what does a system needs to run 3 browser with 8 tab each

Info & chat about quiet prebuilt, small form factor and barebones systems, people's experiences with vendors thereof, etc.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
anaturelover
Posts: 89
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:24 pm

what does a system needs to run 3 browser with 8 tab each

Post by anaturelover » Mon Jun 29, 2020 7:34 pm

i get to that point in my work.
do i need to put enphasis on a lot of ram?

or rapid cpu?
or 4 6 octacore ?

Olle P
Posts: 711
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:03 am
Location: Sweden

Re: what does a system needs to run 3 browser with 8 tab each

Post by Olle P » Mon Jul 06, 2020 3:38 am

Depends on what sites you visit, but generally the priority should be to have (at least) 16GB of RAM.
A somewhat new dual core CPU is sufficient. I run one browser with about 20 tabs open in addition to half a dozen other programs on a laptop with a Core i5 6300U and the CPU isn't even breaking sweat.

A decent Internet connection helps also.

anaturelover
Posts: 89
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:24 pm

Re: what does a system needs to run 3 browser with 8 tab each

Post by anaturelover » Mon Jul 06, 2020 8:46 pm

wow that is a lot
does gpu has influence or little

Vicotnik
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 1831
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 6:53 am
Location: Sweden

Re: what does a system needs to run 3 browser with 8 tab each

Post by Vicotnik » Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:32 am

The GPU has little influence on the browsing experience. And 8GB RAM should be fine for many systems as well. Even 4GB for a modest system. Memory usage is pretty individual, it depends on what programs you are running and how many you run at the same time. Best to check your own memory usage to get a feel for how much you need.

For me 4GB is plenty for the HTPC using Kodi and light browsing. 16GB is a must in my main system since I like to use a RAM disk and also have some headroom.

flyingsherpa
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 475
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2003 6:28 pm
Location: CT, USA

Re: what does a system needs to run 3 browser with 8 tab each

Post by flyingsherpa » Wed Jul 08, 2020 8:10 am

If that's all you are doing, 4GB RAM is fine. My laptop (4GB RAM) easily runs many browsers and tabs fine, including streaming from at least one while doing this. A dual core cpu is fine too. My desktop with quad core and 16GB RAM is nicer, for sure, but only because I push it more (video encoding etc). My work laptops have 16GB RAM and I have tons of open programs and they rarely go above 8GB RAM being used.

So 4GB is bare minimum these days, and it will be fine for browsing, Word/Excel and such. Personally I wouldn't want to buy anything with less than 8GB, but that's because I do more than just browsing. I probably don't need 16GB, but I build my desktop for long term use, and wanted to dabble in video editing at some point.

anaturelover
Posts: 89
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:24 pm

Re: what does a system needs to run 3 browser with 8 tab each

Post by anaturelover » Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:29 pm

tx
would any one know how many ddr4 is equivalent to 12 ddr3 1600?

Vicotnik
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 1831
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 6:53 am
Location: Sweden

Re: what does a system needs to run 3 browser with 8 tab each

Post by Vicotnik » Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:22 am

DDR4 is a bit faster than DDR3. DDR3 is a bit faster than DDR2 etc. The motherboard will dictate what kind of RAM you need. Today it's DDR4 for new stuff.

Capacity is apart from this. Car analogy; the speed of the car have little influence on how much goes into the trunk. If you need say 8GB of RAM it will be 8GB of the kind that fits into the motherboard. Usually RAM is used in pairs, 2x4GB or 2x8GB etc. Pairing them gives you a little speed, but you don't have to run them in pairs. I usually go for 1x4GB rather than 2x2GB in a light 4GB system.

Go for 2x8GB or maybe a single 8GB stick if money is tight, saving up for a second 8GB stick later.

Olle P
Posts: 711
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:03 am
Location: Sweden

Re: what does a system needs to run 3 browser with 8 tab each

Post by Olle P » Thu Jul 09, 2020 5:31 am

Vicotnik wrote:
Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:32 am
... And 8GB RAM should be fine for many systems as well. Even 4GB for a modest system...
In my experience 8 GB is the absolute bare minimum when running several tabs in a browser, and RAM is (essentially) the only limiting factor.
Within a few years I've gone from 4 GB (with 32-bit Win7) through 8 GB (with 64-bit Win7) to 16 GB with Win10. 4 GB was really limiting, 8 GB was doable but did limit me sometimes. 16 GB hasn't resulted in any problems, yet.

Vicotnik
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 1831
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 6:53 am
Location: Sweden

Re: what does a system needs to run 3 browser with 8 tab each

Post by Vicotnik » Thu Jul 09, 2020 5:56 am

Sure, 4GB is not much today. But it depends on what you run. Windows needs more overhead than for example Linux Mint XFCE for sure. On the HTPC I have ~3.5GB available for the system and about 1.15GB used with 10+ tabs in Firefox. Just over 300MB used when I close Firefox.

Post Reply