How Much RAM Do You Need?
Most new off-the-shelf computers come with 256 MB (or more) of RAM, and 256 MB is the minimum you should have to run Windows XP. Although the System Requirements page suggests 128 MB or higher, if you only have the minimum amount, you'll run into problems with third-party software and when working with large files. Just because Windows XP can run on 128 MB of RAM doesn't mean all third-party programs can. For instance, Adobe Photoshop CS requires 192 MB of RAM (256 MB is recommended), and without it, the program either will not install properly or will not work properly once installed.
Third-party software isn't the only reason to have extra RAM though. Movie Maker 2 recommends 256 MB to function as its best. That's because applications need a place to store data temporarily while you're editing a photo or rendering a movie, or even printing a file or picture, and that temporary storage area is RAM. When RAM gets full, data gets swapped out of RAM to the hard drive to make room for the incoming data. Getting the old data back from the hard drive takes much longer than getting it from RAM, so when this happens there's a noticeable slowdown.
The RAM issue in a nutshell: if you have less than 512 MB of RAM on your Windows XP-based computer and you use any of the media tools that come with Windows XP including Windows Media Player and Movie Maker, or if you use third-party image editing tools, or run multiple programs at once, you probably need more RAM. And if you only have 128 MB of RAM and can't add more, avoid running multiple programs at once and editing large image files.
