Windows is heavier than Linux before you open a single application. A plan that looks generous on paper can feel tight once a browser, a trading terminal and an office suite are all open. The useful way to size is to start from the baseline and add the programs you actually run.
The baseline
A current Windows Server desktop with no applications open uses roughly 2 to 3 GB of RAM. Add the Remote Desktop session and a browser with a handful of tabs and you are closer to 4 GB. That is why 4 GB plans feel cramped even for light use, and why 6 GB is a sensible floor for a real desktop.
Two cores are enough for browsing and office work. Four cores are the comfortable default once you keep several applications open at once, because Windows schedules background updates and Defender scans whether you are working or not.
By workload
These are working ranges, not guarantees. Measure your own machine before you commit to a larger plan.
- Browser, email and documents: 6 GB and 2 cores, with 8 GB giving noticeable breathing room.
- Trading terminals with several charts: 8 GB and 4 cores as the starting point; 12 GB if you run multiple platforms.
- Development with an IDE and a local database: 8 to 12 GB and 4 cores.
- Browser automation with several headless sessions: 12 GB or more, and count cores per browser instance.
- Image or video work: 16 GB and 6 or more cores; disk speed matters as much as raw capacity.
Disk is not the constraint you think
A 40 GB NVMe disk holds Windows and a modest set of applications. It fills quickly if you download datasets, keep local backups or install large creative suites. Check free space monthly, not once at the start.
NVMe matters more than the number of gigabytes for a desktop: Windows updates, application launches and browser caches all benefit from fast random reads. Every plan listed here uses NVMe.
When to go bigger
Upgrade when you see a pattern, not a single slow afternoon. Task Manager is enough: if memory sits above 85% for most of the working day, or CPU stays pinned during normal use, the next size up will pay for itself in fewer restarts and less waiting.
If the machine is only busy in short bursts, a smaller plan is fine. Servers are billed monthly, so the cost of guessing too big is recurring; the cost of guessing too small is a rebuild and a month of friction.
A note on 'dedicated' resources
Providers describe cores and RAM as dedicated, but a virtual machine still shares the physical host's network and storage with other tenants. That is normal and usually invisible. If your work is latency-sensitive, ask the provider where the server will run before you order, and test the round trip from where you actually work.
Ready to compare? The board lists Windows RDP plans and Linux VPS plans with the date each price was checked.