Why are you asking/in what context did this come up?

In a PC, RAM (random access memory) is the physical memory. So called because that's the type of semiconductor device used for this task, the working space of a computer. Most PCs today have a minimum of 4 GB (gigabytes) and can have much more. Think of it as the cutting board where the chef works.

Sometimes more space is needed than is available, because of multiple windows open, because of the tasks in progress, etc., Think of that as a too-small cutting board. The chef moves to a plate or another area what's on the cutting board, and then puts the next item to be process onto it. Perhaps repeatedly.

If a computer needs more working space for a task than is available, then just like the chef with the too-small cutting board, the operating system will move stuff out of the physical memory working space (RAM) and into virtual memory. This is an "as-if", secondary working space that's not physical memory but is most often on the hard drive. It's also called a swap file. Windows also has a function called Ready Boost where the user can optionally set up connected SD cards or thumb drives to act as a cache for disk operations, thus also acting as a type of virtual memory to speed things up.

I bought a new laptop and was trying to figure out how much memory it had. It lists both and I wasn't sure which was the important one.

The PC describes how much virtual memory? I've never seen that. Is it a PC and not a Chromebook?

If a PC, it's maybe how much RAM and how large the hard drive is. RAM is likely a single digit or <12 GB and hard drive should be more than 100GB, up to 1TB (1000 GB) which is more than anyone would ever need.

Can you explain further? Enjoy your new laptop.

Its a Windows system. HP

The box it came in says: HP Pavilion x 360

Win 10 Home, 14" Touch

Intel Core i3

8GB DDR4, 128 GB Solid State Drive

When I went into System Summary it says:

Physical Memory 8.00GB, Total Physical Memory 7.84 GB

Total Virtual Memory - 9.09 MB

Available Virtual Memory 6.11GB

I got this laptop at a good price. Handy to take with me when away from home. Slim, light and very responsive .It has a hinge where I can use it like a tablet. Very handy.

Wondering how much I can put on it. Never had a Solid State Drive before and a bit confused how much I can load on it.

Jane

Your new PC has solid state storage instead of the more traditionally common hard drive with a spinning platter. That's a good feature. This is the more technologically modern approach and is now more common and available for more reasonable prices for manufacturers and consumers than before. These are much faster than hard drives and I'm sure this PC comes on quickly when started from being off.

The tradeoff is because solid state is more expensive than traditional hard drives, "standard equipment" is a smaller size. You have a 128 GB (gigabyte) "drive". My 14 inch PC, about 5 years old, has a 500 GB hard drive but it's very slow.

What you have would be excellent for travel and casual use. As for something to store photos on, etc., the space may be limited (depending on how much you have)

In this case, because the hard drive is solid state, it's been configured with a small "virtual memory". With my cutting board example, think of what you have as a smaller (and slower) additional cutting board you can use just to hold what was moved off of the main board because it's needed for something else. On your PC, a small portion of the "hard drive" has been set up for this task as virtual memory, a cache or swap file, to speed up operations.

For others who find their PC gets bogged down, you can set up your own virtual memory without opening up the PC. Get a fast SD card or thumb drive of at least 4 GB and configure it using the WIndows Ready Boost feature. For PCs with inadequate RAM, it can help.

Thanks, Elmer.

I bought it for travel and for internet. Only store a few photos.

I think it was a good value. Got it for $350.00 does everything I need. I love the tablet mode, great for investment work I do. Can look at spreadsheets, charts easily.

Light and thin. I never had a solid state drive before and love how quick it boots up. I was curious about the memory because I thought it was small and never saw virtual memory listed on my other computers.

Oh, Elmer, I downloaded iTunes without a problem and now can get photos off my phone! What a headache that was with my other computer. Now I use this to post photos.

Knew I'd get a good answer from my favorite forum. Thank you!!

Jane

jane NY, you have a very nice PC and I'm sure you'll be happy with it. Do I remember correctly that you at one time struggled with Win 10, or was that someone else?

mike, how much RAM is required depends a lot on the individual's patterns of use. Processing (not just viewing) large photo and video files or having many different windows of rich content (presentations, large WP files) open at the same time will consume more RAM than just the web surfing most users do these days. My wife's PC, a bit older, has 4GB of RAM and for what she does. it's zippy and responsive.

PCs have used swap files on the hard drives since the dawn of time and still do. The difference between that happening on a traditional platter-containing hard drive vs a solid state drive is noticeable because of read/write speed differences.