4 ms·

> There are quite a lot of people now that just use a web browser on their desktop or laptop. As opposed to the people who used to use their computer for email

> There are quite a lot of people now that just use a web browser on their desktop or laptop. As opposed to the people who used to use their computer for email and spread sheets? I would argue that the resource needs of a web browser has absolutely been increasing over time. The 4GB of RAM in that old laptop just does not work for the modern web. And considering how many web site now require the client to run tons and tons of JS just to work, I can see a need to refresh your CPU regularly.

stagger87 6y ago
4GB of RAM on a machine (regardless of OS) is absolutely fine for browsing the "modern web".
- imperialdrive 6y ago
  That is the opposite of what I see on a daily basis managing several 100+ SMB Windows based computer networks. I'm curious what your summary is to back up 4GB being absolutely fine.
  - zozbot234 6y ago
    > Windows There's your problem!
- mucinoab 6y ago
  Windows alone uses like 2GB, open some tabs and you are already out of ram. I think 8 is the new minimum.
  - stagger87 6y ago
    I have 30 tabs open in Chrome, real tabs, on youtube, PDFs, and code/API docs, and I just cycled through them all to make sure they are loaded, and Chrome is at 600MB. The phase "open some tabs and you are already out of ram" is a bit of an exaggeration.
- rbanffy 6y ago
  Maybe, if you have only one tab open
pythonaut_16 6y ago
Spreadsheets and some other business software can get really gnarly though (especially on RAM usage). Outlook itself can be quite heavy. But I also agree, browsers and web apps aren't exactly lightweight either. Maybe WASM adoption can help on this front?
tyingq 6y ago
I don't believe I claimed that 4GB RAM was enough. Just that a 5 year old (and perhaps older) CPU was good enough. I mentioned web browser usage as opposed to more demanding loads like gaming, content creation, software development, multiple office tools being used at the same time alongside the browser, etc.
y-c-o-m-b 6y ago
> The 4GB of RAM in that old laptop just does not work for the modern web Completely false, I'm on 4GB RAM and Q9300. I haven't had any issues. 99% of websites run smooth. I even code on this machine. See my comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24145436 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24145436 EDIT: I have 10 tabs open right now in Firefox. From bbc.com, HackerNews, and Zillow. I also have AnyDesk, Slack, Signal, VSCode, and a couple of other programs open right now. No performance issues. EDIT2: I opened up Chrome with Youtube in addition to the above, here's proof everything is still doing well: https://imgur.com/a/SlxT4yE https://imgur.com/a/SlxT4yE EDIT3: Ok now i'm just having fun. I added a Netflix tab to Chrome. Opened up a big project in VSCode. Added Vivaldi browser, Notepad++. It stuttered a little (5-10s) loading up the programs but once they were up, it's fine again: https://imgur.com/a/BNqPKU9 https://imgur.com/a/BNqPKU9
- timothyduong 6y ago
  If only 4GB of RAM would suffice on my Windows 10 SOE. That thing has 20GB of RAM And a 2018 i5 and still struggles. MS SCCM and all the other 'protection' destroys any ability to be productive.

stagger87 6y ago

4GB of RAM on a machine (regardless of OS) is absolutely fine for browsing the "modern web".

imperialdrive 6y ago
That is the opposite of what I see on a daily basis managing several 100+ SMB Windows based computer networks. I'm curious what your summary is to back up 4GB being absolutely fine.
- zozbot234 6y ago
  > Windows There's your problem!
mucinoab 6y ago
Windows alone uses like 2GB, open some tabs and you are already out of ram. I think 8 is the new minimum.
- stagger87 6y ago
  I have 30 tabs open in Chrome, real tabs, on youtube, PDFs, and code/API docs, and I just cycled through them all to make sure they are loaded, and Chrome is at 600MB. The phase "open some tabs and you are already out of ram" is a bit of an exaggeration.
rbanffy 6y ago
Maybe, if you have only one tab open

pythonaut_16 6y ago

Spreadsheets and some other business software can get really gnarly though (especially on RAM usage). Outlook itself can be quite heavy. But I also agree, browsers and web apps aren't exactly lightweight either. Maybe WASM adoption can help on this front?

tyingq 6y ago

I don't believe I claimed that 4GB RAM was enough. Just that a 5 year old (and perhaps older) CPU was good enough. I mentioned web browser usage as opposed to more demanding loads like gaming, content creation, software development, multiple office tools being used at the same time alongside the browser, etc.

y-c-o-m-b 6y ago

> The 4GB of RAM in that old laptop just does not work for the modern web Completely false, I'm on 4GB RAM and Q9300. I haven't had any issues. 99% of websites run smooth. I even code on this machine. See my comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24145436 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24145436 EDIT: I have 10 tabs open right now in Firefox. From bbc.com, HackerNews, and Zillow. I also have AnyDesk, Slack, Signal, VSCode, and a couple of other programs open right now. No performance issues. EDIT2: I opened up Chrome with Youtube in addition to the above, here's proof everything is still doing well: https://imgur.com/a/SlxT4yE https://imgur.com/a/SlxT4yE EDIT3: Ok now i'm just having fun. I added a Netflix tab to Chrome. Opened up a big project in VSCode. Added Vivaldi browser, Notepad++. It stuttered a little (5-10s) loading up the programs but once they were up, it's fine again: https://imgur.com/a/BNqPKU9 https://imgur.com/a/BNqPKU9

timothyduong 6y ago
If only 4GB of RAM would suffice on my Windows 10 SOE. That thing has 20GB of RAM And a 2018 i5 and still struggles. MS SCCM and all the other 'protection' destroys any ability to be productive.