Is 32GB of RAM the new sweet-spot in 2023/and beyond?

[KENZY9]

I keep hearing that 16gb is still enough for gaming yet i see many games maxing out 16G

So why do people keep saying that 16GB is plenty enough ?

 

[Nord1ing]

It depends.

For example, for me 32GB sometime is not enough, as I use 4-6GB ramdrive for windows temp and browser, mail client, steam, gog, etc. webcache

 

[Hinjima]

4 minutes ago, KENZY9 said:

I keep hearing that 16gb is still enough for gaming yet i see many games maxing out 16G

So why do people keep saying that 16GB is plenty enough ?

 

Personaly I think 32GB is the way to go for a higher end gaming machine in 2023.
16GB if you are on a tight budget.

Prices for RAM has gone down significantly.

[GuiltySpark_]

32GB is the minimum you'd want for DDR5 given 16GB DIMM's are true full performance DIMM's. 8GB DDR5 DIMM's (and therefor 16GB 2x8GB kits) are compromised and not a popular option for building new in 2024+.

 

For this reason alone 16GB for new systems should die.

[PDifolco]

12 minutes ago, Nord1ing said:

It depends.

For example, for me 32GB sometime is not enough, as I use 4-6GB ramdrive for windows temp and browser, mail client, steam, gog, etc. webcache

 

same here, I kinda fill my 32GB with an 8GB drive cache, many open apps and demanding games

[Monkey Dust]

Depends on what you are playing, but for the price of RAM these days (unless you're buying a Mac...) I'd definitely recommend 32GB. 

[porina]

It doesn't feel like that long ago we were asking if 8GB was still enough or should we go 16GB?

 

For most people, most of the time, 16GB is still plenty. Only a few modern games are pushing beyond that if you push their settings, but it would likely grow. Keeping in mind consoles have 16GB unified ram, I don't see minimum PC going up from 16GB, but if you want a higher end experience it should be considered.

 

2 hours ago, GuiltySpark_ said:

32GB is the minimum you'd want for DDR5 given 16GB DIMM's are true full performance DIMM's. 8GB DDR5 DIMM's (and therefor 16GB 2x8GB kits) are compromised and not a popular option for building new in 2024+.

 

For this reason alone 16GB for new systems should die.

While I agree on the technical performance side, not everyone needs or wants the highest performance all the time. A high end DDR5 system should go 32GB minimum, but for less demanding use cases, and especially DDR4 budget builds, 16GB is still viable.

 

[SteveGrabowski0]

RAM is so cheap right now 16GB should only be reserved for extremely tight budgets. Might as well go for 32GB today when there are a few games that want more than 16GB, because who knows what RAM will cost in a year or two? RAM prices fluctuate so much and can shoot to the sky when the producers are price fixing (which they have been caught for multiple times).

[KENZY9]

21 hours ago, GuiltySpark_ said:

32GB is the minimum you'd want for DDR5 given 16GB DIMM's are true full performance DIMM's. 8GB DDR5 DIMM's (and therefor 16GB 2x8GB kits) are compromised and not a popular option for building new in 2024+.

 

For this reason alone 16GB for new systems should die.

 

19 hours ago, porina said:

high end DDR5 system should go 32GB minimum, but for less demanding use cases, and especially DDR4 budget builds, 16GB is still viable.

 

My planned build is with Ryzen AM4 socket, so DDR4 I was thinking 2x8gb, or 4x8gb (...?)

[DoctorNick]

1 hour ago, KENZY9 said:

 

My planned build is with Ryzen AM4 socket, so DDR4 I was thinking 2x8gb, or 4x8gb (...?)

Still go 32gb. You can go with a cheaper kit and still get better performance than 2x8gb. 3200mhz @cl16 is fine. I run a cheap G.skill Aegis 32gb kit and it works great and it was dirt cheap

[cretsiah]

for sure 32gig ram is the new sweet-spot minimum.... give it 12 months i reckon you'll need 64gig.

 

by the time you try to compensate for

- current new game requirements

- non optimised games

- spyware

- app backends

- browser wasted memory

 

you can attempt to hide this with faster hardware, for only so long.

 

[atxcyclist]

On 12/4/2023 at 6:37 AM, KENZY9 said:

 

My planned build is with Ryzen AM4 socket, so DDR4 I was thinking 2x8gb, or 4x8gb (...?)

I'm using a Kingston 2x16gb 3200MT kit with my 5900x, worked first time and I've never had an issue. Depending on what generation Ryzen you're going with, ram can be easy or difficult. I had a 2700x in my B450 board prior to upgrading the processor, and the memory controller on that chip wouldn't run that 2x16gb kit any faster than 2933MT.