How do RAM and persistent storage differ?

RAM provides fast working memory for running programs and is ordinarily volatile, so its contents are lost when power is removed. Persistent storage such as an SSD retains data without power and generally has higher access latency. More RAM can reduce paging for memory-constrained workloads, while faster storage can improve file access and startup. Neither upgrade fixes every performance issue. Diagnose memory pressure, storage latency, and the actual workload before recommending a purchase, and distinguish capacity problems from bandwidth or response-time problems.