Is Buying More RAM a WASTE for Gamers? (2022) - (SPONSORED)

[Tan3l6]

4 minutes ago, Jorgemeister said:

Which game was it?

Some farming game, can't recall the name.

 

Edit: No Place Like Home

[ConfiXs]

20 minutes ago, MultiGamerClub said:

Ofcourse its a waste.. Who needs 32gb? I have 16gb and its more than enough..

 

Then again its bragging rights.. Never seen someone who needs 32gb and can defend the purchase.. to casually play games and browse youtube videos.

Not heavy rendering or editing footage.

For star citizen theres 2 specs, the company "minimum recommended" and "actual minimum recommended" and legit the minimum is 32 gb with the recommended being 64, but SC is a massive piece of shit scam so take it with a grain of salt

[swimtome]

6 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

You are not just gaming then. Can you defend the purchase of 32GB of RAM when someone is only gaming with the computer, and not doing anything else intensive?

 

And Chrome in the background doesn't count: those tabs will get moved to the page file and after a minute or so will no longer have any impact on the game's performance. You'd have to be actively engaging with those tabs while gaming, like having Chrome open on a second monitor while watching YouTube videos.

 

2 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

Unless you have a second monitor open, Chrome in the background is irrelevant. All of those tabs will just get paged out, and if you're using an SSD, that process is going to be pretty seamless.

The reply was to "Who needs 32gb?" not "What gamer needs 32GB and is only gaming..."

 

And yes I know in theory it will go to page file, in practice I can tell you it's not reliable.  I'm guessing Chrome is trying to do other background stuff (plus whatsapp/calendar other apps on second screen) and doesn't let Windows properly swap it out.

[Anhur]

22 minutes ago, MultiGamerClub said:

Ofcourse its a waste.. Who needs 32gb? I have 16gb and its more than enough..

 

Then again its bragging rights.. Never seen someone who needs 32gb and can defend the purchase.. to casually play games and browse youtube videos.

Not heavy rendering or editing footage.

You definitely haven't tried to play heavily modded Skyrim. 10-18gb of ram depending on the location lol

[YoungBlade]

1 minute ago, Kibelok said:

His exact quote is:

"There are games out there, now, that utilize more than 8GBs of RAM, but if you're not playing the latest AAA titles, it may not be worth the upgrade for you, yet"

Which is just crazy, 8GBs is not enough for using Chrome. Ask any kid with a Chromebook about how laggy their laptops are.

The most basic gamer is going to have Steam, Discord and a browser, likely Chrome, open. That alone is 8GBs of memory used.

Unless you have a second monitor open, Chrome in the background is irrelevant. All of those tabs will just get paged out, and if you're using an SSD, that process is going to be pretty seamless.

[Bombastinator]

4 minutes ago, Syfter said:

Whereas I can justify my 32GB due to work and tech hobbies, I just wanted to boast about the yard sale find I had. Found a box that said Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB upon opening the box it was not in fact Corsair V RBG 32GB DDR4 16x2  but it was Corsair V 16GB DDR4 2x8. There was no price listed so when asked I was told 1$. Of course I paid the 1$ and went home threw it in my machine and both sticks were completely functional... Went from 16 to 32 for 1$... 

yard sales can be like that.  My step brother had a set of hot wheels (original 18) that was worth an absurd amount of money, but my step mother decided that he should get rid of his “children’s toys” without consulting him she hauled them out of the attic and sold them at a garage sale for a tiny fraction of their actual value.  He was still angry about it many years later. 

[Zando_]

22 minutes ago, MultiGamerClub said:

Ofcourse its a waste.. Who needs 32gb? I have 16gb and its more than enough..

 

Then again its bragging rights.. Never seen someone who needs 32gb and can defend the purchase.. to casually play games and browse youtube videos.

Me. 

 

I play Star Citizen, I've seen starcitizen.exe consume 18GB RAM by itself. Add on Windows, Firefox, Discord, and the fact that you can't get a 24GB kit of RAM or something without mismatched sticks (which can cause some performance drop depending on usage) on modern platforms, and there's a good reason to have 32GB. 

[Unedited_Mind]

I bought 3 bottles of febreze instead of just 1, the reason? I just wanted to.

 

Jelly bro?

[swimtome]

Just now, Unedited_Mind said:

I bought a 3 bottles of febreze instead of just 1, the reason? I just wanted to.

You heathen!

[Beerzerker]

My thoughts about it.
Considering the need for it is up to the owner/user of a system it's a matter of perception.
There are reasons that can be real or simply what a person thinks they would need but sometimes it's more "Want" than need.

Right now 16GB's is plenty for most systems but note the key phrase here is "Right now". 
It's OK to base one's needs on what they are doing "Right now" but what about a year from now? Two years, three years.... ?
And another thing is are you expecting to keep the system you have "Now" for that length of time or will you upgrade/rebuild the entire system within that time frame?

One thing is certain, having more RAM that you really need ATM does help to eliminate performance issues - It's not a cure all for everything but it does help in some cases at least, depending on the current useage of a machine of course.

However if you're not expecting to upgrade or rebuild the setup it may well be the extra RAM is a waste but then again what is "Waste" is up to the owner - Again that being an opinion/perception.

It is true as time goes by more and more RAM will be needed to play games and if the machine is around long enough, for it to even function with an OS. The requirements of a system to run an OS only goes up, not down as time passes for many reasons, this we all know to be true. I've seen it myself, a machine that used to do just fine with 4 or even 2GB's worth is little more than an office machine or a joke these days because of the higher requirements a later OS has.

Example:
If I were to fire up one of my Socket 939 setups and load Win 10 or 11 onto it, it probrably won't make it through the install proccess, much less actually operate because the OS itself requires more RAM and CPU speed/capability just to function. If I were to try and load XP instead it's fine but we all know XP is older with less requirements to run so you have that. It can install and run Win 7 but one can tell it's a stretch but at least it works.

The same need for "More" based on hardware isn't just based on the OS, games with code that continues to become more complex over time, the same with programs and the like... It all adds up to needing more of everything in the end.

I'll sum it up by saying I really don't view it as a waste IF you have plans to let what you have go for a few years but if you are one that upgrades often or once every few years it probrably is a waste... But then again that's also an opinion by me and nothing more.

It's your call with no need to justify it to anyone but yourself and that is real.

 

[Kibelok]

6 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

Unless you have a second monitor open, Chrome in the background is irrelevant. All of those tabs will just get paged out, and if you're using an SSD, that process is going to be pretty seamless.

I highly doubt this, but we'd need a proper test, like the one in the video, to confirm it. Every computer I've built for myself and others in the last few years had a minimum of 16GBs, even if the people only use it for emails and streaming. 8GBs is not enough anymore, for anybody.

[Syfter]

2 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

yard sales can be like that.  My step brother had a set of hot wheels (original 18) that was worth an absurd amount of money, but my step mother decided that he should get rid of his “children’s toys” without consulting him she hauled them out of the attic and sold them at a garage sale for a tiny fraction of their actual value.  He was still angry about it many years later. 

That's a big oof

[Middcore]

13 minutes ago, Sothis said:

 Or is there a MB that is capable of using DDR4 & DDR5?

Not that I'm aware of. When the DDR4 changeover happened there were a few boards that supported both DDR3 and DDR4 (two slots for each, and it was an either/or, you couldn't use both types at the same time). That was dumb. Haven't seen anything similar for 4/5.

 

There are a number of boards that have theoretically identical versions with the only difference being whether they use DDR4 or DDR5, though.

[YoungBlade]

1 minute ago, swimtome said:

Did you read what the post was quoting (it was me)?  I was replying to someone who seemed to imply average person would have no need for it.

Yes, I did, and that person is right. The average person, who casually games and browses the Internet, does not need 32GB of RAM for anything. They would never be able to tell the difference in a blind taste test between a 16GB and 32GB system.

[Unedited_Mind]

Just now, YoungBlade said:

Yes, I did, and that person is right. The average person, who casually games and browses the Internet, does not need 32GB of RAM for anything. They would never be able to tell the difference in a blind taste test between a 16GB and 32GB system.

I am going to have to try licking my RAM now.

[YoungBlade]

12 minutes ago, swimtome said:

 

The reply was to "Who needs 32gb?" not "What gamer needs 32GB and is only gaming..."

 

And yes I know in theory it will go to page file, in practice I can tell you it's not reliable.  I'm guessing Chrome is trying to do other background stuff (plus whatsapp/calendar other apps on second screen) and doesn't let Windows properly swap it out.

7 minutes ago, Kibelok said:

I highly doubt this, but we'd a proper test, like the one in the video, to confirm it. Every computer I've built for myself and others in the last few years had a minimum of 16GBs, even if the people only use it for emails and streaming. 8GBs is not enough anymore, for anybody.

In actual testing, the page file works just fine. Hardware Unboxed demonstrated 4 years ago that having a ton of stuff open is fine - it will move to the page file.

 

 

[Bombastinator]

13 minutes ago, Kibelok said:

His exact quote is:

"There are games out there, now, that utilize more than 8GBs of RAM, but if you're not playing the latest AAA titles, it may not be worth the upgrade for you, yet"

Which is just crazy, 8GBs is not enough for using Chrome. Ask any kid with a Chromebook about how laggy their laptops are.

The most basic gamer is going to have Steam, Discord and a browser, likely Chrome, open. That alone is 8GBs of memory used.

Using chrome while playing would be one of those situations then.  I suspect team chat apps might also cause issues. Your statement seems to be that using multiple apps concurrently with the game app is so common that it is the lion’s share of computing.  This may be true.  Goes to the definition of “special situation”  do situations exist where a person is playing only one game and not running anything else concurrently? Undoubtedly.  Do situations where this is NOT happening also exist? Also undoubtedly. It becomes a question of which one is considered special. If one has a machine with only 8 gig in it they should still be able to play some games without hitting swap as long as they don’t run anything BUT that game.

Edited June 16, 2022 by Bombastinator

[Tan3l6]

Let's be honest - RAM today is 1000 times cheaper than it was in 90s

[Unedited_Mind]

I am an extreme Heathen, I literally have zero page file.

[swimtome]

8 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

Yes, I did, and that person is right. The average person, who casually games and browses the Internet, does not need 32GB of RAM for anything. They would never be able to tell the difference in a blind taste test between a 16GB and 32GB system.

Guess it depends how you define average person.  Also I'm not sure if that person slightly edited it but yes it also says "to casually play games and browse youtube videos.Not heavy rendering or editing footage."   I would argue the average person is in between watching youtube and heavy rendering.

 

Anyway I think were near same page -- its defendable as long as you didn't get 'just cause bigger number'.

[GuiltySpark_]

[Unedited_Mind]

Also you are just lying if you think having empty RAM slots is better. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[swimtome]

5 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

In actual testing, the page file works just fine. Hardware Unboxed demonstrated 4 years ago that having a ton of stuff open is fine - it will move to the page file.

 

 

This is a good watch thanks. Unfortunately real world is sloppy and Windows definitely is.  Like most things there's no one size fits all and for my usage pattern it definitely gets finicky.  Early days of Ryzen my system would literally lock up if I got passed 95% RAM.

[Bombastinator]

6 minutes ago, Unedited_Mind said:

I am going to have to try licking my RAM now.

You may not lick my ram.

[Kibelok]

11 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

In actual testing, the page file works just fine. Hardware Unboxed demonstrated 4 years ago that having a ton of stuff open is fine - it will move to the page file.

 

 

This is a good video, I had watched it back when they posted. To me, none of games tested with 8GBs is acceptable or a usable system as a whole, though this can be argued as subjective. The page file was being abused in most of the games, and the 0.1% lows are atrocious is most games. He also came to the conclusion that 8GBs is barely enough, and that was 4 years ago.