Here’s Why RAM Should Be Your Priority When Buying a Laptop

When buying a new laptop, it is easy to get overwhelmed by these long lists of specifications and features that retailers throw you. However, there is a specification that each laptop has that you should never neglect: the memory of the system, also known as RAM.

RAM is more important for the performance you think

If you have spent time using phones and computers, you’ve probably heard the term “RAM” (random access memory) – but you may not know what it really is, how it works or why it even matters.

In simple terms, the RAM of a computer is its short -term memory. The RAM is volatile, which means that it loses data when the laptop is disabled, but it is also much faster than the long -term storage reader of your laptop (usually a NVME SSD nowadays).

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Because it is so fast and connected directly to the CPU via an ultra-fast memory bus (traces on the motherboard that act as a data highway), RAM stores all the data that your processor may need on the fly-this includes all parts of the programs and video games that work, both in the foreground and in the background.

For example, when you open Google Chrome, your CPU loads important parts of the program and your active tabs in RAM. This guarantees that you do not have to wait for the data to take care from a slower long -term storage when scrolling, the switching between the tabs, the configuration of the extensions or the execution of other tasks.

However, RAM is a finite resource. Once it fills up, your system must count on virtual memory on your SSD, which is much slower.

The operating system moves data that is not actively necessary in this virtual memory to free up space for more important data. Although this happens in the background, you may notice slow performance, freezing or recharging tabs, and in extreme cases, even applications or instability on a system scale, regardless of the speed at your computer processor is really.

These problems are easy to avoid if you have general RAM costs. For example, if your typical workload uses around 10 GB of RAM, having 16 GB is much better than 8 GB. With this additional margin, your processor has the space it needs to manage gentle tasks without interruption.

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What aggravates is that modern programs are surprisingly warned and can quickly use all available memory, which makes this scenario more common than you think. Demanding tasks such as video games and video editing naturally require more RAM, but even daily applications such as web browsers, offices and project management tools can fill your system from your system in no time.

In fact, even Windows 11 and its background services can easily use more than 4 GB of RAM by themselves.

To give you a real world scenario, I currently have six Windows Chrome, Spotify and several open work applications, and my PC already uses more than 13 GB of RAM.

Why RAM should be a priority for laptop buyers

Reasons. The first is that most laptops unleashed and not on the market use a processor with an integrated GPU, which means that the two share the same RAM system pool. Apple has popularized the term “unified memory” (which is integrated into the same chip as treatment units) for this type of configuration, but the same principles apply, that you use a Windows, Linux or Apple laptop.

If your workloads are both graphically and in demanding calculation, such as the game or video and the light photo modification, you will miss even more RAM. This is why having as much RAM as possible is important, and ideally, RAM which is as fast as possible (although on laptops, RAM frequency is not always something that you can configure or upgrade).

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This brings me to the following major point: most laptops today use RAM united. In other words, you cannot upgrade it yourself, so you are stuck with the configuration you choose to buy. Nowadays, the modular RAM is mainly reserved for passionate laptops such as the Framework laptop, powerful workstations and certain commercial or game models.

This is a significant drawback for consumers, because RAM is a relatively cheap component that you may not want to pay an additional supplement, but that you may need later.

For example, it cost me about $ 30 to upgrade my Dell Latitude 5420 from 16 GB to 32 GB of RAM DDR4 3200 MHz, while the Dell Latitude 3550 configuration with 32 GB instead of 16 GB via Dell online tool costs $ 221.61. The good news is that latitude 3550 has a modular RAM, so you can do this upgrade yourself.

How many RAMs need my laptop in 2025?

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If you are looking to buy a laptop that does not have a modular RAM, I recommend that you get at least 16 GB. Indeed, your machine will probably start to lack memory long before its processor becomes obsolete, and no matter how powerful your processor is if your system chronically suffers from a lack of volatile memory.

Of course, buying a laptop with modular RAM is the ideal solution, but it is not always possible, especially if you are intelligent with your money and you opt for a used unit. If you have to live with the memory configuration provided with the laptop, aim for a model with 16 GB of RAM.

In fact, I would even go so far as to say that it is better to specify your laptop with more RAM, then to opt for a slightly lower CPU if you have a tight budget. You might think that a processor would be better for the future, but it is actually the RAM that counts more.

I fought with only 4 GB of RAM (you read correctly) on my old i5-7200u before removing it, while the old 4th generation of my mother i7 still holds today, simply because it has 8 GB of RAM.

If you shop for a MacBook, the same logic applies. You are much better with an older MacBook M1 equipped with 16 GB of RAM than one with an M2 or even M3 but only 8 GB of RAM. Despite having a more competent processor that 8 GB of RAM will come back to bite you earlier than you think.

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Even if a more recent laptop is much faster, it will not matter if it has to wait for the data to take care of RAM before you can process them. It’s a bit like having a 500 horsepower car but driving it on a nest road with a speed limit of 35 mph.

RAM is one of these laptop computer specifications to which many people do not pay much attention until it is too late. While more RAM will not automatically do a laptop faster, having too little worse than having a more powerful CPU but not enough memory to manage your workload. This is why you should pay particular attention to RAM when buying a new laptop, especially if it is not improved.