How much phone RAM do I really need? 2gb vs 4gb

[maartendc]

Hey all,

 

So I just broke my Moto X 2014 phone. I loved that phone, never had any real problems with it. Just broke an internal part while trying to put in a new battery :'(. My Moto X only had 2GB of ram, and it was fast as hell. Never really had any stutters, slowdowns, switching apps was a breeze. This makes me think: is 2GB enough?

 

I want to get a cheaper phone, because I am sick and tired of spending money on garbage phones that break after a couple of months anyway.

 

Anyway, so I was looking at the Moto G5 Plus, it comes in 32GB storage / 2GB of ram, or 64GB storage / 4 GB of ram. Now, I don't care about the extra storage. Do you really need 4GB of RAM?

 

Thanks!

[Zando_]

iPhones only have 2GB RAM (1GB before, and 512Mb for ages before that) and they are massively fast. so 2GB RAM should be fine. 

[Meag]

1 minute ago, maartendc said:

Hey all,

 

So I just broke my Moto X 2014 phone. I loved that phone, never had any real problems with it. Just broke an internal part while trying to put in a new battery :'(. My Moto X only had 2GB of ram, and it was fast as hell. Never really had any stutters, slowdowns, switching apps was a breeze. This makes me think: is 2GB enough?

 

I want to get a cheaper phone, because I am sick and tired of spending money on garbage phones that break after a couple of months anyway.

 

Anyway, so I was looking at the Moto G5 Plus, it comes in 32GB storage / 2GB of ram, or 64GB storage / 4 GB of ram. Now, I don't care about the extra storage. Do you really need 4GB of RAM?

 

Thanks!

That really depend on what you plan to use the phone for. Just for calls and other light apps? Or playing mobiles games and running emulators?

[Shiv78]

Just now, Zando Bob said:

iPhones only have 2GB RAM (1GB before, and 512Mb for ages before that) and they are massively fast. so 2GB RAM should be fine. 

That's more due to iOS optimization than anything else. If the S7/S8 had 2GB of RAM they would be slow as fuck because of all the shit samsung piles on the software.

[Zando_]

Just now, Shiv78 said:

That's more due to iOS optimization than anything else. If the S7/S8 had 2GB of RAM they would be slow as fuck because of all the shit samsung piles on the software.

But you can flash a custom ROM without the crap (kinda sad you'd have to do that though). 

[Shiv78]

Just now, Zando Bob said:

But you can flash a custom ROM without the crap (kinda sad you'd have to do that though). 

I could, but I do like some of the features so I have to deal with them

[Zando_]

2 minutes ago, Shiv78 said:

I could, but I do like some of the features so I have to deal with them

Yup. Probs why they have more than 2GB RAM in the first place. Back on topic, if the OP isn't gone have every app open at once, it should be a good phone. 

[maartendc]

3 minutes ago, ShadowArk said:

That really depend on what you plan to use the phone for. Just for calls and other light apps? Or playing mobiles games and running emulators?

I just really use it for calls, texting, and Youtube, reading news, etc. Don't really play games.

 

Is 2GB enough? I do want it to be slightly "future proof" if there is such a thing in the world of phones :(. Motorola is running near stock Android, so that shouldnt be a problem in terms of bloatware.

[MrDrWho13]

I think I'm going to be against everyone here in suggesting that you need 3-4GB of RAM if you're buying a new phone today. iPhones are different because the software can be optimised perfectly to the hardware. 2GB is just about ok now, but in a couple of years you will notice quite a bit of lag as apps and Android become more demanding.

 

So I think you should get the 4GB model.

 

For reference I have a Moto G3 2GB and you can notice some lag now.

[Shiv78]

Just now, Zando Bob said:

Yup. Probs why they have more than 2GB RAM in the first place. Back open topic, if the OP isn't gone have every app open at once, it should be a good phone. 

*ahem*  @OnePlus WHY DO YOU HAVE 6GB and 8GB of RAM

[Zando_]

Just now, Shiv78 said:

*ahem*  @OnePlus WHY DO YOU HAVE 6GB and 8GB of RAM

Does a phone even need 8GB RAM? My iPad Pro could eat some laptops for breakfast, and it's only got 4GB RAM. Still a massive amount with iOS's great optimization. 

[Meag]

Just now, maartendc said:

I just really use it for calls, texting, and Youtube, reading news, etc. Don't really play games.

 

Is 2GB enough? I do want it to be slightly "future proof" if there is such a thing in the world of phones :(. Motorola is running near stock Android, so that shouldnt be a problem in terms of bloatware.

I would say that 2Gb of ram should be enough for you, to be honest I don't know what you would even use that extra ram for even if you did get it if you don't really run any tasks that need it

[Zando_]

Just now, ShadowArk said:

I would say that 2Gb of ram should be enough for you, to be honest I don't know what you would even use that extra ram for even if you did get it if you don't really run any tasks that need it

Yeah. For normal web browsing stuff, 2GB should be fine. 

[Sir Asvald]

12 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

iPhones only have 2GB RAM (1GB before, and 512Mb for ages before that) and they are massively fast. so 2GB RAM should be fine. 

Because It's OS optimised to run well on the hardware... 

[maartendc]

6 minutes ago, MrDrWho13 said:

I think I'm going to be against everyone here in suggesting that you need 3-4GB of RAM if you're buying a new phone today. iPhones are different because the software can be optimised perfectly to the hardware. 2GB is just about ok now, but in a couple of years you will notice quite a bit of lag as apps and Android become more demanding.

 

So I think you should get the 4GB model.

 

For reference I have a Moto G3 2GB and you can notice some lag now.

Right, but does that have to do with the CPU in the G3 or the ram?

 

Like I said, I had a Moto X 2014 with 2GB of ram and it was smooth as butter. It does have a faster CPU than your G3.

4 minutes ago, ShadowArk said:

I would say that 2Gb of ram should be enough for you, to be honest I don't know what you would even use that extra ram for even if you did get it if you don't really run any tasks that need it

 

3 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

Yeah. For normal web browsing stuff, 2GB should be fine. 

Thanks guys.

 

For the record: the 2GB version costs $229, the 4GB version costs $299. So that is 30% more expensive.. Don't think it is worth it.

[MrDrWho13]

Just now, maartendc said:

Right, but does that have to do with the CPU in the G3 or the ram?

That is true but I wouldn't want to be using a 2GB phone in 2019.

I'd be interested to see what your feedback is in a couple of years. I'm happy to be proven wrong!

[Aytex]

Buy the Redmi note 4x then. Snapdragon 625 and 4k mAh battery.

 

It's a pretty popular budget device. Camera I'd say against the g5 I'd pretty similar

[Guest]

Whichever phone is Moreno durable and has a battery that doesn't suck. 

[Zodiark1593]

2 GB is plenty usable, though don't expect to load up a lot of tabs without reloading. Android tends to devour more RAM than Windows 10.