How much ram do i need

[MrMiniBeast]

So I'm using my rig for gaming. I'm thinking 8GB is what I should get, but is 4 enough?

Also how much of a difference is there in performance between 1333, 1600, and 1866

[Syraz]

4 might not be enough, go with 8..if you do go with 4, close all browsers before playing any games...

just stick with 1600 IMO just a nice sweet spot

[helping]

4 is not enough.

Get whatever is cheapest above 1600.

[cjeffcoatjr]

get 8GB of whatever is the cheapest. Timings make like 0.5 frame fdiffrences.

[Grape Guild]

I'd go with 8gb.  1600 is the sweet spot IMO, and you can always overclock if you really want to.

[Advent]

8-16 GB DDR3 1600 is all you need. 8 GB if you are pinching pennies, 16GB if you want to future proof. 16GB DDR3 1600 is relatively cheap.

BF4 currently suffers from memory leaks so it is a good idea to get over 8 GB (their recommended). Other games will be using 8GB and up soon, so best to get 16GB.

[FireFox]

I'm currently running 4GB DDR3-1600 and it is enough though I have noticed lately that it is exceeding 75% utilisation and sometimes with Far Cry 3 running I have noticed it going over 80-85% utilised, 4 is enough but I'd go with 8GB minimum.

[LifesCompanion]

Go for 8GB (2x4GB)... I only got 16GB (2x8GB) for the lolz 

I'm using roughly 2GB on day to day tasks but it does go over 4GB when gaming/Skype/etc. 

[-rascal-]

As a few others have stated, for gaming purposes, it is best to get more than 4GB.

4GB was the "standard"...but that was the beginning of post Windows XP (Windows Vista / 7).

 

Since applications are starting to utilize more than 2 cores (or 4 for that matter) and are being larger in size and require more recourses, it is now highly recommended to have 6GB or 8GB of RAM. Depending on the programs you run, you may need more to work more efficiently.

 

The effect of memory (RAM) frequency has very little effect, in terms of gaming goes.

The difference is significant from 1066MHz > 1333MHz > 1600MHz. 1600MHz > 1866MHz does have as much an impact compared to going from 1066MHz / 1333MHz > 1600MHz, but it is there. Beyond 2133MHz is basically bragging rights.

 

When you are...say rendering or running 3D design applications (autoCAD, etc), you will certainly benefit with faster RAM. Going from 1600MHz to 2400MHz...could be several minutes or HOURS in time reduction - that can be extremely significant. This is in terms of work, not play.

[TechFan@ic]

I had to upgrade from 4GB to 6GB to get Skyrim with 2K texture mods not to crash in Whiterun.
I think 8GB should be your minimum, my new rig has 2x8GB, but only because I did not want to have to fill all the 4 dims had I wanted to expand the memory later on because it negatively affects overclocking.
 

[mgsstar]

I would go with the cheapest 8GB CL9 1600mhz ram because it doesn't really matter who makes the ram as they usually have lifetime warranty. I ran my ram at 1333mhz and 1600mhz and I didn't realize any performance differences.

[krushsawa]

Before I got more RAM I used to run games on 4GB RAM, there was no real issue however there were problems when other applications were open, such as Chrome or Fraps. 8GB would be the perfect amount because you could also run other applications alongside your games. I was running games such as Borderlands 2, Bioshock infinite, Far cry 3, Skyrim etc......... but when Memory usage spiked for general reasons the games would lag which really does take away from the experience. but the majority of the time it was fine. Get 8GB though to be 100% safe

[Thunderjolt]

Right now I'm using 9.6GB without any gaming but most of it used as a cache. 8GB is the sweet spot. 4GB would be cutting it close because I've seen BF4 use upto 2GB RAM.