RAM: How much is enough?

[HunterSailor]

Hi everyone.

 

Talking about RAM, how much will i need for my day to day work and some specific applications.

I work on applications like AutoCAD, Google SketcUp+Vray, Revit, Lumion, Adobe Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator.

I was thinking of going with two sticks of 8GB i.e. 16GB total. But is it worth it getting that much. Will i be able to utilize it all?

 

Processor - Intel 6600

MoBo - GA-H170-Gaming 3

 

I have attached images of system requirements for different applications.

[Castdeath97]

Get 2*4GB of ram for now, if that's not enough get another 2*4GB kit. 

[minibois]

Keep in mind programs use more RAM if more RAM is available. So the 16GB will certainly be used fully, but it wont lag or whatever because of that. I think 16GB is the sweet spot for RAM now (at least for medium to heavy users), especially for  what you will do.

[UnlimitedTMD]

I would begin with 8 gb and than upgrade later on

[xUSMCxJASONx]

Yes, 16GB is the norm nowadays... 

[KuJoe]

Get however much you can afford. Having too much RAM is infinitely times better than not having enough RAM and slightly better than having just enough RAM.

[HunterSailor]

Keep in mind programs use more RAM if more RAM is available. So the 16GB will certainly be used fully, but it wont lag or whatever because of that. I think 16GB is the sweet spot for RAM now (at least for medium to heavy users), especially for  what you will do.

What about frequencies and latency? This board supports upto 2133. How do i select that?

[HunterSailor]

Get however much you can afford. Having too much RAM is infinitely times better than not having enough RAM and slightly better than having just enough RAM.

True that!

[HunterSailor]

Get 2*4GB of ram for now, if that's not enough get another 2*4GB kit. 

How about running 2x8GB in dual channel make any real time difference?

[minibois]

What about frequencies and latency? This board supports upto 2133. How do i select that?

Pretty sure that if the frequency is higher than 2133 the board will just make the run 'slower'.

Assuming we are talking DDR4 I would say get something like 2400MHz

[multifrag]

I'm working with vfx software which can use as much ram as can give, but in day to day production you won't need anything more than 32GB. For gaming you won't need anything higher than 16GB.

[Jury]

I use 16gb for cad, and it works great with my dual Xeon E5607s.

[MageTank]

How about running 2x8GB in dual channel make any real time difference?

Yes. 2x4gb lacks Rank Interleaving. 2x8gb will have Rank Interleaving. It will make a noticeable difference in bandwidth, and aid in what you are doing. Go with 8GB sticks minimum, preferably 16GB total to at least have dual channel for the extra bandwidth. 

[HunterSailor]

Pretty sure that if the frequency is higher than 2133 the board will just make the run 'slower'.

Assuming we are talking DDR4 I would say get something like 2400MHz

Running them on dual channel? Any good?

Or i should get one 16GB instead of 2x8GB.

I'm afraid of running into compatibility issues later on when i upgrade because of different size,speed and brand.

[Elapo]

What about frequencies and latency? This board supports upto 2133. How do i select that?

You ignore frequencies and latency unless you're using the integrated graphics

 

As for amount, I'll go ahead and say 16GB.

 

Yes, most of the reqs say 8, but if you find yourself using a couple of these programs simultaneously, you'll want more. Seeing how fast autodesk software usually starts, you probably want to keep it running, so you can just alt-tab to it.

[HunterSailor]

Yes. 2x4gb lacks Rank Interleaving. 2x8gb will have Rank Interleaving. It will make a noticeable difference in bandwidth, and aid in what you are doing. Go with 8GB sticks minimum, preferably 16GB total to at least have dual channel for the extra bandwidth. 

Also, I've heard that RAM sticks should be kept of similar size and speed. Or you can run into compatibility issues.

[HunterSailor]

You ignore frequencies and latency unless you're using the integrated graphics

 

As for amount, I'll go ahead and say 16GB.

 

Yes, most of the reqs say 8, but if you find yourself using a couple of these programs simultaneously, you'll want more. Seeing how fast autodesk software usually starts, you probably want to keep it running, so you can just alt-tab to it.

16GB sounds perfect then. Thanks.

[CostcoSamples]

For CAD work, I'd start with 16GB. 

[minibois]

Running them on dual channel? Any good?

Or i should get one 16GB instead of 2x8GB.

I'm afraid of running into compatibility issues later on when i upgrade because of different size,speed and brand.

Dual channel in theory doubles the RAM's bandwidth, but the difference is negligible. 

And don't think the problems with different RAM doesn't have that much issues in my experience. Running two very different sticks of RAM myself, same for my father's PC

[MageTank]

Also, I've heard that RAM sticks should be kept of similar size and speed. Or you can run into compatibility issues.

You can run different sizes in what is called Flex Memory Mode, but it's not as fast as real dual channel, and you will lose Rank Interleaving. As for the speed part, the faster stick will slow itself down to match the slow stick. Still, it can cause a headache when trying to manually overclock ram, so to avoid that problem for the future, just invest in identical kits. 

[MageTank]

You ignore frequencies and latency unless you're using the integrated graphics

 

As for amount, I'll go ahead and say 16GB.

 

Yes, most of the reqs say 8, but if you find yourself using a couple of these programs simultaneously, you'll want more. Seeing how fast autodesk software usually starts, you probably want to keep it running, so you can just alt-tab to it.

Not true. Read my signature for information on memory frequency and its impact on gaming with a dGPU. Also look at this thread: http://www.overclock.net/t/1487162/an-independent-study-does-the-speed-of-ram-directly-affect-fps-during-high-cpu-overhead-scenarios

 

And last but not least, this video: 

 

Ram speed does show a difference in situations with high CPU overhead. Especially when using powerful GPUs. It is not just for iGPUs.

[HunterSailor]

You can run different sizes in what is called Flex Memory Mode, but it's not as fast as real dual channel, and you will lose Rank Interleaving. As for the speed part, the faster stick will slow itself down to match the slow stick. Still, it can cause a headache when trying to manually overclock ram, so to avoid that problem for the future, just invest in identical kits. 

I think i have my answer. Thanks.

[Joegeddon]

16GB should be fine for CAD work.

[Sauron]

16gb are still in the realm of being worth it with the work you do, however your cpu is the bottleneck in your configuration - it will hinder you more than ram will.

[Elapo]

Not true. Read my signature for information on memory frequency and its impact on gaming with a dGPU. Also look at this thread: http://www.overclock.net/t/1487162/an-independent-study-does-the-speed-of-ram-directly-affect-fps-during-high-cpu-overhead-scenarios

 

And last but not least, this

video: 

 

Ram speed does show a difference in situations with high CPU overhead. Especially when using powerful GPUs. It is not just for iGPUs.

Okay, then I was misinformed.

Still not worth the premium you pay for it in some cases though IMHO, especially in this case, where CAD software (and general productivity) prefers larger pools of RAM rather than faster RAM. Productivity will benefit more from having more ram than it will from having faster RAM in this case.