![How Much RAM is Good For a Chromebook [Detailed Guide]](http://laptopnetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/How-Much-min-1024x680.jpg)
You are buying a Chromebook for the first time and thinking about what specs would suit you the most?
Well, if you buy a cheap Chromebook, you would not be able to get much RAM in a Chromebook, 2GB, or if you got lucky 4GB.
If you are going to get your Chromebook for high-end tasks like photo editing, photo storage, streaming, zoom meetings, online classes, spreadsheets, and others, you need to choose it very carefully.
But the question here is how much RAM is good for me?
Well, it depends on your use. For most of the users using Chromebooks, around 4GB RAM is more than enough to help them handle their regular computer tasks.
But if you are indented to use your Chromebook for more than just browsing, then maybe go with 8GB RAM.
But 8GB RAM, would be an overkill for most of the Chromebook Users,
A Chromebook is supported with ChromeOS that runs quickly with good RAM but if RAM becomes short during your working the apps may crash and the system starts to become slowdown.
So, there is some important point that is necessary to keep in mind when you think about the RAM of a Chromebook.
Overview on RAM requirement for different tasks:
Regular Chromebooks are designed for low-end tasks and to meet these low-end computing needs Chromebook with just 4GB of RAM is enough.
This is enough for everyone who comes in contact with general tasks like reading, browsing, watching videos on YouTube, etc.
If you want to shop for a Chromebook to perform some high-end tasks then you need to buy a Chromebook with increased RAM. For this purpose, a Chromebook with 8GB of RAM is enough to go with your computing needs seamlessly.
But a problem that may tackle with you is that when you run advanced software, heavy applications, playing games, and some video editing then you need a powerful RAM to cope with your needs.
What Happens When Your Chromebook Runs Low on Memory?
As RAM is an important and most essential part of a Chromebook, with a low-sized RAM, your Chromebook will almost be unable to use.
Here, you don’t get a task manager option to kill any operation when a Chromebook Freezes.
So, if due to the short RAM size your Chromebook freezes, you will have no other option than to restart it.
For instance, if a user is on budget and he/she likes to buy a Chromebook with 2GB, what will happen to him/her if uses a Chromebook for everyday tasks?
ChromeOS almost takes 1GB of RAM to get loaded, it means you are left with 1GB RAM.
That 1GB of RAM is going to distribute among different apps and software you will be using. Suppose you open Chrome Web browser, it will take around 300 MB, here you are left with 700 MBs.
If you like to play some videos locally, it will take 200 MB, if you open a spreadsheet with lots of data in it, it takes around 600 MB, now you are almost run out of memory, and anything you open will freeze your Chromebook.
So, that’s why a good-sized RAM is important for Chromebooks, especially when you open more than one task at one time.
I am not saying that 2GB RAM Chromebooks are useless; the thing you will have to handle is, to switch your programs or current running programs with the one you want to run now.
How Much RAM is Good for Me?
The RAM required for your Chromebook depends upon the challenging tasks that you perform daily. For all the regular tasks I recommend you to shop for a Chromebook with 4GB of RAM which is enough for the majority of people.
So, there are some basic tasks I mentioned below for that 4GB of RAM is good to deal.
Like basic android apps, watching a YouTube video, watching Netflix video, spending time on the internet, social media like Facebook, Google, Google Docs, spreadsheet program, etc.
Chromebook with 4GB of RAM is enough for such type of dealings and your system runs to give a snappy performance with 4GB of RAM.
- Office Work
- College student
- Senior Citizen
- Zoom meetings
- Browsing
- Streaming
- High-end multiple tasks
- Android Apps
How much RAM is enough for a college student’s Chromebook?
A college student needs a Chromebook for completing assignments, researching topics, taking notes, and saving college work. For these basic tasks, 4GB of RAM is enough to meet your computing challenges.
When a student wants to take some fun by playing games and running advanced software then they need to spend some extra budget to buy a Chromebook with 8GB of RAM that is good to go. It helps to run your system smoothly without any apps crashing when running.
How much RAM is enough for Office Users?
For a regular businessman, that deals with office work using a Chromebook like receiving and sending files or emails, creating documents, and other data like this then normally 4GB of RAM are enough.
But if you are an office user that handles more than just browsing, like doc’s files, spreadsheets, data, and things like that, it is better you opt for an 8GB RAM.
With an 8GB RAM, you can handle more than one task or operation, including some high-end apps, programs, or software.
For this act, they need to run heavy apps and applications or advanced software that’s why the system needs more RAM to run the tabs without any crashes.
If your system runs out of RAM then it would cause your Chromebook to perform much slower.
How Much RAM is enough for Android Apps?
All Chromebooks are supported with android apps and there are millions of apps to choose from. You can use apps for productivity or fun and these are used with ChromeOS.
These Android apps run at a perfect rate with 4GB of RAM. But if you want to run apps that are heavy like graphics then you may notice a little slower to your computer if it has 4GB of RAM.
This situation mostly occurs when you are using advanced Android app games. If you want to enjoy the advanced Android apps then I recommend you buy a Chromebook with 8GB of RAM to run heavy gaming apps for a good experience.
How much RAM is Enough for Zoom Meetings?
If you like using your Chromebook for zoom meetings, webcamming, or Google Classroom, and you are on a budget, for you too, 4GB RAM is more than enough.
If you like to handle multiple tasks at one time, along with browsing, streaming, spreadsheets, and word file handling, it is good to buy an 8GB RAM Chromebook.
How much RAM is enough for a senior citizen?
Senior citizens spend most of their time reading books online, watching YouTube videos, talking to their relatives via Zoom meetings, watching live streaming, and much more.
For these regular tasks Chromebook with 4GB of RAM is good for having a great experience when a senior citizen spends his leisure time with the above-mentioned tricks.
So, when you buy a Chromebook for your senior citizen then don’t forget the importance of RAM that helps to boot up the system’s performance.
How Much RAM is Good For Browsing?
For Browsing in my View, if it is just casual browsing, 4GB RAM is enough for that.
Browsing includes just low-end tasks and no need for extra RAM for this general purpose. So, when you want to shop for a Chromebook for the above-mentioned tasks then a Chromebook with just 4GB of RAM is enough.
How Much RAM is Good For Streaming Experience
If you looking for a Chromebook for streaming purposes then go to going with 8GB of RAM to watch HD movies, live shows, web series, etc.
But if you want to enjoy ultra-HD and want to run some advanced applications then you need to look for a 16GB Chromebook which is much better than 8GB of RAM?
Use of zRAM for convenient
Chrome operating system can use zRAM to keep things smoother and faster with snappy performance than a Windows or macOS with less RAM.
This compressed virtual memory goes best with lower RAM by adjusting the compressed block in RAM and using that in place of virtual memory that is stored on the hard disk.
From this compressed space, data is transferred in and out and at that point, swap space is used or virtual space on the hard disk.
Due to this factor RAM uses faster and compression takes place in zRAM while RAM is generally quicker than swap. So ChromeOS perform faster with less.
Frequently Asked Questions (How Much RAM is good For Chromebook)
Is Chromebook good for a college student?
Yes, Chromebook is the best option for a college student. If student study involves only browsing the web, writing essays, and dealing with a spreadsheet then a Chromebook with 4GB of RAM is enough.
This 4GB RAM is helpful to open the maximum tabs that you need but it does not run too many programs at once.
How Much RAM is enough for an HDMI Port Chromebook?
If you buy an HDMI Port with having Chromebook, that means you are using it for connecting external devices.
Such as external monitors, printers, etc. That means you are going to get a hell of use of your Chromebook, it would be better if you buy an 8GB RAM Chromebook.
Here, not only RAM but the processor is also important, better to buy a core i3 processor Chromebook or core i5 processor Chromebook.
Is Fingerprint Reader Chroembooks Expensive?
No, not at all. Just a fingerprint addition in a Chromebook would not increase its price very much. You can buy a fingerprint reader Chromebook for around $200.
Fingerprint addition though comes with lots of benefits, it allows instant access to your system and prevents others from accessing your private files.
Which Chromebook is right for you?
All the Chromebooks run with the same operating system but there is a difference in the performance and features.
They differ in speed, memory, aspects, resolution, screen size, and functionality. If you are a student or a senior citizen then you can shop for a Chromebook with 4GB of RAM.
If you are a businessman and you’re working needs is more than a regular person then I recommended you to buy a Chromebook with 8GB of RAM for good computing tasks.
Final Thoughts:
In this guide, we tried to answer how much RAM is good enough for you for handling different tasks, and use a Chromebook for different operations. I tried to answer that the RAM size actually depends on your use.
If you are buying a Chromebook for home use, browsing, light Android games, and various other operations, 4GB RAM is enough.
If you like to run dozens of tabs, streaming, docs handling and various other tasks, you can go with 8GB RAM. I don’t think 16GB RAM Chromebooks are good to go. 16GB is overkill for a Chromebook, and that’s why you hardly find a 16GB Chromebook.
