Which Windows OS Supports 8 GB RAM in a Laptop and Suggestions for a Better Laptop for Personal & Developer Use

06
2014-04
  • Ellen

    I am about to purchase a laptop and have zeroed on the following two of them.

    1. Toshiba L500-ST2544
    2. Toshiba L505-ES5034

    The Common Specification for both of them are as follows -

    RAM - 4GB DDR3 Memory HDD - 320 GB Processor - Intel® Core™ i3-330M Processor WebCam and Mic - Available HDMI Port - Available Numeric Key Pad - Available Windows 7 (64 bit) Home Premium

    Now, the only difference between ST2544 and ES5034 is that, the ST2544 has a maximum of 2 slots with 2 GB in each. So, you can have a max of 4 GB RAM in that. The ES5034 can support 8 GB RAM, so, in a couple of years, if I want to add another 4 GB RAM I will be able to do it.

    The price for ST2544 is USD 629.00 whereas, the price for a ES5034 is USD685. A difference is USD 55.00 (not a major amount, but still something extra).

    Is it worthwhile going for the ES5034? Which Windows Operating System supports 8 GB of RAM?

    Edit: The ST2544 has 2 main memory slots, which means to get 4 GB, we need to use both slots. The ES5034 has 2 main memory slots with a max capacity of 8 GB.

    With the Edit, does it change anything? Getting 4 GB by using two 2GB slots is better or Getting 4 GB using one slot is better?

    • Answers
  • Josip Medved

    Any 64-bit Windows 7 edition from Home Premium and upward will be able to use full 8 GB of RAM.

    Since most of motherboards are able to use dual-channel mode if both RAM modules are present, for performance it would be better to have 2x2GB.

  • wag2639

    First, are you sure the chipset can actually support that much RAM?

    According to MSDN, the max for Home Premium is 192 GB but another source put it 16 GB.

    I've heard anecdotally that dual channel doesn't actually provide that much significant performance.

    Also, unless you're developing something which specifically requires huge memory requirements, it might be wiser to invest in something with a better processor. In the near future when you would upgrade that RAM, you may wish for a slightly more powerful processor. This is especially true considering the current price of RAM versus the increase CPU performance you can get for the same price.


    • Related Question

    Windows 7 recommended for laptop with 1.7 ghz intel centrino n 1256 MB RAM?
  • Questioner

    Will it be a good move to switch to windows 7 on my laptop with the following specifications...

    1.7 ghz intel centrino processor 1256 MB RAM Intel GMA 900 graphics support

    or should i just stick with XP ???


    • Related Answers
  • William Hilsum

    I would personally stick with XP.

    At the end of the day, Windows 7 works well but as with Vista, my advise to XP users would be that there is little benefit to upgrade, especially on older hardware... If you have a spare licence, it may be worth taking a clone of your drive then install and see how you get on, but I wouldn't pay for an upgrade.

  • TheSmurf

    Moving to Windows 7 is always a good move from XP, and that machine will run it just fine. With the graphics taking 256MB, you will leave Windows 1GB of memory, which is plenty for 7. The processor is perfectly capable of running 7 as well.

    The non-technical side of the decision is... are you going to be left in the past by continuing to use XP? As more companies start dropping support for XP, you will eventually start to fall further and further behind, and find it more difficult to find software for your machine (think of what a Win2000 or Windows Me user would go through now).