March 1999 SDRAM Comparison

The picture changes ever so slightly under Windows NT 4, a more robust (memory hog) operating system in comparison to Windows 98. There is a noticeable difference between 64MB and 128MB of RAM under Windows NT, however anything above 128MB of RAM provides a series of diminishing returns, with 256MB being the absolute peak before the benefits lose themselves in the added cost of the memory upgrade.

In most multi threaded applications, such as those high end developing and image editing suites (e.g. Microsoft Visual Studio, Adobe Photoshop), the jump from 64MB to 128MB and then to 256MB is noticeable. Most NT workstations will want a minimum of 128MB of RAM, with 256MB being the absolute sweet spot. Although having 384MB of system memory can be nice, it isn't necessary, and the performance gain experienced in going from 128MB to 256MB is nearly twice that experienced in going from 256MB to 384MB. In the future things may change, however by today's standards, for most NT workstations, anywhere between 128MB and 256MB is ideal.