Choosing ram capacity?

[Grvy]

Hi! I'm looking to ugprade the ram of my workstation
(5900x,3060,16gbram, 1tb ssd)

I'm debating whether I would go 4 sticks of 64gb or 2sticks of 64gb (if i ever wanna go 128gb path)
Right now I don't really have the budget for 64gb kit(or I can just save up) so I was thinking of buying a 32gb kit first and upgrade later to 64gb..

I work on ram intensive task like motion graphics on after effects and special effects heavy like particular and other post processing effects.. Also I heard that 3d simulations also takes up alot of ram so..
My dilemma now is ,  if I buy a 4 stick ram and later realize I would actually need more than that.. I feel like I would waste the rest of the ram sticks cuz I'm not really planning on building another pc.

[YoungBlade]

I would go with the amount of RAM you think you'll need for the next few years. Then, by the time you'll want to upgrade in 2025, you can probably buy an equivalent system with 128GB of way faster DDR5 RAM for a fraction of the cost of your current one. Not to mention that DDR4 might actually be more expensive in the future.

 

If you are thinking about years in the future, you should be thinking about building a new computer, because it won't be worth it to upgrade your current one to 128GB 3 or 4 years from now.

 

Technology moves fast when there's competition, which we do have now. The 5900X is mighty today, but if the rumors about Zen 5 and Meteor Lake prove true, then in 3 years, we'll probably have something like a 6+4 core Ryzen 5 8600X for $250 that would make your Ryzen 9 look like an Athlon chip. Or you could step up to the shiny new 8+16 core Ryzen 7 9800X for $450 that would make it look like a Sempron. To say nothing about the godlike 16+16 core Ryzen 9 9950X or going Team Blue with the 8+32 core Core i9 15900K, all of which offer double your current single threaded performance while supporting up to 512GB of DDR5 8400 memory.

[IPD]

I cannot envision a situation where 256GB of memory will be required...and the rest of the system remains with specs you listed.  That seems....excessive.

 

So unless I'm reading this wrong, I think what you meant to say was

 

4x 16GB or 2x 32GB?

 

I mean, I'd probably just go with the cheapest option and 4x16.  Or you might even consider a 2x 16GB and just go wtih 48GB (adding it onto your existing RAM)--unless you have a specific technical reason for needing 64GB.  Seeing as how you don't even have 32GB at the moment, that might save you a few bucks for the time being.  And if you REALLY REALLY have to have another 16GB ram, the cost of another 2x 16GB isn't going to be much different than just getting a 4x 16GB in the first place.

[Grvy]

59 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

I would go with the amount of RAM you think you'll need for the next few years. Then, by the time you'll want to upgrade in 2025, you can probably buy an equivalent system with 128GB of way faster DDR5 RAM for a fraction of the cost of your current one. Not to mention that DDR4 might actually be more expensive in the future.

 

If you are thinking about years in the future, you should be thinking about building a new computer, because it won't be worth it to upgrade your current one to 128GB 3 or 4 years from now.

 

Technology moves fast when there's competition, which we do have now. The 5900X is mighty today, but if the rumors about Zen 5 and Meteor Lake prove true, then in 3 years, we'll probably have something like a 6+4 core Ryzen 5 8600X for $250 that would make your Ryzen 9 look like an Athlon chip. Or you could step up to the shiny new 8+16 core Ryzen 7 9800X for $450 that would make it look like a Sempron. To say nothing about the godlike 16+16 core Ryzen 9 9950X or going Team Blue with the 8+32 core Core i9 15900K, all of which offer double your current single threaded performance while supporting up to 512GB of DDR5 8400 memory.

yea the thing is I haven't touched any ram higher than 16gb so I have no idea if the things that I wanna do will work out. I haven't seen much artist working on simulations or heavy motion graphics/effects talk about how much ram you would need for those programs. 

[Grvy]

1 hour ago, IPD said:

I cannot envision a situation where 256GB of memory will be required...and the rest of the system remains with specs you listed.  That seems....excessive.

 

So unless I'm reading this wrong, I think what you meant to say was

 

4x 16GB or 2x 32GB?

 

 

Yes that is correct.

 

Quote

I mean, I'd probably just go with the cheapest option and 4x16.  Or you might even consider a 2x 16GB and just go wtih 48GB (adding it onto your existing RAM)--unless you have a specific technical reason for needing 64GB.  Seeing as how you don't even have 32GB at the moment, that might save you a few bucks for the time being.  And if you REALLY REALLY have to have another 16GB ram, the cost of another 2x 16GB isn't going to be much different than just getting a 4x 16GB in the first place.

Hmm but what if I need a 4x 32gb? wouldn't the rest of the sticks will just wither on my shelf if I bought 4x 16gb or just 2x16gb? The thing is I haven't tried anything higher than 16gb ram yet.. From what I have gathered, houdini crashes alot if you don't have enough ram for simulations but no one really talked about how much is good enough. With motion graphics/explainer vids with alot of elements, I couldn't even manage to playback properly with my current sticks..

[freeagent]

The trade off for higher capacity is speed. If you need the capacity, then get it.. if you don't, go for speed. For me 32GB is a good number. 16 is ok most of the time, but there are times what I am doing doesn't fit. My current 4 stick configuration performs better than 2 sticks in all settings, but that wont be true for all for all capacities.

[IPD]

22 minutes ago, Grvy said:

Yes that is correct.

 

Hmm but what if I need a 4x 32gb? wouldn't the rest of the sticks will just wither on my shelf if I bought 4x 16gb or just 2x16gb? The thing is I haven't tried anything higher than 16gb ram yet.. From what I have gathered, houdini crashes alot if you don't have enough ram for simulations but no one really talked about how much is good enough. With motion graphics/explainer vids with alot of elements, I couldn't even manage to playback properly with my current sticks..

That's why I suggested 2x 16GB.  It's the same thing I did in my current PC.  It came with 2x 8GB, and I left those 2 in the existing slots, and added 2X16 into the open slots.  48GB total.  No RAM goes unused.  Then you can make the call later if you really need to have more.  And maybe at that point, go with 2x 32GB and have 96GB total (replacing the 2x 8GB, adding the 2x 16GB from the previous upgrade).  Then you only have the 2x 8GB sticks going unused.

 

That's about the only way I can think to maximize value--for however long your current build lasts.

[Grvy]

12 minutes ago, IPD said:

That's why I suggested 2x 16GB.  It's the same thing I did in my current PC.  It came with 2x 8GB, and I left those 2 in the existing slots, and added 2X16 into the open slots.  48GB total.  No RAM goes unused.  Then you can make the call later if you really need to have more.  And maybe at that point, go with 2x 32GB and have 96GB total (replacing the 2x 8GB, adding the 2x 16GB from the previous upgrade).  Then you only have the 2x 8GB sticks going unused.

 

That's about the only way I can think to maximize value--for however long your current build lasts.

I see..I guess I'll look around first before deciding. Thanks!