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AshleyGrant 11 hours ago [-]
Had a laptop purchased in December 2024 with 16 GB of RAM. Running a single VS Code instance and Edge with maybe 10 tabs consumed almost 100% of the RAM. Doing any actual development work required me to upgrade to 64 gigs of RAM. Thankfully it required DDR4 SODIMMs and I had two lying around from a recently deceased Mini PC.
general1465 4 hours ago [-]
I am in this bucket too. MSSQL + VS + tested Server + tested Client on 16GB + Win11 will just choke MSSQL server into constant timeouts. But if I will offload MSSQL onto another computer everything works just fine.
pkorzeniewski 13 hours ago [-]
I run Windows 10 on a laptop with 16GB RAM and on fresh boot it uses ~2.5GB, which leaves a lot of memory for other stuff, but I guess when even the new Notepad uses 20x more RAM that the old one it makes sense to require 32GB RAM.. One can hope that due to the high price of RAM more effort will be put into reducing memory usage in general, because right now it's ridiculous
Borg3 9 hours ago [-]
Haha, I love such statements.. Well I run old Windows w/ 16GB RAM, and on fresh boot it uses around 128MB RAM, leaving plenty of RAM for apps...
Headless Linux is even better, 3GB RAM, 19MB on boot..
winrid 13 hours ago [-]
I have win 10 iot running on devices with 4gb of ram (they mostly have to run one dedicated app) and it works fine!
kingstnap 11 hours ago [-]
If you are planning to use vibe coded programs then you better plan for a lot of RAM. Well I say planning when its really being thrust upon you in a lot of cases.
But be extremely mindful when looking at anything touched by Anthropic or OpenAI.
These coding agents have terrible feedback cycles for lag and memory leaks. A particularly egregious one is GPU usage which is absurdly high in most of these apps due to terrible design and react render loop issues. Someone needs to make RL enviroments than punish this.
I will caveat this with saying being wasteful with resources is not new at all. But at this point it seems like no one is doing any amount of basic due diligence.
rock_artist 10 hours ago [-]
I think that is a bold statement.
It depends on who’s promoting as well as the stack and the app and the complexity.
To be honest (no pun intended here), I’ve actually benefited from finding leaks and optimizing code paths by such tools. As long as something is measurable and testable you can benefit from AI.
Worth mentioning, I mostly do C++ code at my work.
zamalek 26 minutes ago [-]
At least so far as Microsoft goes, it is abundantly clear that they do not use LLMs like you claim to. The gp comment is an extremely fair assumption.
I'd also wager that people like you are extreme anomalies in general. We are seeing decreasing software quality across the industry. Your statement is the bold one.
awesomeusername 5 hours ago [-]
Genuine question, especially here on HN. Why would a developer use Windows in 2026?
I even develop windows apps. On Linux, built on GitHub actions.
If I had windows forced on me for corp reasons, like I did once, just full screen a VM
yunnpp 4 hours ago [-]
> If I had windows forced on me for corp reasons, like I did once, just full screen a VM
Ah, the naivete of the innocent. You are vastly underestimating the amount of spyware like Crapstrike Falcon that the IT department will force on you. And you think that shit runs on a VM?
Consider yourself lucky that you don't suffer Windows at work. I have only a single thought for all Microsoft software: death.
conception 18 minutes ago [-]
Just an FYI but Crapstrike has a linux client.
zamalek 4 hours ago [-]
Because the IT department makes them. Windows (and Mac) have an abundance of turn-key MDM solutions. I did the research to avoid having to use Windows at a previous employer, and there weren't many options (and specifically _any_ that covered 100% of what they wanted).
general1465 4 hours ago [-]
Developing apps for platform you are not using is just pointless exercise in frustrating your users. If app fails on Windows, how are you going to support your users? You don't have Windows, so you are unable to replicate the error at a first place.
0x1d7 10 hours ago [-]
This recommendation was targeted to gaming, not office work. And even for gaming, MSFT said 16GiB was good enough for most games.
Sensationalist article which doesn’t belong on HN.
benoau 6 hours ago [-]
Wasn't it actually talking about if you were gaming and streaming your gameplay and chatting at the same time?
TitaRusell 10 hours ago [-]
Gaming is such a broad category. That said not even modern triple A games recommend 32 gigabyte yet.
0x1d7 8 hours ago [-]
There are games which have long recommended 32GiB, but primarily simulators.
DCS and MSFS 2024 are two such examples.
andy800 8 hours ago [-]
My Windows 11 laptop with 32 GB RAM only allows for about 10-12gb user addressable before starting to crash. I do keep a lot of Chrome tabs open so that can easily get to 6-8gb, plus IntelliJ can use another 4-5. Add on VScode, sometimes Firefox or Opera, an email client, some other utilities (or god forbid try opening WSL), and I'm constantly getting crashes. And as I stated, only about 12gb of applications on a 32gb machine. It makes no sense.
kalleboo 3 hours ago [-]
What kind of crashes? Could you have bad RAM and the crashes start once the bad chip get put into use?
andy800 1 hours ago [-]
I would show you task manager showing 100% of user addressable space being used. It seems to reserve at least half of its memory for Windows itself or background processes. What kind of crashes? Applications just shutting down without warning, or Chrome slowing down and struggling to display anything, or itself closing. If there is a setting I could change, I've likely tried it, but I'm open to suggestions.
sunshine-o 13 hours ago [-]
Spyware and bloat ain't cheap these days.
Linux users don't rejoice too much, the Fedoras and Ubuntus were eating so much of my RAM I had to take refuge in Alpine.
rjh29 12 hours ago [-]
"Linux users" is a pretty big spectrum. My XFCE install uses barely any ram.
Molitor5901 12 hours ago [-]
You might consider MX, it has a much lower footprint for eating ram.
fsflover 12 hours ago [-]
Debian XFCE is still strong with a low amount RAM, too.
BizarroLand 13 hours ago [-]
CachyOS was using 3.25gb of ram while streaming video at 4k on my system.
My Windows work PC is currently using 28.2 gigs to have outlook, teams and 6 browser tabs open.
tredre3 10 hours ago [-]
Kind of odd an apple to oranges comparison you're making there, streaming video uses hardly any RAM.
How much RAM does CachyOS uses if you're running outlook, teams, and 6 browser tabs open?
SirMaster 8 hours ago [-]
Is it actually using it though or is most of it just cached stuff?
TacticalCoder 6 hours ago [-]
> ... the Fedoras and Ubuntus were eating so much of my RAM I had to take refuge in Alpine ...
The name of the bloat you're looking for is called "systemd".
Even though it's still kinda, sorta, possible to keep a lean Debian install in check (and Debian by default uses systemd), systemd is quite the gigantic kitchen sink. In the Fedoras and Ubuntus it's indeed out of control now.
The one thing that speeds up a systemd Linux booting (and usage) is removing as much of those systemd (dis)services as possible.
P.S: main desktop is Debian + Awesome WM (so I do use systemd)
Razengan 12 hours ago [-]
Meanwhile the MacBook Neo is amazing with just 8 GB of RAM. I just got it for using as a "thin client" for AI but it can handle at least Godot gamedev without hiccups
mcswell 11 hours ago [-]
Q: How much of that memory requirement is due to Co-Pilot?
xhkkffbf 14 hours ago [-]
Who can afford that much RAM?
I'm going back to the days when 640k was all we could ever use.
RGamma 10 hours ago [-]
Given all the other phenomena going on around computing, I may soon go back offline.
kylecazar 13 hours ago [-]
I just got a decent HP laptop for my mother (browsing/emails/light videos) for <$1k, it has 32GB. Good deals are out there.
ProllyInfamous 7 hours ago [-]
After purchasing a brand new pre-built from Microcenter (mostly for the GPU & RAM inside), I didn't even boot the Microsoft garbage – started straight into Ubuntu 26 USB installer, formatted, and was up and running immediately. Now this new 5070Ti purrs more-happily...
Sillily, the RGB-bullshit 32GB RAM sticks were cheaper than identical unlits... but I do wish I'd paid more for the latter now, because I'm going to [eventually] have to get inside of these stupid gimmicky LED-covers and tear them all directly off the PCB – so fucking stupid [RGB hardwired onto RAM is, without a physical switchoff].
----
tl;dr: I don't care what Microslop does or does not recommend, because I would never in my lifetime be caught using anything post-Win7Pro (if it had to be MSFT).
Headless Linux is even better, 3GB RAM, 19MB on boot..
But be extremely mindful when looking at anything touched by Anthropic or OpenAI.
These coding agents have terrible feedback cycles for lag and memory leaks. A particularly egregious one is GPU usage which is absurdly high in most of these apps due to terrible design and react render loop issues. Someone needs to make RL enviroments than punish this.
I will caveat this with saying being wasteful with resources is not new at all. But at this point it seems like no one is doing any amount of basic due diligence.
It depends on who’s promoting as well as the stack and the app and the complexity.
To be honest (no pun intended here), I’ve actually benefited from finding leaks and optimizing code paths by such tools. As long as something is measurable and testable you can benefit from AI. Worth mentioning, I mostly do C++ code at my work.
I'd also wager that people like you are extreme anomalies in general. We are seeing decreasing software quality across the industry. Your statement is the bold one.
I even develop windows apps. On Linux, built on GitHub actions.
If I had windows forced on me for corp reasons, like I did once, just full screen a VM
Ah, the naivete of the innocent. You are vastly underestimating the amount of spyware like Crapstrike Falcon that the IT department will force on you. And you think that shit runs on a VM?
Consider yourself lucky that you don't suffer Windows at work. I have only a single thought for all Microsoft software: death.
Sensationalist article which doesn’t belong on HN.
DCS and MSFS 2024 are two such examples.
Linux users don't rejoice too much, the Fedoras and Ubuntus were eating so much of my RAM I had to take refuge in Alpine.
My Windows work PC is currently using 28.2 gigs to have outlook, teams and 6 browser tabs open.
How much RAM does CachyOS uses if you're running outlook, teams, and 6 browser tabs open?
The name of the bloat you're looking for is called "systemd".
Even though it's still kinda, sorta, possible to keep a lean Debian install in check (and Debian by default uses systemd), systemd is quite the gigantic kitchen sink. In the Fedoras and Ubuntus it's indeed out of control now.
The one thing that speeds up a systemd Linux booting (and usage) is removing as much of those systemd (dis)services as possible.
P.S: main desktop is Debian + Awesome WM (so I do use systemd)
I'm going back to the days when 640k was all we could ever use.
Sillily, the RGB-bullshit 32GB RAM sticks were cheaper than identical unlits... but I do wish I'd paid more for the latter now, because I'm going to [eventually] have to get inside of these stupid gimmicky LED-covers and tear them all directly off the PCB – so fucking stupid [RGB hardwired onto RAM is, without a physical switchoff].
----
tl;dr: I don't care what Microslop does or does not recommend, because I would never in my lifetime be caught using anything post-Win7Pro (if it had to be MSFT).