Depending on your use of these applications, the application can easily use 4 GB of RAM (or more) if available when performing tasks like ‘copying large amounts of text between documents,’ ‘formatting a large spreadsheet,’ ‘numerous large spreadsheets open simultaneously,' etc.

While Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook all require 2 GB of RAM (minimum) when in active use, they will run in a background mode (not the primary window) with a single GB of RAM. I haven't included any of the Windows 'server' software which require even more RAM to operate properly. (Note: All of these specifications are based upon a 64-bit computing environment since that is the most common in use today, as opposed to the 32-bit environments of a few years back.)Īs you can see, all ‘supported’ version of Windows in use (Windows 7 and 8.1 as well as Windows-10) all require a minimum of 2 GB of RAM. In preparation for an upcoming webinar, I developed the following PowerPoint slide that helps to show you the various RAM requirements for some of the more common software applications most 'Windows' computer users have on-board. The memory also helps determine how effectively your computer can multitask. Inside your computer, the memory works in conjunction with your processor and hard drive (or Solid-State-Drive) to access and use your data, and the amount, type and speed of memory you've got installed helps determine how fast applications, like QuickBooks, are able to operate. Your computer's moment-to-moment operations are typically performed using short-term data access functions like loading applications, browsing the Web or editing a database like QuickBooks all rely on Memory so, the amount, speed and type of memory play a critical role in your computer's performance. Memory (RAM, DRAM, SDRAM, ECC or Non-ECC) is the component in your computer that provides short-term data access. We are in the process of wrapping up our lengthy series on QuickBooks 2019 Desktop, and as you start downloading the products and your clients want to start installing running them it is essential you are aware of the requirements for operation. With this in mind, let's look at the various minimum, recommended and 'best practices' for each of the three most commonly used 'Windows environments' for QuickBooks.īut before we actually look at those system requirements, I felt we should talk a little about the concept of RAM (memory), and some of the applications on your computer using RAM, so you can understand the importance of sufficient RAM in relationship to not only QuickBooks, but your computer as a whole.

Quickbooks desktop 2019 support