On May 12, 2020, at 9:10 AM, Dev Null <aptget@...> wrote:



Upgraded to 12 GB. CPU still at 100% but memory better.

I am sorry,  I can't help it, but misinformation in public forums really bothers me. Especially in a great group like this one.

(This is not directed at you personally, I am just using your post as an example.) It is unfortunately true that folks in general think that increasing RAM will make computers faster. In 90% of cases, it will make no difference whatsoever. The only time it does is when the computer is actually deficient, which never happens any more, since all have come with at least 8GB for many years now.

This is not to say that I personally don't load them up with RAM too. But it is only for "insurance."

I take care of hundreds of Windows machines, been doing it for decades, and I regularly check their actual RAM usage. You can do this yourself by just hitting ctl-alt-del and looking at task manager. You will find that in most cases, even with multiple programs running, usage will be below 4GB. The reason people add RAM is simple: because they can. 

I commend you for pointing out the single biggest improvement anyone can make to a computer today, which is to switch from a mechanical hard disk to a SSD (solid state drive.) Doing this will give you more improvement by far than anything else you can do, short of replacing the computer. It is truly dramatic.

As you mentioned, the street price of a 256 SSD is down below $50 US, so this is a no-brainer. Finally, I would suggest a clean install to the new SSD, rather than a clone, but I do understand that many are not up to that. In the words of Adrian Monk, "you will thank me later."