For proper functioning of your PC it is essential that the amount of its physical memory meets the requirements of the operating system set up on your computer.

Physical system memory, more commonly called RAM (Random Access Memory), functions as computer's primary data storage and is important for its overall performance. A computer uses RAM to hold instructions for CPU (Central Processing Unit) and data needed to complete tasks. The CPU is often referred to as the brain of the computer and is responsible for actual computation and RAM is involved in this process, as the results of every calculation performed by the CPU are stored in RAM. Since the RAM and the CPU are interrelated, the speed of the CPU affects the requirements to the size of RAM. The faster the CPU, the more RAM it requires for optimal speed of OS.

The amount of memory on a computer is important because free RAM resources speed up your system, allowing quick startup and shutdown of OS, multitasking as well as fast response to attempts of performing different tasks. In practical terms, having free memory means that you can get work done more efficiently with less time spent waiting for the computer to perform tasks.

The shortage or overload of RAM make the system less functional, as a result causing problems such as system hang-ups, program crashes and corrupt data pop ups.

The following comparative table shows the correlation of the type of operating system, its CPU and RAM requirements.

Comparative Table