Not long ago, four megabytes of RAM was all it took to keep PCs running at their maximum capacity. In fact, the earliest PCs ran with just a few kilobytes of RAM.
Increasingly complex software has pushed the minimum amount of RAM higher, but another, more practical reason that high amounts of RAM are commonplace is that RAM costs less than ever. .
"There is something of a symbiotic relationship in the need for more RAM by applications and the cost of RAM," says Jeff Tyson, senior editor at HowStuffWorks.com. "RAM has dropped tremendously in cost over the last several years, which has given software developers more flexibility in designing applications that are memory-intensive because they know users will probably have a larger amount of RAM.".
Upgrading from 64MB of RAM to 192MB costs between $120 and $165 (for 128MB PC100 ECC [Error-Correcting Code] DIMM [dual in-line memory module] RAM), depending on the brand and features of the RAM. Going from 64MB to 256MB costs between $170 and $255 (a 64MB and a 128MB PC100 ECC DIMM), again depending upon brand and features, including latency timing. .
Taking a system from 64MB of RAM to 384MB costs between $290 and $420 (for two 128MB and one 64MB PC100 ECC DIMM). Smaller increments of RAM sometimes cost less than larger ones, which means two 128MB DIMM modules could cost less than one 256MB DIMM module. .
In 1993, the average computer sold had 4.6MB of RAM. By the end of 2000, the average computer sold will have an estimated 110MB, a 2,291% increase in seven years, says Sean Spence, public relations manager for RAM manufacturer Crucial Technology. .
"Of course, seven years is an eternity in computer terms, but the numbers are staggering even over short periods of time. Between 1997 and 2000, average RAM increased 237%. And between first and fourth quarter of 2000, experts forecast a 46% increase," Spence says. Erik Confer, a senior technician with UPS, loaded his home computer with 192MB of RAM and plans to upgrade beyond that.
