Trying to decide which one to buy ...

[Binky1]

OK, so the new Pavilion  510-p050st has 16 Gigs of RAM, but the new ENVY 750-425qe (the more expensive machine) only has 12.   

Why is this?  

I was always under the impression that the ENVY is the more higher-end model of the two ...

[old_geekster]

@Binky1, welcome to the forum.

If you review the full specs for each computer:

http://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-Pavilion-510-p000-Desktop-PC-series/10734566/model/10957424/d...

http://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-ENVY-750-400-Desktop-PC-series/12079665/model/13385913/docume...

you will see that the Pavilion has a 180W power supply unit (PSU) and the Envy has a 300W PSU.  Also, the video card in the Envy is more power.  Less memory in the Envy is the way that HP keeps the price down.

Please click the Thumbs up + button if I have helped you and click Accept as Solution if your problem is solved.

[Binky1]

So, what am I really losing by not having those extra 4 Gigs?  I'm not a gamer, but I do do video rendering.   To what degree will having less RAM effect that?

And if so, would it be possible to buy more RAM and add it at a later date? 

[old_geekster · Accepted solution]

Thank you for the additional information, @Binky1.

The more memory the better.  However, I doubt that you would even notice the difference; especially since there is a more powerful video card.  Personally, I would buy the Envy simply because it has a more powerful PSU.

[mdklassen]

Pavilion: CPU speed: 2.8 GHz (3.6 GHz max turbo boost)

ENVY:      CPU speed: 3.4 GHz (max turbo boost - 4.0 GHz)

If you are going to do "video-rendering", the ENVY should be faster.

Given 12GB of RAM, you will have: two 4GB sticks and two 2GB sticks.

To upgrade, you'll need to remove the two 2GB sticks, to make room for two more 4GB sticks.

Maybe, you can find somebody to buy those two sticks from you ???