Is your computer running very slow? This is an ongoing problem for many computer users in the world. Although there are various symptoms to a why a computer will be running slow, you need to understand what the difference between RAM vs CPU and which should upgraded or focused on. This article will aim to teach you about how RAM and CPU processing work to determine if you have a problem with your computer running very slow.

So what's the difference between RAM and CPU? First of all, RAM stands for Random Access Memory and can be thought of as the holding tank for running processes. The more RAM you have, the more programs you can run. I might also add that RAM works with Virtual Memory where a section on the hard drive is reserved to act as secondary RAM. Also, RAM is accessed much faster than a hard drive. CPU stands for Central Processing Units and this is where many mathematical computations occur. The computations are processed by the CPU which fuels the applications running on your system. The faster your CPU, the faster your applications can run.

If you look at RAM vs CPU, they do two different tasks. The CPU will run the application and store the processed results in the RAM. However, for most computer users, multitasking is a popular activity on the computer. Therefore, running several programs need to be held in RAM. On a visual perspective, CPU will be demonstrated most by how fast a program will initiate where RAM will demonstrate it's ability to handle several programs at once. If you notice that it takes a long time for a program to start when you have a sufficient amount of RAM, then you may need to upgrade your CPU. If you have a decent CPU speed, but notice that you are experiencing your computer running very slow with only 3-4 programs running, you may need to upgrade your RAM.

To reiterate, CPU handles how fast a program will start or perform and the RAM handles the load of the programs currently running. By understanding the difference between the CPU and the RAM, you can determine what type of hardware upgrade you may need. If you still experience your computer running very slow despite having sufficient RAM vs CPU, then you may have a software or operating system issue.