Do I have enough memory to download this...???

I recently got a new computer (Thank You Santa!!! aka Mom & the Old Man) and I am trying to determine what I will be able to do with it.

Specifically, how do I know if I have enough memory to download new programs or 'Apps' or how many I can download before I start to push the limits and adversely effect my pc's performance?

I have a lot of information about it, but I may as well have none, since it is essentially a foreign language to me.

Here is a brief description of my pc from the manufacturer:


- The Key Specs

Processor: 1.5GHz AMD quad-core
Memory: 8GB DDR3 SDRAM (7.45GB usable)
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA 5400RPM
Optical Drive: DVD/CD Super Multi double-layer burner
Display/Monitor: 17.3" Ultrabright HD widescreen LED-backlit LCD with 1900 x 1200 resolution


- Additional Specs

Operating System: Windows 8.1 64-bit
Memory Card Slot: Supports SD memory cards (sold separately)
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 8330 graphics with 1GB of dedicated video memory
Audio: Built-in speakers
Wireless Adapter: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Wired Network Adapter: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Keyboard: Standard with numeric keypad
Pointing Device: Multi-gesture touchpad
Ports: (1) USB 3.0, (2) USB 2.0, (1) HDMI, (1) VGA, (1) Headphone Out, (1) Microphone in, (1) Ethernet LAN

Battery: 6-cell Lithium-ion (4400mAh); up to 5-hour battery life depending on usage and settings


I'm not sure what other info you may need to be able to give me an idea of what I can do with the laptop.
I have not added much of anything to it yet, but I have removed a couple of things I won't use (Netflix & HULU + apps).

The last pc I had was a small asus eee pc 1005hab netbook. It is an awesome little device, very quick and reliable for it's size. After a while it became much slower than when new. Eventually I had to clean it up, then it was running close to like new again. I had to be sure to use it for internet only, as adding new programs contributed to it's reduced performance.

I think we all know how much of a PITA it can be when your once lightning fast pc becomes slow and creeps along during basic tasks. I want to make sure I don't destroy this laptop's performance, but I don't want to be afraid to add things I like to it. That's the reason why I'm asking how much you think I can safely add to it without worrying about performance decline.

Also, here is how much available hard disk I have available (according to Toolwizcare) 884.9GB of 913.7GB total.

I have installed : Malwarebytes Pro, Toolwizcare, Diskmax, Process Lasso Pro, Start MenuX, & Start Menu 8.

I guess one of the biggest questions I have is;

When I look at a program I am considering for download and I see the required disk space available (example: 52mb free space needed), does this refer to the disk space of the 1T hard drive or the 8GB DDR3 SDRAM?

reply to post by esteay812


You have a fairly powerful laptop with a terrabyte of hard disk space. You can download and install quite a number of programs before worrying about space. Unless you plan on downloading a lot of media such as full length movies, you probably won't ever have to worry about running out of space on this computer. Have fun!

RAM is only for current processes. Downloads will subtract from the one terabyte, but using the application that you download will subtract from the RAM until you close it. That is why running too many programs slows a pc down. The RAM (TEMPorary storage) gets overworked.

Hope this helped.

esteay812

When I look at a program I am considering for download and I see the required disk space available (example: 52mb free space needed), does this refer to the disk space of the 1T hard drive or the 8GB DDR3 SDRAM?

It is referring to the 1TB hard drive space.

Your new PC should be able to run anything you throw at it. Hope that helped!

reply to post by esteay812


To answer your last question, space requirements refer to the hard drive space, so having a 1TB of space is quite a lot. The program itself may have processing requirements such as a minimum number of RAM or processing speed, but again your machine will do pretty well.

reply to post by esteay812


The part of pertinence is 1TB HD. That's a lot of space for the average user.

For comparison a full length dvd quality movie is around 700 megabytes (mb).

1,000,000 megabytes in a terabyte (tb).

So almost 1500 full length movies.

Most of what you download are not going to be big like movie files. In other words, delete movie files after you watch them and you'll probably never need to worry about it.

reply to post by esteay812


One gigabyte is 1000 megabytes and one terabyte is a 1000 gigabytes of hard drive storage space. You have one terabyte (tb) so you have roughly 1000 gigabytes of hard drive space. I say roughly because you never get exactly 1 Tb of space because the hard drive manufacturers always round the number up so you really only started with 913 gigabytes (gb).

Remember you can always delete stuff as you go along or burn it to a blank DVD for storage. Later on you can also purchase an external hard drive that you plug into your usb when needed and save or install apps to it.

Wow! You guys are quick on the draw and pretty much answered what I needed right away!!

Thank you for taking the time to post in my thread and help me out some.

I have never downloaded any video/movies/personal videos etc. I rarely DL any music either, I think my last pc (the little asus) had 6 songs on it I had downloaded over the course of a few years.

I have a subscription (free) to a daily newsletter from the website 'GiveAwayoftheDay.com' and they often have cool programs for download, but I've been hesitant to get them, due to my lack of knowledge about what this pc is capable of handling.

Not trying to give an advertising plug for GAOTD, but if you like different types of software, but don't like to pay, you might consider signing up for their daily email. It alerts you to the obvious, a daily software giveaway, where I have seen regular retail prices for the programs range from $4.99 up to $799.00. They also have quite a large membership who vote up/down the offer and create a very active comment section, so you get an idea about the software to help determine if you want it or not.

I think what was confusing me was the 1T hard drive, compared to a 500GB+/- hard drive. 1T just 'sounds' like so much less than 250-750GB hard drives. I think my little asus only had 160GBs.


Thanks again for the comments and advice, it really helps! Now I won't be quite as shy about adding programs I like, but I'll always be cautious and slightly paranoid!

reply to post by esteay812

Now I won't be quite as shy about adding programs I like, but I'll always be cautious and slightly paranoid!

Nah Sounds like you aren't much of a downloader. If you become one just remember to delete old movie files. You should be totally fine. Don't hesitate to install programs. I'd be more worried about keeping anti-virus up to date and defragging your hard drive fairly often.

with 1 tb you can download whatever the hell you want.
i wish i had a 1 tb hd.

reply to post by Lucid Lunacy


That is the greatest answer. Good job!

reply to post by Lucid Lunacy


Oh yes! I use Toolwizcare daily, DiskMax 1-2 times a mo., and I have malwarebytes running too. I also have 180days of NIS (Norton Internet Security) & N AV. I had AVG on the asus and it worked well. I may add it to this one once the Norton expires.

I also like the process lasso. It does pretty much the same thing as the Task Manager, but it has a much better interface and seems to do more than the Task Manager. I haven't used the Windows 8.1 Task Manager much, but, at first glance, it does look like it has been upgraded to a more comprehensive tool.

I added 'Start Menu 8' because I am so used to Windows 7 that Win 8.1 really confused me at first. I've since learned more about it and am beginning to like it more than Win7 - especially since there is still the 'desktop' interface. I'll probably remove the 'Start Menu 8' program when I am a lot more comfortable, but I'll stick with the program 'Start Menu X'. It's awesome, shows pretty much everything on you computer in a start menu similar to that of Win 7.

Thanks again for the advice! I'm learning at a slow pace, but it's my pace. The bright side is that I am learning and I have a place like ATS to get quick help from friends like you all!

reply to post by Rikku


The way you put that made me laugh a little

It's just that I've never heard of a 1T hard drive and since reading a little about the SSD's I've been consistently confused. A 250GB SSD seems to be more powerful than a 750GB HDD and that makes no sense to me. So when I heard 1T, I was pretty lost about where it lines up in comparison with other HDD's & SSD's.

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Hey guys (and gals too), I have another question. I was messing around online and landed at speedtest.net (ookla) and tested my internet speeds (download/upload), but I don't know how to understand what the numbers mean.

Could any of you please help me understand what this means?

Speed Test Results

ping:

29ms


download speed:

44.68Mbps (it has varied between 40 - 55Mbps)


Upload Speed:

4.15Mbps (it varies between 4-5.5Mbps)

reply to post by esteay812


That means you have the capability of downloading 44 megabytes a second. To do that though the server your downloading from has to be able to upload it to you at 44 megabytes a second.

Regardless that is a fast connection speed. Mine is like 21 mbps on average.

reply to post by esteay812


You got a terabit hard drive, 1000 GB. The only way you're gonna run out of space is from constantly downloading & saving music, tv shows, and movies to your hard drive. Games as well can take up space, like WoW is about 20 GB.

So again, you have about 900 +/- GB to use (cause Windows needs space too!).

Swills
reply to post by esteay812

 

You got a terabit hard drive, 1000 gigabits. The only way you're gonna run out of space is from constantly downloading & saving music, tv shows, and movies to your hard drive. Games as well can take up space, like WoW is about 20 gigabits.

So again, you have about 900 +/- gigabits to use (cause Windows needs space too!).

edit on 3-1-2014 by Swills because: (no reason given)

Dont you mean gigabytes not gigabits? Theres 8 bits (or 2 nibbles) to a byte.

TheLieWeLive
reply to post by esteay812

 

That means you have the capability of downloading 44 megabytes a second. To do that though the server your downloading from has to be able to upload it to you at 44 megabytes a second.

Regardless that is a fast connection speed. Mine is like 21 mbps on average.

Mbps = megaBITS, not bytes. It's still plenty fast.

reply to post by PhoenixOD


Yes. Sorry for the confusion.

If you're looking to clean up your computer and maximize it's speed, it is helpful to uninstall any programs you don't need. New computers always come loaded with a host of pre-installed programs, many of which you may not be interested in keeping. I know you are new to a lot of this, but I promise it is not too complicated. I will break it down for you, step by step...

1.) Go to your desktop (by opening the "Desktop" app).
2.) On the bar at the bottom of your screen, there is a manilla folder icon. Click on that.
3.) In the window that opens, there is a list on the left hand side. Near the top is the word "Desktop". Click on that.
4.) Now, in the same window, you should see an icon that says "Control Panel". Double-click this icon.
5.) In the bottom left now, you should see an icon that says "Programs". Directly under this word, in smaller font, it should say "Uninstall a program". Click on "Uninstall a program". (Don't worry, nothing will happen by clicking this!)
6.) You will now have a list of every program that is currently installed.

Feel free to scroll through the list and see what you have! If you don't know what something is, you can Google it to find out. Anything that you don't want to keep, you can just double click and you will be given the option to remove it.

I hope this makes sense and is helpful for you!