Solved! What does 6gb ram mean?

[jogoody]

Hi im looking at buying a new laptop but i havent got a clue what all the jargon is!!! I mainly want the laptop for using the internet and for using excel and word, my partner however watches live football on the laptop and wants something fast enough for the live streaming. The one ive seen is 6GB RAM and 320GB this means nothing to me lol HELP


With Thanks
Jo

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

This topic has been moved from the section Motherboards & Memory to section Laptops & Notebooks by Area51reopened

 

[Pyree]

Don't worry about the jargon. Answer the question on this guide:

http/www.tomshardware.com/forum/50797-35-read-buying-laptop

Users on this forum will take care of the rest and give you a recommendation.

 

[ojas]

Hey, we can help you here.

See, ummm... "GB" stands for "gigabyte" it's a measure of storage. Like the volume of a box or bottle, sort of. Basically, the more of that stuff you have, the more things you can store.

6GB would be the size of "RAM" there, also called memory (full form is random access memory). You don't store your files here, but the computer needs it to do its stuff, like calculating things and so on (which it's always doing, even if you're just watching youtube).

Now the 320GB refers to the storage capacity of the hard drive. Here's where you install Windows, your programs like MS Office, internet explorer, etc. and your personal files (which you access through windows).

From the purpose you intend to use this for, this is more than enough.

You may want to save some money and get only 4GB of RAM, 6GB is overkill in your case, though if you want that extra memory it's up to you, because as far as i can see, it'll be pointless.

Live streaming will depend more on your internet connection than the RAM and hard drive.

Would you be able to tell us which processor (CPU) this laptop uses? You may want to post a link to the product page.
If it has something called an "Intel Atom" processor, please stay away from it! 😀

 

[ojas]

Don't worry about the jargon. Answer the question on this guide:

http/www.tomshardware.com/forum/50797-35-read-buying-laptop

Users on this forum will take care of the rest and give you a recommendation.

Oops. Already gave her the jargon. 😛

 

[jogoody]

Hi Ojas Thanks for your reply, you have been really helpful and i think i understand a bit more now.
this is the laptop i was looking at getting.........TOSHIBA Satellite C660-2D7 15.6" Laptop its got an Intel® Core™ i3-370M processor.

Jo

 

[Pyree]

It has an Arrandale processor which is a generation old. You may be able to get something faster and cheaper. Answer the questions on the guide. Helps to pick a laptop.

 

[jogoody]

SAMSUNG NP-S3520-A03DX 15.6” This is the other laptop i was looking at, do you think this one is better? its got a Dual Core Intel® Celeron® B800 processor

Thanks Again

 

[Pyree]

This one is even slower.

 

[jogoody]

LOL im useless at this!! Cant i just pick a pretty one lol Can you recommend a good one for me please??? Got a budget of £350-£400!!!

 

[acerace]

Pyree being trolled. 😀

Anyway, answer the laptop guide. We can help you pick a better laptop.

 

[Pyree]

http/www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lenovo-ideapad-z570-15-6-laptop-gun-metal-11306327-pdt.html

New 2nd gen Sandy Bridge with Intel HD 3000 graphics. Beats the Samsung by a lot and slightly faster than the Toshiba.

 

[jogoody]

That will take forever to answer all those questions!!! Would this processor be better than the one in the Toshiba............Dual-core AMD E2-3000M processor???


Sorry to keep being a pain!!

 

[Pyree]

The i3-2330m beat it by a large margin.

 

[ojas]

lol. You're welcome Jo, glad i could help you

Er...yes it will be better. See. get anything which says (at whatever screen size you prefer, in your budget of course):

1. 2nd Generation Sandy Bridge Processor. By Intel. For what you want to do with it, settle on a Core i3 processor like the one Pyree talks of. the model number should look like Core i3-2xxxM, where 'x' can be any number. If those are too expensive (i have NO idea of how laptops are priced in the UK), settle for any Core i3 processor.

2. Get 4 GB RAM.

3. Get a hard drive with at least 250GB.

4. Stay away from Celerons and Atoms as a rule. even those AMD E-series processors.

5. After you get 1-4 done, yes, you can pick the pretty one 😀


Note to Pyree: Shouldn't just about any i3 be sufficient? :O i mean, i understand the efficiency thing, but...word processing...how much power will it take? i'm just wondering if sandy bridge is priced too expensive there...

 

[Pyree]

Note to Pyree: Shouldn't just about any i3 be sufficient? :O i mean, i understand the efficiency thing, but...word processing...how much power will it take? i'm just wondering if sandy bridge is priced too expensive there...

Yeah, the Arrandale will be able to handle the task as well. But If the price is similar, get Sandy Bridge. The IGP is about 30-50% better. Every drop of performance counts when it comes to laptop since it will be difficult to upgrade.

 

[ojas]

yeah...ah yes forgot about the integrated graphics...much better in the 2nd Gen i3...

So Jo, there you have it. points 1 to 5.

If you want further help in deciding the exact laptop, i (we) think filling out that form would be better.