How much Ram do you need for editing?

[Blueprint]

I will be buying a new pc soon and I will be doing a lot of video work with Premier Pro, After Effects, Photoshop and Audition at the same time. (Plus Skype, Steam and maybe streaming at the same time as well) How much ram do I need? I will most likely be getting 16gb, but will I need 32gb?

 

Thanks,

Blueprint

[Altecice]

16GB is more than enough for editing/rendering.

[Panda of the Shadow]

unless you run them all at the same time 16 is gonna be fine.

[nsyedhasan]

I'd say a 1866Mhz+ kit with 2 sticks of 8GB of RAM each.

[Titanicium]

Unless you edit on the machine and in two virtual machines at the same time 16 GB will be enough for that workflow/workload

 

Get something like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-khx18c9t3k416x

 

Got it myself and it's a winner

[TheSLSAMG]

I'd say a 1866Mhz+ kit with 2 sticks of 8GB of RAM each.

FTFY

 

Also, OP, 16GB will be enough.

[Analog]

At least from what I have seen when using most of these programs, each one of them uses around 2,5-3GB RAM. So even with all of them on at the same time plus all of the other smaller programs, which do not use that much system memory you should be left with good 3-4GB free out of your 16GB. 

[Mo5]

After Effects is know to eat up RAM, but 16GB should be fine. If you find that 16 is not enough you can always upgrade.

[kevinheinrich]

I was the assistant creative director and cheif editor for a full length documentary. During the job i started with 1156 i7 8gb and upgraded to 16gb. I noticed a little more consistency (image refreshing, timeline fluidity, less adobe errors) with 16gb. I was much more impressed after my 1156 to 2011 cpu upgrade then the ram upgrade so I recommend as additional advice really pushing the limits of your budget to the cpu investment ram is cheap grab a 2011 3820 with intentions to upgrade later and quad channel it with 1600.  

[squirrl]

as much as you can RAM into your motherboard

[xXxYOLOxSWAGxXx_420BlazeIt]

As much as you can afford.

 

I have 32GB and regularly use 90%+ of it while editing video. I dont know how people here are recommending 16GB.

[Nineshadow]

As much as you can afford.

 

I have 32GB and regularly use 90%+ of it while editing video. I dont know how people here are recommending 16GB.

I barely use 4GB of RAM when editing,but I use SVP so that's to be expected.

[Blueprint]

Thank you

[Sauron]

I think 16 gb is enough unless your processor can handle more data. what I mean is: if the cpu is such a beast that it can handle, say, twice the data flow that we can consider "normal" (such as would be an i5 performance) then having more ram will make rendering faster.

 

when you buy the sticks I suggest ignoring frequency (or at least don't try to get the "best of the best" as it doesn't scale well in price and the difference is almost unnoticeable) and if your motherboard and cpu can handle 4 memory channels purchase 4x4gb instead of 2x8gb.

[virtualTune]

I use after effects all the time and I have to say it really depends on what you need. I am quiet happy with spending a little more on ram if it saves me render time, especially during ram-preview. If you are just going to edit video on a basic level (CC, text, etc.) then you won't see a big difference between 16 and 32 gb. I do vfx on the other hand, so I often find myself whishing I could work on my home machine rather than the ones on campus (16Gb). 

I haven't done as much of a comparison when it comes to speeds/timings but from my experience slower ram with shorter timings seem a little better for the task. Also, keep in mind that you can always OC.

I'd recommend buying medium priced 16Gb kit 2x8. If you buy dominators you won't feel the difference as much as if you buy a kit that is a little cheaper, but more ram. 

 

-vT

[voaz]

16GB is more than enough.