv, movies, commercials, etc...they do this for a living and are a very advanced bunch.

That is all nice and dandy, though that doesn't mean they know how a computer works. Plenty of people use computers everyday but couldn't tell you the difference between PC3-10600 and PC3-12800 or even the difference bwtween DDR, DDR2 and DDR3.

A computer is an eco system of harmany. Not one single upgrade will make it faster. It has to come from a series of upgrades. That is a fact, and it wont change.

A 500 gig hard drive upgrade from a 200 gig drive will give better performance thru more storage space. A i7 chip will perform better than an i3 chip, 8 gigs of memory is better that 2 gigs. Any one of these upgrades will improve overall performance.

Originally Posted by djwayne

A 500 gig hard drive upgrade from a 200 gig drive will give better performance thru more storage space.

No that would be you have more space, not better performance. Just because you have more space to play with doesn't mean it will work better. To get better performance out of a disk you will have to go Solid State, get a faster spin, get more cache...but the point being more space doesn't mean faster.

Originally Posted by djwayne

A i7 chip will perform better than an i3 chip

That is true, an i7 is better than an i3 and with its specs will preform better than an i3.

Originally Posted by djwayne

8 gigs of memory is better that 2 gigs.

Originally Posted by djwayne

Any one of these upgrades will improve overall performance.

Not just any one of these upgrades will improve the performance of the machine. It is a system of changes to make it run better.

More space=better performance. My first hard drive was a 3 gig drive. Next I upgraded to a 10 gig drive. Now I'm at a 500 gig drive. Try downgrading back to a 3 gig drive and maybe then you'll see what I mean about performance. Withouth that extra space, many programs won't work for you, because they CAN"T be installed. Along with space upgrades come speed upgrades from 5400 to 7200 RPM, does that not also help performance ??

The SPEED at witch the platter spins dose help performace, but the size of the drive dose not.

Let's see how well your computer runs with a 3 gig drive in it.

It would run perfectly fine with a Linux based server or some Linux Workstation distrobutions or Windows 2000 Server or Workstation or Windows Server 2003.

Maybe we could settle for this one: Raspberry Pi Release: Model B Units Finally Shipping This Week