I am still keeping my documents in c:\docs\ - Am I mad?

ship69

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Hi

I was told a long time ago NOT to keep my data in c:\users\MyName\My Documents in Windows because it uses up RAM.

So as the only user of my computer, for many years I have been keeping my documents c:\docs\
Am I mad?

J
 

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If a document type file isn't loaded into whatever application it is associated with, MS Word for .doc or MS Excel for .xls for instance, then it takes up disk space but not RAM.
 

My Computer

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    W10 Pro (desktop), W10 (laptop), W10 Pro (tablet)
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    Home built i7-8700K, Hp Envy x360 EVO Laptop, MS Surface Pro 7
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    Retired in 2015 after working in the tech industry for 41 years. First 10 years as a Technician, the rest as a programmer/software engineer. After 1 year of retirement, I was bored so went back to work as a Robotic Process Automation Consultant. Retired for 3rd (and final) time in 2019.
To clarify: I think the argument was that everything that is in the users 'profile', including everything on the desktop, was somehow taking up space on RAM. And for this reason we took everything we could OUT of the user profile (including Outlook .OST and .PST files and any indexing files generated by the likes of X1 desktop search etc).

The other benefit was that it was always easy to find my documents (c:\docs\)
However I am starting to think that this is a pain because every application you can think of seem to keep going back to "c:\users\MyName\My Documents"
 

My Computer

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    Windows 8.1 Pro (x64)
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    Samsung NP740U3E-S04UK (Series 7 Ultra Notebook)
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    Intel Core i5 - 3337U
    Motherboard
    Intel HM76 (?)
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    6GB DDR3 System Memory at 1600MHz
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    AMD Radeon™ HD 8570M graphics card with 1GB gDDR3 Graphic Memory (PowerExpress)
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    Logitech MK700
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    Logitech M705
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    Firefox, MSIE, Chrome, Opera etc
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I was told a long time ago NOT to keep my data in c:\users\MyName\My Documents in Windows because it uses up RAM.

Whoever told you this is misinformed. That's just completely wrong, unless of course you're user profile is stored in a RAM drive, which few people do.

What they MAY have been confused about is that files stored in Users\user\Documents are part of a users roaming profile, and if they are on an Active Directory domain in a corporation, and the users profile is setup for roaming, than any documents will get copied to the local workstation when they log in. This does not use RAM, but it can use disk on a local computer.

However, nobody really uses Roaming profiles much anymore, so it's not really an issue, and I am guessing you're not talking about a computer connected to a domain anyways.

Another possible source of confusion is that the users registry hive is stored in the users profile, and this DOES get loaded into RAM, but that is irrelevant to documents.

If you have a lot of files on your desktop, then Windows does have to read the desktop folder, and create Icons for those files, which does take (a very small amount of) RAM, but it's not much RAM.. any modern computer should not have any issues with this, and since Windows 7/8/8.1 are so much more efficient with RAM anyways, even lower spec computers work really well.
 

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Hi there,

I'm afraid you've been believing a ghost story for many of years. What you are saying is simply not the truth.

My brains are grinding here....there was perhaps a time, during Windows 98, that files placed onto your desktop slowed down your pc. But that's been past times with the introduction of Windows XP.
Windows XP has also been the first consumer version that introduced the "C:\Docs&Users\etc." filestructure.

Believe me ==> it is quite save to place your files in the My Documents folder. It won't eat up anything besides diskspace.

And in case you don't want, for any reason, to have the data onto your C drive. You can move your entire My Documents folder to a D drive. Then the third party software will still recognise it.

So my advice to you is. Breath in, Breath out. And let loose of this very wierd 'fact' you've been holding on for so long.

Greetz,

Rover
 

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    I also own the following Microsoft devices:
    * Surface Pro 2 128 GB
    * Windows Phone HTC 8X
... However I am starting to think that this is a pain because every application you can think of seem to keep going back to "c:\users\MyName\My Documents"
Can you name such an application? I have an ssd as my boot drive and don't want to fill it up with my various documents so I put them on my D: drive and in the 2+ years I've been doing that I have yet to have an application look at "c:\users\MyName\My Documents" for anything.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 Pro (desktop), W10 (laptop), W10 Pro (tablet)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built i7-8700K, Hp Envy x360 EVO Laptop, MS Surface Pro 7
    CPU
    3.7Ghz Core i7-8700K, 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 4.7Ghz, 10th Gen Core™ i5-1035G4 1.1Ghz
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    ASUS TUF Z370-Pro Gaming, HP, MS
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    Microsoft IntelliMouse
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    Retired in 2015 after working in the tech industry for 41 years. First 10 years as a Technician, the rest as a programmer/software engineer. After 1 year of retirement, I was bored so went back to work as a Robotic Process Automation Consultant. Retired for 3rd (and final) time in 2019.
... However I am starting to think that this is a pain because every application you can think of seem to keep going back to "c:\users\MyName\My Documents"
Can you name such an application? I have an ssd as my boot drive and don't want to fill it up with my various documents so I put them on my D: drive and in the 2+ years I've been doing that I have yet to have an application look at "c:\users\MyName\My Documents" for anything.

That's what Libraries are for. You can change the location of your Documents library to anywhere you like.

Also, if you right click on Documents, there is a tab that says Location, in that you can change the location that is used for the default documents location.

Any app that uses the Shell special folders API's will then default to the correct place. Only stupid apps that force a specific location will keep going to the normal default (those apps fail on localized versions of Windows as well).
 

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    Windows 8.1 Pro
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    Intel i7 3770K
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Whatever is best for your purposes, thats what you should do.

Maybe keeping massive amounts of data in the Library folders uses up some resources, I'll try moving my files elsewhere and see if it affects my system.
 

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    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
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    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
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    AMD 4400+/4200+
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    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
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    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
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    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
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    Water Cooled
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    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
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    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
I have a large capacity SSD on each of my home PC and my laptop (280GB and 512GB respectively).
Is anyone saying that I should partition these drives so as to create a D: drive that is separate from my C: driver (where the Windows and all my applications live).

Out of interest how many of you folks MOVE your documents at all? And when you do so do you move your entire library structure including downloads etc or do you just move your documents?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro (x64)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung NP740U3E-S04UK (Series 7 Ultra Notebook)
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 - 3337U
    Motherboard
    Intel HM76 (?)
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 System Memory at 1600MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 8570M graphics card with 1GB gDDR3 Graphic Memory (PowerExpress)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3" SuperBright+ 350nit FHD LED Display with Touch Screeen Panel
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    (1920 x 1080)
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    512GB mSATA Samsung (PM841 Series MZMTD512HAGL-00000 mSATA 512GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD)
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    Logitech MK700
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
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That's what Libraries are for. You can change the location of your Documents library to anywhere you like.

Also, if you right click on Documents, there is a tab that says Location, in that you can change the location that is used for the default documents location.

Please can you tell me how to move my official 'Documents' file (to in this case my c:\docs\)?

And is this still possible if I have installed Classic Shell, as I have.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro (x64)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung NP740U3E-S04UK (Series 7 Ultra Notebook)
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 - 3337U
    Motherboard
    Intel HM76 (?)
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 System Memory at 1600MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 8570M graphics card with 1GB gDDR3 Graphic Memory (PowerExpress)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3" SuperBright+ 350nit FHD LED Display with Touch Screeen Panel
    Screen Resolution
    (1920 x 1080)
    Hard Drives
    512GB mSATA Samsung (PM841 Series MZMTD512HAGL-00000 mSATA 512GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD)
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK700
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    4 to 15Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox, MSIE, Chrome, Opera etc
    Antivirus
    AVG Cloudcare

My Computer

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    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Linux Mint 18.3 MATE (64 bit)
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    AMD Phenom II x6 1055T, 2.8 GHz
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    ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3
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    Realtek?
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    1920x1080
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    Western Digital 1.5 TB (SATA), Western Digital 2 TB (SATA), Western Digital 3 TB (SATA)
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    Tower
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    Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 17 MATE (64 bit) - 2014-05-17
    Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-11-13
    Ubuntu 10.04 (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-01-14
    RAM & Graphics Card Upgraded - 2013-01-13
    Monitor Upgraded - 2012-04-20
    System Upgraded - 2011-05-21, 2010-07-14
    HDD Upgraded - 2010-08-11, 2011-08-24,
As mentioned, whatever works fine is the right choice, so just find a system you're happy with.

I always keep OS + (95% of) Programs on its own partition, mainly because it makes any imaging\backup\restore very easy and quick.

Am not using the C: "My" Documents\Music\Pictures, files are in folders on other disks\partitions, and am using a separate backup system for these files.

So, basically, reason for having separate partitions here is due to the backup\imaging plan.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1, W7
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP \ Toshiba \ Lenovo \ Dell E7440
    Browser
    FF
It's a personal preference thing. There is no valid technical reason to do so anymore, other than if you like to format your OS partition frequently.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
Please do NOT partition your SSD. That will hugely decrease the performance of your drive. If you want to move your My Documents folder you should move them to another fysical drive, not just a partition on the same drive.

I did move my documents. That's because I have 5 drives in my pc ==>

  • 1 SSD for Windows and applications
  • 3 HDD's for storage
  • 1 old SSD for the different Virtual Machines I have (e.a. XP, Vista, 7 etc.)


The library functionality of Windows increased the user experience. This way I can easily access files that are stored on different HDD's. You should try it :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64 Media Center Edition
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Made
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 750
    Memory
    6 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD HD 7750
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Iiyama ProLite B2481HS-B1
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1x 120 GB SSD Samsung 830;
    1x 1.5 TB HDD Seagate;
    1x 2 TB HDD Western Digital;
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    1x 80 GB SSD Vertex 2
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    Corsair CX 600
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    Corsair Carbide 300R with Side Window
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    Intel RTS2011 LC
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    DasKeyboard (blue switches)
    Mouse
    Wacom Baboo Tablet Pen & Touch
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    50 Mbit FullDuplex Fiberglass
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    I also own the following Microsoft devices:
    * Surface Pro 2 128 GB
    * Windows Phone HTC 8X
There is no valid technical reason to do so anymore, other than if you like to format your OS partition frequently.

Hello, like? lol. I'd make that "other than the option to format your OS partition". Very, very seldom, but good to be up an running again in 15 minutes if needed (OS disk only = very small backup images). Just my opinion, and a good system here, to each to choose the setup that gets their work done. BTW, I'm mainly on old HD's here, will get some large SSD's (when prices gets normal!), and my backup\partition system etc will probably change.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1, W7
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP \ Toshiba \ Lenovo \ Dell E7440
    Browser
    FF
There is no valid technical reason to do so anymore, other than if you like to format your OS partition frequently.

Hello, like? lol. I'd make that "other than the option to format your OS partition". Very, very seldom, but good to be up an running again in 15 minutes if needed (OS disk only = very small backup images). Just my opinion, and a good system here, to each to choose the setup that gets their work done. BTW, I'm mainly on old HD's here, will get some large SSD's (when prices gets normal!), and my backup\partition system etc will probably change.

It's pretty rare that you need to format your disk partition anymore. If you do a fresh install, Windows just moves your old stuff to Windows.old, or .000, .001, etc.. The only reason to format is if your disk is corrupted. Or maybe you are repartitioning.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
I have about four backup drives all containing backups of my Libraries in various states of disarray.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
Please do NOT partition your SSD. That will hugely decrease the performance of your drive. If you want to move your My Documents folder you should move them to another fysical drive, not just a partition on the same drive.

What if someone only has a single drive in their machine (e.g. laptop)?

Imaging is a nightmare under that scenario too (as I recently discovered).

Here is some info about SSD performance that crawfish posted:
I thought that I read somewhere that "Wear Leveling" isn't as effective if you don't have free space on your SSD.

The tl;dr version is to leave 25% free to keep performance high. With TRIM, you don't even to leave space unpartitioned.

AnandTech | Exploring the Relationship Between Spare Area and Performance Consistency in Modern SSDs - Print View


There is no valid technical reason to do so anymore, other than if you like to format your OS partition frequently.
Hello, like? lol. I'd make that "other than the option to format your OS partition". Very, very seldom, but good to be up an running again in 15 minutes if needed (OS disk only = very small backup images).

Since MS has released faulty patches in 3 out of the past 4 months, I say it's almost "regularly" as opposed to "seldom".
July
Microsoft Confirms Botched MS13-057 Windows 7 Update
September
Microsoft Fixes Botched KB2760411, KB2760588, and KB2760583 Windows 7 Updates
October
Microsoft Confirms KB2862330 Windows 7 Update Problems
Microsoft ?Still Working? on KB2862330 Windows 7 Update Fix

The ability to:
  • Just replace the OS (as required) without losing personal files, Internet bookmarks, etc. is a necessity
  • Image a partition in a few minutes as opposed to a few hours is too good to overlook
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Linux Mint 18.3 MATE (64 bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    n/a
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II x6 1055T, 2.8 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill Ares F3-1333C9D-8GAO (4GB x 2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD6450
    Sound Card
    Realtek?
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 1.5 TB (SATA), Western Digital 2 TB (SATA), Western Digital 3 TB (SATA)
    Case
    Tower
    Mouse
    Wired Optical
    Other Info
    Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 17 MATE (64 bit) - 2014-05-17
    Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-11-13
    Ubuntu 10.04 (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-01-14
    RAM & Graphics Card Upgraded - 2013-01-13
    Monitor Upgraded - 2012-04-20
    System Upgraded - 2011-05-21, 2010-07-14
    HDD Upgraded - 2010-08-11, 2011-08-24,
Regarding having multiple partitions surely having too many become inefficient if for no other reason than because you need to leave some blank space in each one and so if you run out of space in one partition you can't use the spare space from any other partitions. To make the point - taken ad obsurdum if you had say 100 partitions just imagine the problems!


lehnerus2000
Please can you say more about imaging. I understand that there is no longer any (built-in) way backing up the operating system in Windows 8. All you can do is create a restore point and hope for the best. But this might not work. And I would be very VERY unhappy if I lost literally days and days of work getting my Windows 8 with all my settings and applications nicely installed.

So is there any way of backing up an entire (512GB) disk, preferably stored nicely compressed onto some external hard disk? If so what software would you recommend to do so?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro (x64)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung NP740U3E-S04UK (Series 7 Ultra Notebook)
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 - 3337U
    Motherboard
    Intel HM76 (?)
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 System Memory at 1600MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 8570M graphics card with 1GB gDDR3 Graphic Memory (PowerExpress)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3" SuperBright+ 350nit FHD LED Display with Touch Screeen Panel
    Screen Resolution
    (1920 x 1080)
    Hard Drives
    512GB mSATA Samsung (PM841 Series MZMTD512HAGL-00000 mSATA 512GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD)
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK700
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    4 to 15Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox, MSIE, Chrome, Opera etc
    Antivirus
    AVG Cloudcare
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