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How Much Memory Do I Need?
To find out how much memory you will need, select your Operating System (OS) and then the description that closely matches your business or home computing usage.
Windows Vista
Windows 98
Windows XP
Windows ME
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Windows 2000 Professional
Windows 2000 Server
Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Windows NT 4.0
Windows NT Workstation
Linux
Mac OS X
Mac OS
Windows Vista gives you the freedom, performance and reliability to experience more than you ever thought possible with your computer and the Internet. To find out how much memory you will need, select the description that most closely matches your business or home computing usage.
| Entry Level Computing | Mainstream Computing | Performance Computing | High-end Computing | |
| Memory Requirements – Desktop | 1GB – 3GB | 2GB – 4GB | 2GB – 16GB+ | 4GB to system max++ |
| Memory Requirements –Notebook | 1GB – 2GB | 2GB – 4GB | 2GB – 16GB+ | 4GB to system max++ |
| At Home | Email Picture share Web Surfing Basic Office Products Personal Finance Download and Manage Music |
Manage and share photos Interactive web surfing Personal Finance Basic creative software Basic Office products |
Download and Manage Photos, Music, Movies and TV Photo enhancement Web Hosting Games Personal Finance Full Suite of office products |
Movie/ Photo/ Music Editing Digital Home Gaming Web Hosting Personal Finance Full Suite of office products Advanced Features |
| At Work | Email Web Surfing Basic Office Products Corporate Software (CRM, Accounting, Manufacturing) |
Email Web Surfing Full suite of office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, etc.) Corporate Software (CRM, Accounting, Manufacturing) |
Email Web Surfing and Development Graphic Design Full suite of office products Advanced Features (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, etc.) Corporate Software (CRM, Accounting, Manufacturing) |
Software programming Design Engineering Advanced Web and Database Development Production level editing Sound Engineering CAD based engineering programs |
+ Vista specifications from Microsoft: 32-bit Vista versions only support up to 4GB of memory; 64-bit Home Basic supports up to 8GB of memory, and 64-bit Home Premium supports up to 16GB of memory.
++ Up to 128GB for 64-bit Vista Business, Enterprise and Ultimate versions. System configuration may also limit the total memory capacity
Windows 98 requires 16 - 32MB to run basic applications. Tests show a 45 - 65% performance improvement at 64MB and beyond.
To find out how much memory you need, select the description that most closely matches your work environment from the tables below:
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Windows® 98 - Students & Home Users
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| Light | Word processing, basic financial management, e-mail and other light Internet use. | 32 - 64MB |
| Medium | Home office applications, games, Internet surfing, downloading images, spreadsheets, presentations. | 64 - 128MB |
| Heavy | Multimedia use such as video, graphics, music, voice recognition, design, complex images. | 128 - 384MB |
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Windows® 98 - Administrative & Service
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| Light | Word processing, e-mail, data entry | 32 - 48MB |
| Medium | Fax/communications, database administration, spreadsheets; more than 2 applications open at a time | 48 - 64MB |
| Heavy | Complex documents, accounting, business graphics, presentation software, network connectivity | 64 - 128MB |
Windows XP
Windows XP gives you the freedom, performance and reliability to experience more than you ever thought possible with your computer and the Internet.
To find out how much memory you will need, select the description that most closely matches your business or home computing usage
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Windows XP - Executives and Analysts
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| Light to Medium | Proposals, graphic presentations, project management, databases, Internet | 128MB - 512MB |
| Medium to Heavy | Statistical applications. large databases, complex presentations, video conferencing | 256MB-1024MB |
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Windows XP - Engineers and Designers
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| Light to Medium | 2-4 color line drawings, multimedia presentations, photo editing, web development, sound editing | 256MB-1024MB |
| Medium to Heavy | 3D CAD, animation, complex photo editing, real-time video, digital imaging, solid modeling | 256MB - 1GB or System Max |
Windows ME requires 64 - 128MB to run basic applications. Tests show a 45 - 65% performance improvement at 64MB and beyond.
To find out how much memory you need, select the description that most closely matches your work environment from the tables below:
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Windows® ME - Students & Home Users
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| Light | Word processing, basic financial management, e-mail and other light Internet use. | 64 - 128MB |
| Medium | Home office applications, games, Internet surfing, downloading images, spreadsheets, presentations. | 128 - 384MB |
| Heavy | Multimedia use such as video, graphics, music, voice recognition, design, complex images. | 256 - 512MB |
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Windows® ME- Administrative & Service
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| Light | Word processing, e-mail, data entry | 64 - 128MB |
| Medium | Fax/communications, database administration, spreadsheets; more than 2 applications open at a time | 128 - 384MB |
| Heavy | Complex documents, accounting, business graphics, presentation software, network connectivity | 256 - 512MB |
Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003
To find out how much memory you need, select the description that most closely matches your work environment from the table below:
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Microsoft Windows ServerTM 2003
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| Memory | Minimum | Recommended | Maximum |
| Standard | 128MB | 256MB | 4GB |
| Enterprise | 128MB | 256MB |
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| Datacenter | 512MB | 1GB |
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| Web | 128MB | 256MB | 2GB |
Windows® 2000 Professional
To find out how much memory you need, select the description that most closely matches your work environment from the tables below:
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Windows® 2000 Professional - Administrative & Service
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| Light | Word processing, e-mail, data entry | 64 - 96MB |
| Medium | Fax/communications, database administration, spreadsheets; more than 2 applications open at a time | 64 - 128MB |
| Heavy | Complex documents, accounting, business graphics, presentation software, network connectivity | 96 - 256MB |
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Windows® 2000 Professional - Executive & Analysts
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| Light | Proposals, reports, spreadsheets, business graphics, databases, scheduling, presentations | 64MB - 96MB |
| Medium | Complex presentations, sales/market analysis, project management, Internet access | 64MB - 128MB |
| Heavy | Statistical applications, large databases, research/technical analysis, complex presentations, video conferencing | 256MB - 512MB |
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Windows® 2000 Professional- Engineers & Designers
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| Light | Page layout, 2-4 color line drawings, simple image manipulation, simple graphics | 96MB - 128MB |
| Medium | 2D CAD, rendering, multimedia presentations, simple photo-editing, web development | 128MB - 512MB |
| Heavy | Animation, complex photo-editing, real-time video, 3D CAD, solid modeling, finite element analysis | 256MB - 1GB |
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Windows® 2000 Server
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| Application Server | Houses one or more applications to be accessed over a wide user base | 256MB - 4GB |
| Directory Server | Houses information on server locations and uses. | 128MB - 1GB |
| Print Server | Distributes print jobs to appropriate printers | 128MB - 512MB |
| Communication Server | Manages a variety of communications such as PBX, Voicemail and E-mail | 512MB - 2GB |
| Web Server | Houses one or more websites, used also in e-commerce | 512MB - 2GB |
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Windows® 2000 Advanced Server
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| Web Server | Web server supporting an organization's web site and/or online commerce. In most cases, supported by Database server for data warehousing. | 1GB - 4GB |
| Application Server | Runs enterprise applications like SAP®, PeopleSoft® or Seibel® software supporting a wide user base of 100 or more. | 2GB - 8GB |
| Database Server | Runs high-end database applications like Oracle®, Sybase® or SQL® Server. Houses and manages an organization's central database to handle file systems for large scale applications | 4GB - 8GB |
Tests show improvement in Windows NT 4.0 performance of up to 63% improvement at 64MB.
To find out how much memory you need, select the description that most closely matches your work environment from the tables below:
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Windows NT® 4.0 - Administrative & Service
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| Light | Word processing, e-mail, data entry | 32 - 40MB |
| Medium | Fax/communications, database administration, spreadsheets; more than 2 applications open at a time | 40 - 48MB |
| Heavy | Complex documents, accounting, business graphics, presentation software, network connectivity | 48 - 64MB |
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Windows NT® 4.0 - Executive & Analysts
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| Light | Proposals, reports, spreadsheets, business graphics, databases, scheduling, e-mail, fax/communications, presentations | 32 - 48MB |
| Medium | Complex presentations, sales/market analysis, project management, Internet access | 48 - 64MB |
| Heavy | Statistical applications, large databases, research/technical analysis, complex presentations, video conferencing | 64 - 96MB |
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Windows NT® 4.0- Engineers & Designers
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| Light | Page layout, 2-4 color line drawings, simple image manipulation, simple graphics | 64 - 96MB |
| Medium | 2D CAD, multimedia presentations, simple photo-editing, web development | 96 - 128MB |
| Heavy | Animation, complex photo-editing, real-time video, 3D CAD, solid modeling, finite element analysis | 128 - 256MB |
Tests show Windows NT Workstation performs 30% faster than Windows 98 with 64MB.
To find out how much memory you need, select the description that most closely matches your work environment from the tables below:
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Windows® NT Workstation - Administrative & Service
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| Light | Word processing, e-mail, data entry | 64MB - 96MB |
| Medium | Fax/communications, database administration, spreadsheets; more than 2 applications open at a time | 64MB - 128MB |
| Heavy | Complex documents, accounting, business graphics, presentation software, network connectivity | 96MB - 256MB |
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Windows® NT Workstation - Executive & Analysts
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| Light | Proposals, reports, spreadsheets, business graphics, databases, scheduling, e-mail, fax/communications, presentations | 64MB - 96MB |
| Medium | Complex presentations, sales/market analysis, project management, Internet access | 96MB - 128MB |
| Heavy | Statistical applications, large databases, research/technical analysis, complex presentations, video conferencing | 128MB - 512MB |
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Windows® NT Workstation - Engineers & Designers
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| Light | Page layout, 2-4 color line drawings, simple image manipulation, simple graphics | 96MB - 128MB |
| Medium | 2D CAD, multimedia presentations, simple photo-editing, web development | 128MB - 256MB |
| Heavy | Animation, complex photo-editing, real-time video, 3D CAD, solid modeling, finite element analysis | 256MB - 1GB |
To find out how much memory you need, select the description that most closely matches your work environment from the tables below:
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LINUX - Administrative & Service
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| Light | Word processing, e-mail, data entry | 48MB - 80MB |
| Medium | Fax/communications, database administration, spreadsheets; more than 2 applications open at a time | 48MB - 112MB |
| Heavy | Complex documents, accounting, business graphics, presentation software, network connectivity | 80MB - 240MB |
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LINUX - Executive & Analysts
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| Light | Proposals, reports, spreadsheets, business graphics, databases, scheduling, e-mail, fax/communications, presentations | 48MB - 80MB |
| Medium | Complex presentations, sales/market analysis, project management, Internet access | 80MB - 112MB |
| Heavy | Statistical applications, large databases, research/technical analysis, complex presentations, video conferencing | 112MB - 512MB |
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LINUX - Engineers & Designers
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| Light | Page layout, 2-4 color line drawings, simple image manipulation, simple graphics | 80MB - 112MB |
| Medium | 2D CAD, multimedia presentations, simple photo-editing, web development | 112MB - 512MB |
| Heavy | Animation, complex photo-editing, real-time video, 3D CAD, solid modeling, finite element analysis | 240MB - 1GB |
To find out how much memory you need, select the description that most closely matches your work environment from the tables below:
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Macintosh® O/S X - Administrative & Service
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| Light | Word processing, e-mail, data entry | 128MB |
| Medium | Fax/communications, database administration, spreadsheets; more than 2 applications open at a time | 256MB |
| Heavy | Complex documents, accounting, business graphics, presentation software, network connectivity | 512MB |
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Macintosh® O/S X - Executive & Analysts
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| Light | Proposals, reports, spreadsheets, business graphics, databases, scheduling, e-mail, fax/communications, presentations | 128MB |
| Medium | Complex presentations, sales/market analysis, project management, Internet access | 256MB |
| Heavy | Statistical applications, large databases, research/technical analysis, complex presentations, video conferencing | 512MB |
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Macintosh® O/S X - Engineers & Designers
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| Light | Page layout, 2-4 color line drawings, simple image manipulation, simple graphics | 128 - 256MB |
| Medium | 2D CAD, multimedia presentations, simple photo-editing, web development | 256 - 1GB |
| Heavy | Animation, complex photo-editing, real-time video, 3D CAD, solid modeling, finite element analysis | 1GB+ |
Macintosh® O/S
To find out how much memory you need, select the description that most closely matches your work environment from the tables below:
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Macintosh® O/S - Administrative & Service
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| Light | Word processing, e-mail, data entry | 48MB |
| Medium | Fax/communications, database administration, spreadsheets; more than 2 applications open at a time | 48 - 64MB |
| Heavy | Complex documents, accounting, business graphics, presentation software, network connectivity | 64 - 128MB |
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Macintosh® O/S - Executive & Analysts
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| Light | Proposals, reports, spreadsheets, business graphics, databases, scheduling, e-mail, fax/communications, presentations | 48 - 64MB |
| Medium | Complex presentations, sales/market analysis, project management, Internet access | 64 - 72MB |
| Heavy | Statistical applications, large databases, research/technical analysis, complex presentations, video conferencing | 72 - 128MB |
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Macintosh® O/S - Engineers & Designers
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| Light | Page layout, 2-4 color line drawings, simple image manipulation, simple graphics | 64 - 128MB |
| Medium | 2D CAD, multimedia presentations, simple photo-editing, web development | 128 - 256MB |
| Heavy | Animation, complex photo-editing, real-time video, 3D CAD, solid modeling, finite element analysis | 256MB - 1GB |
