Remember me mentioning my computer issues?

[The Duck]

Yes, 4GB is plenty of ram for normal use, I was using only 2GB on some of mine.

I don't worry about browser cache, etc, that stays on the 16GB M2 SSD; what isn't used for the system is used as /home.

I was also running a couple of distros in just 1GB ram fairly recently, & whilst not fast, perfectly usable for day to day tasks.

Linux & BSD just don't need much ram to work, for basic computing.

At he moment I'm using Easy OS installed as a frugal on a 32GB USB flash drive.
I'm also using Bookworm Pup64 installed as a frugal install on a 32GB flash drive.
Who needs hard drives at the moment ain't no hard drives installed in my desktops.
Easy OS and Bookworm Pup 64 do everything the big flagship Linux distros do on USB flash drives.

 

[KGIII]

I personally don't think it's a dell only thing, and believe you'll find HP & Lenovo are similar if not identical in this regard.

I really only know of Dell as I've never checked with others. That doesn't make it any less of a problem. You can just drill a hole in the case (seemingly) and mount the drive that way. So, it's not a major setback - just more effort than I'll need.

If you wish to upgrade the CPU my list [below] of compatible ones

Thanks! I'm not sure that I want to do a CPU swap. It's plenty fast for my needs. But, that's still good information to have. Those CPUs don't look very expensive as well.

I'm old and I'm mature but I believe in self medication by whatever means necessary.

I do own a lot of firearms. I have been known to shoot electronics before, but I'm a stickler about cleaning up the mess. I wasn't really angry when I shot them.

I've even used a pickup truck as a target. I'll never do that again. It left an awful mess. (It was a buddy's vehicle and going to be scrapped.)

When you start removing stuff inside the case does seem to be flimsy but when altogether they are solid little desktops.

The only really flimsy metal was that of the case cover. I haven't seen one this flimsy before.

But it's solid when connected properly.

(I'm still running 2GB ram machines quite happily with Linux/BSD),

I do too much at once to fit in 2 GB. I've acclimated to gobs of RAM and can't go back to the dark ages.

I love having multiple browsers open and that takes the most RAM as each browser has a bunch of tabs open in it. I also just let many of the computers idle instead of shutting them down. (We generate more energy than we use, though we are connected to the mains - when the mains is up and running.)

 

[The Duck]

I really only know of Dell as I've never checked with others. That doesn't make it any less of a problem. You can just drill a hole in the case (seemingly) and mount the drive that way. So, it's not a major setback - just more effort than I'll need.

I actually used zip ties to secure a 2.5 inch hard drive to a 3.5 inch bay because I didn't have a 2.5 to 3.5 inch adapter it worked well.

I do own a lot of firearms. I have been known to shoot electronics before, but I'm a stickler about cleaning up the mess. I wasn't really angry when I shot them.

I've even used a pickup truck as a target. I'll never do that again. It left an awful mess. (It was a buddy's vehicle and going to be scrapped.)

I'm more apt to beat something flat with my Louisville Slugger than shoot it.
I live in the city and just wouldn't be a smart thing to do.

The only really flimsy metal was that of the case cover. I haven't seen one this flimsy before.

But it's solid when connected properly.

Dell and HP make pretty decent desktops and for the most I can remember have all been tool less the few I've owned.

I do too much at once to fit in 2 GB. I've acclimated to gobs of RAM and can't go back to the dark ages.

I love having multiple browsers open and that takes the most RAM as each browser has a bunch of tabs open in it. I also just let many of the computers idle instead of shutting them down. (We generate more energy than we use, though we are connected to the mains - when the mains is up and running.)

Most memory I've had in a computer was 8.0GB but i can get by with 4.0GB never have but a couple of three windows open at once.
Easy OS and Bookworm Pup64 don't need much memory.

 

[KGIII]

I live in the city and just wouldn't be a smart thing to do.

Yeah, they frown on that. I can fire large calibers and the sound won't even reach many people. There are like 6 year-round residences within a mile or two of me.

Most memory I've had in a computer was 8.0GB but i can get by with 4.0GB never have but a couple of three windows open at once.

I tend to have triple-digit tabs open in a couple of browsers and maybe 20ish or so in a couple of other browsers. I use them for different tasks and appreciate the isolation. I do keep some things segmented as I do have some information I keep relatively private.

 

[camtaf]

Most memory I've had in a computer was 8.0GB ......

Same here, it's my HP G2, only use a couple of programs at any one time.......even on those 1 & 2 GB machines, just don't need a 'power house' of a computer......but now I understand why some people need all that ram...hundreds of tabs open....I've only got one pair of eyes!

 

[osprey]

Running virtual machines uses lots of RAM, for example, installing a number of distros virtually and allocating 2G to 4G of RAM each, and needing to leave 4G on the host, shows how the RAM requirements can expand. The machine here with VMs has 16G.

 

[KGIII]

Running virtual machines uses lots of RAM, for example, installing a number of distros virtually and allocating 2G to 4G of RAM each, and needing to leave 4G on the host, shows how the RAM requirements can expand. The machine here with VMs has 16G.

Yeah, I still do that on my 'big' computer, though I could close a browser and run a VM nicely. I've actually already done so. That leaves me plenty of RAM and enough overhead for the system to not scream at me.

One thing about RAM that I've never really understood the tech for is that the same load will use less RAM than the previous gen. For example, the same load on DDR2 would use more RAM than when I use my big system that has DDR5 RAM. It has to be some sort of efficiency thing and I've never quite understood the why of it.

The refurb computer is just DDR4 but it is capable of running a single instance of a live Lubuntu test. I do close a browser before doing so. I could probably leave it open, but I want enough overhead for other things.

Speaking of which, it's about time for my nightly Lubuntu test. There's a new .iso for testing.

 

[camtaf]

With each upgrade of DDR, the chips & bus run faster, I believe, so you use the ram more efficiently, that's how I see it...

 

[KGIII]

With each upgrade of DDR, the chips & bus run faster, I believe, so you use the ram more efficiently, that's how I see it...

It's got to be something like that. Maybe it's better at some sort of compression? I can load the same content, more or less, on two machines and see lower RAM use on the faster/newer RAM. Logically, I'd think they'd be the same loads. But, my logic must be faulty. They're somehow more efficient is my guess and I don't know why. Well, I don't specifically know why. I'm not sure what exact mechanisms decide this and I have a fairly good grasp on what RAM does. I can even kind of explain stuff like how a rowhammer attack works.

Ah well... I'll chalk this one up to magic. It's pure witchcraft!

I've had that computer for a few days and it's running just fine. It hasn't even been rebooted. It is not a very rapid boot process, but I suspect an M.2 SSD will change that. I'm not 100% sure that I'll even bother upgrading it like that, but I do kind of want to max out the RAM.

~$ uptime
 21:05:57 up 3 days,  6:17,  1 user,  load average: 1.39, 1.33, 1.48

And, yeah, I can comfortably run a VM - but I should probably close a browser first. More RAM will resolve that issue. I get some conflicting information when I look up the max RAM but I have a strategy to test that.