# Windows 7 64-bit, how much ram?



## Smykster

Hi all, just put a budget build together for my dad, the rise in ram prices has led me to buy 2gb (1x1) instead of the usual 4gb (2x2) of ddr2. Will windows 7 64bit run well on 2 machine with 2gb's of ram? I see a lot of people claiming it take more memory than the 32bit version.


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## Demented

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Smykster* 
Hi all, just put a budget build together for my dad, the rise in ram prices has led me to buy 2gb (1x1) instead of the usual 4gb (2x2) of ddr2. Will windows 7 64bit run well on 2 machine with 2gb's of ram? I see a lot of people claiming it take more memory than the 32bit version.

It can USE more RAM than 32bit. Windows 7 is pretty light on RAM usage. I think you'd be fine with 2GB of RAM on each machine, providing the machines aren't being used for major tasks like video editing and gaming.


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## brandon6199

As far as I know, Windows 7 64-bit requires a minimum of 2GB of ram. 4GB of ram should be enough for most, although I chose 6GB just to be on the safe side, and since it wasn't too expensive.


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## pcguy5

2gb is more than enough to run windows 7... it's lighter and more responsive. if you have alot of processes and applications running then you might notice a bogdown though


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## Deviance

Much lighter than good ol' Vista.


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## candy_van

Yep you'll be just fine. I'm using 2GB of plain old DDR in my temporary shuttle rig with win 7 x64 and it runs just dandy


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## brandon6199

But why not shoot for more memory if the prices aren't too steep?


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## charbs152

it will run just fine


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## Puscifer

I still haven't upgraded from 2 gbs of ram. I'm on 32-bit windows not 64-bit but my point is that windows 7 is pretty good on ram usage. 2gb is fine for me and I encode dvds and game and have like 30 procceses going all the time so he should be fine.


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## Smykster

I would shoot for more save the fact the RAM has actually DOUBLED in price in the past few months. Thanks for the comforting reassurances though guys.


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## candy_van

Quote:


Originally Posted by *brandon6199* 
But why not shoot for more memory if the prices aren't too steep?









Well that's the thing DDR2 prices are going back up again...waay back up. DDR3 is actually cheaper now.

2GB will be just fine as already said; again I'm using 2GB of PC3200 and I've got zero problems with running out of resources for basic computing.

Currently using 805mb at desktop with Firefox and some gadgets running


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## brandon6199

Quote:


Originally Posted by *candy_van* 
Well that's the thing DDR2 prices are going back up again...waay back up. DDR3 is actually cheaper now.

2GB will be just fine as already said; again I'm using 2GB of PC3200 and I've got zero problems with running out of resources for basic computing.

Currently using 805mb at desktop with Firefox and some gadgets running









That's interesting. It's showing that 1.53 GB of my total 6GB is being used with only Firefox running. I think Windows 7 scales with the amount of memory you have because I previously had only 2GB and it would only use about 800 MB of ram while I had multiple applications open.

I wonder how that works...


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## candy_van

Quote:


Originally Posted by *brandon6199* 
That's interesting. It's showing that 1.53 GB of my total 6GB is being used with only Firefox running. I think Windows 7 scales with the amount of memory you have because I previously had only 2GB and it would only use about 800 MB of ram while I had multiple applications open.

I wonder how that works...

Yep it does







My prev build had 8GB of DDR2 1066 installed and at desktop it would use about 1.5GB as well, but with an abundance of RAM, I'll allow it.

Admittedly I'm still amazed by how well Win 7 runs on older systems, I can't beat it into some of my stubborn friends' heads enough that they need to move on from XP now


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## blupupher

Windows 7 64 bit will run fine on just 1 gig, so 2 will be plenty for most users.
I have Windows 7 Pro x64 (a fresh install) on my wifes computer (single core Orleans AM2) with just 1 gig right now and it sits at around 800mb used while browsing the internet with IE, windows mail, IM program running and several background services running.
I have 2 gigs on my netbook (x86 though) and have cleaned up the services running and the most I have seen it use is 1.5 gigs (with media center playing streaming content).


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## hometoast

If it'll run on a Netbook, it'll run on a 2GB desktop.


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## neurolysis

2GB will do fine. I run 4GB and rarely run over 2GB usage.


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## MrPriest

My dad's win7 64bit runs on an AMD single core 1.8ghz with 2gb DDR667 ram. No problems, just not as fast as my machine.


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## ComGuards

You may find the following link useful reading.

http://www.kudzuworld.com/blogs/Tech/20080801.en.aspx


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