Too often do computer users fail to realize how important it is to keep their system running at optimal performance. Aside from performing a disk defragmentation and deleting unwanted files regularly, it may be necessary to upgrade your RAM.

But just what is RAM and what does it do? RAM stands for Random Access Memory, and it basically allows the system to immediately access information that is stored on the computer. In simplest terms, if your computer is trying to get to the 50th location of memory, RAM allows it to do just that without going through the 49 memory locations that precede it.

When computer users usually claim that they need more memory, they usually need more RAM, as their system is running too many applications for the RAM to handle at a given time. Storage capacity, on the other hand, is considered the amount of “brain space” that your computer has to hold information.

For instance saving photos and videos on your computer uses up storage capacity, and depending on the capacity of a given system, it can fill up. To compensate, users usually purchase external hard drives or flash drives, which are both portable units that provide extra storage memory.