1. Short-Term Memory  What is it and why is it important to consider when buying a computer?  What amount of RAM is recommended for a new system?

2.  Holds the data before and after processing  Critical for a system to run smoothly and its software to work well  RAM size is usually measured in megabytes or gigabytes

3. B.K. Williams & S.C. Sawyer, (2007). Using information Technology  128 megabytes for students  At least 256 megabytes or possibly 512 megabytes if you want to handle graphics files  As memory size required for additional software continues to grow, the library might want to buy for future

4.  DDR-SDRAM is a more recent development and most often found in personal computers so the staff would probably want to make sure they bought a system with this type of memory

5. Michael J. Miller, (Nov. 11, 2004) “Your Next PC.” PC Magazine  Recommends 512 MB of RAM as an inexpensive item that will do more to improve how a computer works than a more powerful processor  For games, 1 gigabyte of RAM

6. Kristopher Kubicki,. (March 19, 2006) “Vista and the Quest for More Memory.” Daily Tech.  Noticed a drop in price for more RAM every time a new Windows operating system is launched  Expects to see 2 gigabytes as the norm for new computer systems

7. Jason Cross, (Sept. 13, 2006) “The Best PC for the Money.” PC Magazine.  Recommends 2 gigabytes of memory with newer operating systems, especially Vista  You could get by with 1 but price makes this too good a bargain to pass up, especially with whatever technology comes next

8. Russell Hitchcock. (July 17, 2007) "Memory and Storage: Part 2.“ WindowsNetworking.com Russell Hitchcock. (July 17, 2007) "Memory and Storage: Part 2.“ WindowsNetworking.com  Discuss newer type of chip called Magneto-resistive Random Access Memory, or MRAM, which uses magnetic storage  Expensive and not readily available

9. Schenone, Ron. (March 29, 2007) “Vista – How Much Ram Is Really Enough?” The Blade by Ron Schenone, MVP.  Microsoft always low-balls the amount of RAM needed  Found Microsoft XP ran fine with 1 gigabyte of RAM  Vista ran faster and smoother with 2 gigabytes. No noticeable difference with 4 gigabytes

10. Jeff Tyson and Dave Coustan, (2008). “How RAM Works,” How Stuff Works.  RAM needs depend on system you are running  Microsoft recommends 128 megabytes with Windows XP, 256 megabytes for optimal performance

11. Joel Santo Domingo, Cisco Cheng, Laarni Almendrala Ragaza. (September 2008) “Best PCs on Campus” PC Magazine  Some colleges require computers with 2 gigabytes of RAM  Best new computers have 2 gigabytes, some 3 or 4.

12. Summary  While books may provide a good introduction to what you might need for purchasing, technology changing so rapidly that information quickly obsolete  Online articles and blogs and even print magazines seem a better source for the latest recommendations  Standard now seems to be at least 1or 2 gigabytes, but probably won’t be long before 3 or 4 is the norm