RAM affects computer performance in three ways. First, as your RAM increases, your system’s processing power goes up. Second, the more available RAM you have on a computer; the less likely it is that programs and files will “page” out of additional memory and onto the hard drive (i.e., bounce between RAM and hard disk), which makes for a quicker program loads and un-loadings. Third, because data resides in RAM until it is written to or read from a storage device – such as a floppy drive–more memory means slower disks than less memory does because they are accessed for long periods before being cleared of their data.”