it all depends what you do. if you just surf the web and work on documents, 1GB is more than enough. I personally have 2GBs just because i do so much at once. while it won't make a huge difference at first, you'll notice that everything will run a little smoother. yesterday i was watching a movie, burning two cds, trying to work on a paper and surfing the web all at the same time. if you're really strapped for cash, i would go for the 1GB now and if you really need it, upgrade later on.