Average Number of Windows (Applications) Opened at One Time

Just want a few opinions here. Our clerical staff uses older computers for their work (PIV 2.0 – 3.0, with 1 GB RAM).

Whenever they work on a particularly intensive project that seems to bog down the computer, the first thing their manager says is “you have too many windows open.” Generally, they have 4-5 windows open max, and that is at the busiest point.

At a recent Windows 7 seminar, the Microsoft guy said the average user has 10-13 windows (applications) opened at once.

So what I’m wondering is, what is the real average and how many is too many?

I realize that the second part of that question is dependent on the computer and the amount of resources each open program uses.