8 vs 16gb ram

[Mugenjynn]

I need a very detailed analysis on how important it is that I buy 16gb of ram instead of 8gb. Anybody willing to enlighten me?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor	$160.98 @ Newegg
Motherboard	MSI - B450 Gaming Plus ATX AM4 Motherboard	$97.65 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill - Aegis 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$62.99 @ Newegg
Storage	ADATA - Ultimate SU800 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$29.50 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital - RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$39.50 @ Amazon
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB GAMING Video Card	$389.89 @ OutletPC
Case	NZXT - H500 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case	$69.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply	$59.99 @ Amazon
Monitor	AOC - G2260VWQ6 21.5" 1920x1080 75Hz Monitor	$126.89 @ OutletPC
Keyboard	Redragon - K552 Wired Gaming Keyboard	$29.99 @ Amazon
Mouse	Corsair - Harpoon RGB Wired Optical Mouse	$28.09 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1165.46
	Mail-in rebates	-$70.00
	Total	$1095.46
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-10-11 07:59 EDT-0400

 

[Derrk]

Depends what youre looking to do. 16gb will be better in all scenarios. Most AAA games will use just over 8gb of memory if you have the capacity. That'll allow you to have other programs open while you play. Otherwise, the game will use as much ram as it can, estimating around ~6-7gb. For productivity, 16 will also allow you to have more programs/internet tabs open. If you want to edit, 16 will give you much better compile times, etc.

 

8 will suffice, but 16 is more useful. Whatever you go for, get dual channel. 

[Mugenjynn]

1 minute ago, Derrk said:

Depends what youre looking to do. 16gb will be better in all scenarios. Most AAA games will use just over 8gb of memory if you have the capacity. That'll allow you to have other programs open while you play. Otherwise, the game will use as much ram as it can, estimating around ~6-7gb. For productivity, 16 will also allow you to have more programs/internet tabs open. If you want to edit, 16 will give you much better compile times, etc.

 

8 will suffice, but 16 is more useful. Whatever you go for, get dual channel. 

Does it matter what graphics card I’m using like the better the graphics card the less ram or something? I’m using a 1080

[Enderman]

Completely depends on how much you use.

If you use more than 8 then yes you should definitely get 16.

[Derrk]

Just now, Mugenjynn said:

Does it matter what graphics card I’m using like the better the graphics card the less ram or something? I’m using a 1080

graphics card will help with certain applications, ie you'll get better frames in games as an example. But if you're focused on gaming, ram will help load/buffer things such as the map in an RPG. Won't be a huge difference as I've never actually seen a game of mine use 9 full Gbs. Usually 8.something at max. That could change in the future with new games & better optimization. If it fits within your budget, I'd recommend 16 over 8. You really won't need to go above 16 unless you use heavy data applications or do a lot of editing. Even then, your processor will help with the bulk

[Pasi123]

Nowadays 8gb is the absolute minimum. IMO you definitely should get 16gb, especially if you use a 1080.

[Mugenjynn]

1 minute ago, Derrk said:

graphics card will help with certain applications, ie you'll get better frames in games as an example. But if you're focused on gaming, ram will help load/buffer things such as the map in an RPG. Won't be a huge difference as I've never actually seen a game of mine use 9 full Gbs. Usually 8.something at max. That could change in the future with new games & better optimization. If it fits within your budget, I'd recommend 16 over 8. You really won't need to go above 16 unless you use heavy data applications or do a lot of editing. Even then, your processor will help with the bulk

I think I have to go with 8gb my budget is pushing it. Plus I have two old a** 256mb ddr rams sitting in my basement maybe I could push another 1/2gb lol.

[Mugenjynn]

2 minutes ago, Pasi123 said:

Nowadays 8gb is the absolute minimum. IMO you definitely should get 16gb, especially if you use a 1080.

You say absolute minimum and that stresses me out cuz it goes over my budget

[Mira Yurizaki]

14 minutes ago, Mugenjynn said:

I need a very detailed analysis on how important it is that I buy 16gb of ram instead of 8gb. Anybody willing to enlighten me?

If you're not using close to 8GB consistently, then you don't need to buy 16GB. That's really all there is to it.

 

RAM availability of the system really doesn't affect performance until you start running out of it.

[Derrk]

1 minute ago, Mugenjynn said:

I think I have to go with 8gb my budget is pushing it. Plus I have two old a** 256mb ddr rams sitting in my basement maybe I could push another 1/2gb lol.

if its over you budget, i'd recommend 2 options.

 

1: wait, and save up until 16gb fits into your budget. Perhaps check newegg daily deals, or look at used memory from ebay or similar markets. There are decent prices for 16gb kits

 

2: get a 1x8gb kit, and deal with the negatives of single channel, until you can afford a 2nd 8gb module of the same model. I really don't recommend this because single channel is far from ideal in almost all applications. But if you need to upgrade now, and could afford to get the 2nd stick soon after, it could be something to consider. As a warning, getting 2 identical 8gb modules at different times will cost a lot more than just buying a 2x8gb kit

 

i highly recommend not adding 256mb modules to your kit. If you're looking at ddr4 or even ddr3, they won't be compatible 

[dingd0ng]

There was a LTT video on 8gb and if it was still viable in 2018. Here it is...

 

[Ashleyyyy]

15 minutes ago, Mugenjynn said:

Plus I have two old a** 256mb ddr rams sitting in my basement maybe I could push another 1/2gb lol.

that's not how that works. you can't use old ddr memory on a modern system. 

[Mugenjynn]

Just now, firelighter487 said:

that's not how that works. you can't use old ddr memory on a modern system. 

Oh really

[Mugenjynn]

1 minute ago, firelighter487 said:

that's not how that works. you can't use old ddr memory on a modern system. 

This sum powerful ram if you ask me

[Derrk]

Just now, Mugenjynn said:

This sum powerful ram if you ask me

not compatible with ddr3 or ddr4.

only compatible with ddr machines

[Mugenjynn]

Just now, Derrk said:

not compatible with ddr3 or ddr4.

only compatible with ddr machines

Thanks for telling me ahead of time.

[Derrk]

Just now, Mugenjynn said:

Thanks for telling me ahead of time.

I'd still hold onto it. Its almost like a trophy or a souvenir 

[Mugenjynn]

1 minute ago, Derrk said:

I'd still hold onto it. Its almost like a trophy or a souvenir 

True

[Derrk]

Just now, Mugenjynn said:

True

who knows, by 2050 those could sell for thousands of dollars for someone's "retro" pc

[kb5zue]

As someone that started out with 4 later moving to 8, I can tell you from experience that you will be happier with 16.  BUT, if 8 is in your budget and 16 is not, then go with the 8.  Just remember down the road (make yourself a note if needed) the type and speed of the ram that you do get.  Assuming that you have a mobo that has four ram slots, then go with 2x4 sticks of ram making sure that it is dual channel.  Then down the road when you can afford to expand to 16, you will know what type of ram to get so the new stuff will be compatible with the stuff you currently have in the machine.  Again, have to make sure the new sticks are also duel channel.  That would give you a total of 4x4 sticks of dual channel ram.  Most important is to make sure the all the ram sticks are compatible.  One of the best ways to ensure that you get ram compatible with the mobo is to check the ram QVL at the mobo's website.  Good luck.

 

I now have 32, more than enough but since it was a gift I didn't complain.

Edited October 11, 2018 by kb5zue
additional information

[Roamable]

I think 16 is going to be better for you if you game and run anything in the background.

 

Someone on here mentioned that most AAA games are going to use 8gb minimum as standard. If you're running Discord, Steam, a browser, Spotify or whatever in the background that's going to effect performance. If you're not gaming, doing video production or anything that is resource heavy you should be fine with 8.

 

Most people are doing something or another these days... 16gb is kind of average these days for a basic med-spec PC.

[Mugenjynn]

3 minutes ago, Roamable said:

I think 16 is going to be better for you if you game and run anything in the background.

 

Someone on here mentioned that most AAA games are going to use 8gb minimum as standard. If you're running Discord, Steam, a browser, Spotify or whatever in the background that's going to effect performance. If you're not gaming, doing video production or anything that is resource heavy you should be fine with 8.

 

Most people are doing something or another these days... 16gb is kind of average these days for a basic med-spec PC.

Im probably gonna be running discord in the back, will this destroy my performance??

[porina]

What is the spec of the rest of the system? 8GB is still very passable for most use cases.

[Roamable]

1 minute ago, Mugenjynn said:

Im probably gonna be running discord in the back, will this destroy my performance??

 

I don't think it'll destroy your performance alone. 

 

I'm kind of new around here, but I'm sure there must be some nice guides to help improve performance of *insert operating system you're using here*. That could help you a lot.

[dizmo]

It really comes down to how you use your PC. I have 4GB on my laptop, and most of the time that's perfectly fine.

I have 16GB on my desktop, and on my refresh I'm going to change that to 32GB.