Should I add RAM to maximize usage in art programs?

[mascarpone pudding]

Hi there, I hope it is quiet alright I post this thread.

I am wondering though, that if upgrading RAM to maximize the usage in my art programs will help me when I digitally ink.

I ask this because I am always reading up that many artists draw big and ink even bigger, but when I try to get an image over 2000 x 2000 in size, my programs go slow and sometimes freeze- which results in me having to restart and losing all the process I have made.

I'm wondering if anyone else has or had this experience, and how they might have fixed it or went about it?
Or if you find that getting more RAM might fix this?

Thank you in advance, Lee<3

 

[Targis]

Tell me your specs on your computer.

I run on a single core 3.20 GHz with 3.00 GB of Ram (which was a little overkill, but Newegg didn't sell 1 GB sticks when I got around to upgrade to 2 Gigs so I could run Maya smoothly.)

Photoshop runs pretty fine, even with my opening two large files at the same time.

But, try checking for spyware.

Even if you want to upgrade your RAM, don't go over 4.0 GB because it will be useless.  

[mascarpone pudding]

Pentium 3, uhmm.
I have no clue about the rest.
[I'll have to look in to it later]
I think the most I can have is 512 MB though, GB won't work on it.
[It's THAT old]
Hahaha.  

[tirbutt]

I remember on my old laptop with 512MB RAM, things would freeze up whenever I tried saving or opening large files... also sometimes my tablet would stop working and I'd have to reconnect it. I guess all the information just overloaded the system... I upgraded that laptop to 1.5gigs with a new memory stick and there was a noticeable difference - not as much freezing and my tablet stayed connected...

I now have 3 gigs of RAM on a new laptop and my canvases are usually 3600x5400 pixels in size... sure there's still a bit of lag when I use very large brushes or when I want to save, but that's to be expected~

RAM is definitely a good thing, but you'll also have to look at the other specs of your computer - I'm not an expert or anything, but some older systems are unable to handle as much on the same amount of RAM, and I think Mac's run as fast with their 2 gigs of ram as my laptop does with 3 gigs... I do suggest getting at least 512mb to 1gb of ram if you don't have it yet... anything less than that and you'll run into issues with any good sized image D:...

Good luck~  

[Targis]

Oh wow, Pentium Three. The one of the previous comp I used to own that had a Pentium III died last year. Bless my heart and RIP.

But yeah, try and get a 512 MB RAM stick. Ask a technician or someone who knows who to tear a computer apart and put it together again (safely, that is). But yeah, check what kind of RAM it is before you buy it, because there's different type of pins and other things that the Motherboard can and cannot take. If you buy the wrong type, it will not run.  

[tirbutt]

One thing you can do is search online for your computer model, something like "Dell 600m RAM" or "Toshiba Memory" etc, and a lot of websites that sell RAM will have a listing of what's compatible with each model :3~  

[Sanos Touchstone]

i run a 3.00ghz overclocked intel quad core with 8 gigs of ram on vista 64. my 3d programs and artwork software all run fine. ram is massivley important but if youve got a single core under 3ghz you will get a bottle neck of information at the cpu instead of ram. this system cost me about 600 quid from novatech.com if you can check out their barebones systems. they are amazing and very cheap biggrin  

[Freiheit]

start->searc-> dxdiag

This program will list everything that's in your computer. Ram, motherboard etc. To find out what your graphic card is, you'll have to clic on the the tabs, the second one I think.

512 or RAM is a bit obsolete now, I'd suggest either buying a second 512 barret. You could also, if you still have trouble, ink in illustrator, or a less heavy program.