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How much RAM do I really need?

bananaboi
By bananaboi
in CPUs, Motherboards, and Memory
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Posted

Hello! After browsing through tons of youtube videos I'm stuck between choosing 8GB and 16GB of RAM.

I'm still uncertain on which applications actually uses RAM. Does the game I play use RAM or just VRAM?

I usually have over 30 tabs open on chrome,

I play a variety of games from MMORPG to FPS,

I watch tons of videos,

and I download alot of content.

Do all of the activities above require a large amount of RAM?

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Posted
2 minutes ago, bananaboi said:

I usually have over 30 tabs open on chrome,

I'd say 16 just to be sure. 

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Everything uses ram.

If you want to play games while having stuff open in the background like chrome, definitely get 16GB.

8 is bare minimum these days.

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Games  use both Vram & Ram 

 

this Depends on if you do that all at once.  Its how much you want open at the same time without having it bog down. 

I only have 8gb and for gaming only its fine and for regular desktop use its fine also. But doing both at once it maxes out quickly and ram is cheap so id reccomend going with 16gb which is more then enough but if on a budget 8gb is without a doubt usable unless you crazy mutitask  30 tabs is a bit much though. 

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Yeah, 16gb is ideal these days...

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8GB will play most games fine. If you want games AND a lot of crap in the background I would say 12 or 16 GB. I usually lean towards 16 just because it doesn't cost much more than 12 and its a bit more future proof.

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Posted
16 minutes ago, bananaboi said:

Hello! After browsing through tons of youtube videos I'm stuck between choosing 8GB and 16GB of RAM

8GB is minimum, 16+ if you have a shit ton of tabs opened and a game active

Quote

I'm still uncertain on which applications actually uses RAM. Does the game I play use RAM or just VRAM?

both

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  • Author

So games do require RAM and VRAM. Thanks for the clarification!

I'm currently on a budget here so if it is not necessary and if possible I will be going for 8GB with the plan to add another 8GB in the future. Which brings about another question, can I just add ram just like that? Will there be any complications if I add RAM say 6 months after my PC is built?

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1 minute ago, bananaboi said:

I will be going for 8GB with the plan to add another 8GB in the future. Which brings about another question, can I just add ram just like that? Will there be any complications if I add RAM say 6 months after my PC is built?

absolutely possible

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A lot of games are still just fine on 4GB.  Still, some would consider 8GB to be the minimum, I'd argue that's still the sweet spot for gaming (and Chrome tabs).  When you start doing other stuff, like video editing, it's best to move up to 16GB.

Currently focusing on my video game collection.

It doesn't matter what you play games on, just play good games you enjoy.

 

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30 tabs? Do you know how to use bookmarks?

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16GB for Gaming. 32GB if you use CAD Programms like Catia or NX.

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58 minutes ago, Wedsea040 said:

I find that 12 GB's is the sweet spot for plenty of tabs and gaming. I always have some leeway room even under a tough load.

12gb? 

To me, 12gb sounds very very unconvenient and pointless. the starting ram should be 4gb, 8gb, then maybe 16gb if needed.

 

Im not the most experienced with pcs so please correct me if i am wrong

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If i was you, try 1 * 8gb ram and if needed, you can easily buy the same ram so it will be 2* 8gb so 16gb.
 

 

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Unless the RAM is defective or your motherboard doesn't support it then adding RAM is usually straightforward and easy to do.

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They dont have to be the same brand right? Anything I need to take note of when adding additional RAM?

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If you have 4 DIMMs, 4x4gb. If only 2 DIMMs, 2x8gb. I only bought 2x4 and am now kicking myself because the price of my particular ram went up 25%.

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i have 8gb in my gaming desktop ( which is no means a potato) and ive never had an issue in any application where im doing multiple ram intensive tasks

 

but 30 tabs... wtf do you need 30 open tabs for..just have a favorites bar and click them when you want them..

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3 hours ago, Enderman said:

Everything uses ram.

If you want to play games while having stuff open in the background like chrome, definitely get 16GB.

8 is bare minimum these days.

I agree. My system has 12GB of RAM, and while having many things open during gaming, it does come to good use, although I never really use more than half of it at any given time lol, but if my system had 8 I do admit I'd be a little more RAM conscience. I would say go with 16GB as well, because not only does that fit well with what he wants to do, but it will prevent him from having to upgrade for a while. 

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2 hours ago, bananaboi said:

They dont have to be the same brand right? Anything I need to take note of when adding additional RAM?

Try to keep it the same brand if you can. You don't want RAM cards in your system with different clock speeds and what not. 

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12 minutes ago, r00tH4cK3r said:

I agree. My system has 12GB of RAM, and while having many things open during gaming, it does come to good use, although I never really use more than half of it at any given time lol, but if my system had 8 I do admit I'd be a little more RAM conscience. I would say go with 16GB as well, because not only does that fit well with what he wants to do, but it will prevent him from having to upgrade for a while. 

Could you like, maybe write in regular text like all other normal people? :) 

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Just now, Enderman said:

Could you like, maybe write in regular text like all other normal people? :) 

Sorry, I write in bold because I have terrible eye sight and it makes it easier for me to read :P

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3 minutes ago, r00tH4cK3r said:

Sorry, I write in bold because I have terrible eye sight and it makes it easier for me to read :P

Yeah, but it makes it hard to read for everyone else.

 

If you have bad eyesight try going to windows clear-text settings and customizing your text to make it easier to read on your screen :)

Thanks.

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