So Windows will use RAM that is currently not in use to make your computer faster by caching. If you need the RAM (e.g. you open a program that needs that RAM) then Windows will automatically free up that RAM. So basically Windows uses left-over RAM to improve performance and gives it back as soon as you need it. No need to worry here.
Press Windows + S to launch the Search menu, enter System configuration in the text field at the top, and click on the relevant search result that appears. Now, go the Boot tab and click on Advanced options. Tick the checkbox for Maximum memory, enter the installed RAM on your system in the text field underneath, and then click on OK at the bottom.
For the dual-channel memory that most motherboards support today, it’s better to use two 8 GB RAM sticks. Motherboards With Four RAM Slots. You should remember that reading your motherboard manual will help you the most because the RAM slot order can be different for every motherboard. However, there are general rules you can follow:
The Bottom Line. 8GB is plenty of RAM for beginners and entry-level users learning the basics. 8GB is enough for 5-25 audio tracks with guitars, bass, drums, vocals, MIDI keys with a few plugins, VST’s and effects (EQ, compression, delay, reverb, limiter) 16GB would benefit the user for projects with 30-60 audio/MIDI tracks with heavy use of mostly virtual machines, blender, browser tabs, and some video editing here and there (originally I'm looking to just use a 16GB kit, but I found a good bargain on a 32GB kit) If you were interested in better ram speeds, a newer CPU would help. The 2700 and 3700X both have a better memory controller than the 1700 along with the same core count But most interesting of these results is 7-Zip, with that huge file compressing more than 20% faster on DDR5 than even the DDR4-4000 result. And, of course, it wipes the floor with DDR4-3200 If the price for 1x16GB is less than twice 8GB, it could be benefitial to go for the 1x16GB. Likewise, if the 1x16GB is quite a bit more expensive twice 8GB, even if you can't get dual channel working, getting 1x 8GB may be worth it more. You need to look at how old your laptop is. It will still do the job in light office work, browsing the web, and other similar use cases. This DDR3 RAM kit by Patriot comes with 8GB of dual-channel memory, meaning you can buy a second onefloral said: I think 16gb is right for you. While 8gb is fine, you mentioned using office stuff, which means you would probably need to multitask. Photoshop is also somewhat RAM-intensive. It may seem pretty expensive to increase the RAM, but then you won't need to worry in the future :)1ZdQ.