I still don’t find the necessary to upgrade memory to 8GB for a computer or laptop. If you are using Intel Core i7, then you might think of getting 8GB RAM because, most motherboards that supports Core i7 processor have 4 slot for DDR3 memory slot. With the price dropping on memory especially for DDR3 type, it is cheap to get 4 units of 2GB DDR3 RAM for your Core i7 system. Of course, 32-bit operating system (OS) will not be able to detect more than 3GB RAM. You need 64-bit OS, either Windows or any other OS platforms. Before upgrading your memory, make sure to check your OS bit. Personally, I have bad experience upgrading to 4GB, but only detecting 3GB RAM using Windows XP 32bit.
Make sure to get 64-bit OS to detect memory more than 3GB and make use of higher memory for your system. Basically, there are many users prefer 2GB RAM is sufficient for their daily use. Of course, it is satisfactory if you are not a hardcore user. But, most users that uses programs that dry up their memory like heavy Firefox usage, multiple image editing softwares, website design and critical program creation might need more memory to support their growing need. Personally, I am visiting over 1,000 blogs and websites each day for my link building services to support clients requirements. Using Firefox and Chrome browsers helps me a lot with faster and detailed browsing with site analysis using plugins and extensions.
Now, I am planning to get a new core i7 computer with 8GB RAM. Planning to upgrade monitor, keyboard and mouse as well. Basically, it is whole new system to upgrade my current Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard drive, 256MB ATI Radeon Graphic card, etc system. It has been almost 3 years I have been using this system. I think it is good timing to upgrade our computer every 3 to 4 years once. Plus, I strongly believe on 4 fold upgrades for computers. I am sure Core i7 processor will deliver at least 4 times power compared to Core 2 Duo processor. Getting 1GB DDR3 graphic card from Gigabyte or Sapphire will give better 3D movie viewing too. The target value for this new system is US$1,000 including monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse. So, do you plan to upgrade your system?
I just recently upgraded to a Core i7-2600K system with 8GB of RAM and overclocked to 4.4Ghz. My system screams and everything is much faster, however if I had the extra dough I would have gotten a large SSD drive or a hybrid SSD drive. The load times on applications improves much better with an SSD hard drive vs a traditional platter one, including Windows OS boot times but the prices are high and the storage is much lower. A hybrid is kind of best of both worlds.