Is 16 GB RAM Enough for your Gaming PC

Do you want to know is 16GB Ram enough for your gaming PC? You are on the right spot to know the answer of this question.

A shift in motherboards and resource needs is quietly taking place. The 16GB RAM memory is in question, so we have to talk about it.

Technology is always advancing and what was innovation yesterday may be completely obsolete today.

Not long ago we came from 8 GB as the newest for gaming, but this has been left behind and 16 GB is an optimal configuration.

See Also: What is the main Memory of the Computer

That said, are you sure? I’m not so clear about it, so we’re going to go over it in depth in this article.

Is 16GB RAM Enough for your PC

The first thing we think is, why 16GB? This is the recommended capacity for gaming at maximum performance or for good multitasking.

It is a configuration that is more than standardized with affordable prices and that has been present in many teams for a long time.

Are we lost with 8GB? No, as long as you use the PC for the basics. I say this because there are games that will make it very difficult for you with only 8GB if you want to play in ULTRA.

Your CPU and GPU may be able to run the game on Ultra, but this adds a lot to your RAM usage, so RAM needs to be balanced accordingly.

Warned of the bottlenecks that RAM memory can produce, it is time to assess whether it is optimal or insufficient, how can we know?

Going to the most demanding games or heavy tools to find out what RAM the developers ask for to use them at maximum performance.

We can conclude with this that what developers ask for today is 16 GB for maximum fun, so this configuration cannot be negotiated for gamers. Later, I will give you a more detailed view of what I think.

For the professional sector, 16 GB is not enough, and most programs ask for 16 GB or more of RAM. The “or more” is expressed by the complexity that a project created in one of these programs can reach, being able to go to 32 GB without a doubt.

If you’re a video editor, you’ll need 32GB (minimum) to run at peak performance, but that’s something you’ll already know.

What is the Maximum RAM Memory that we can install?

Given the barrage of resources that many applications consume. It is already clear to us that 16 GB must be the minimum for games, and it is not the optimal configuration at a professional level.

Let’s go to the home platforms to see what can be configured at most.

So why does the operating system last up to 18 EB? There are professional motherboards that are prepared to support configurations of 512 GB of RAM (servers, supercomputers, etc.) or more.

Therefore, in your head you must have 2 clear numbers: 64 GB or 128 GB.

See Also: What is In- Near Memory Computing

The rise of DDR5 RAM changes Everything

The 16GB RAM configurations have come with DDR4, but the truth is that the evolution is already here.

We say that DDR5 RAM changes everything because the most common minimum capacity per module is 16 GB, that is, the optimum in DDR4. You can find 8 GB modules in DDR5, but I can tell you that it will not be the standard.

For this reason, you will see that the packs of 2 modules in DDR5 are 32 GB (16 GB x2), which is already indicating that something is changing.

More and more RAM memory is required in programs, operating systems and games… it is something unstoppable. At the moment, a conventional pack like the Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 costs around $250.

What is the problem? The price of RAM we have in DDR5, but the same thing happened with DDR4 at the beginning: prices have to mature.

In 2023 it will be much more accessible because it hasn’t been on the market for even 1 year, so it is understandable that prices are high.

Here we are only talking about capacities, but in the DDR5 RAM memory tutorial we already delve into the news regarding frequency, capacity, consumption, etc.

Conclusion

Time passes for everyone, and for the 16GB RAM too. A couple of years ago it was the ideal configuration for multitasking or gaming, but they are starting to turn the tables and DDR5 is accelerating this process.

Building 32GB DDR4 configurations has never been cheap, but it will be more affordable with DDR5, even if its prices are still high.

Video games are beginning to normalize the requirement of 16GB of RAM memory as a recommended requirement, something that will soon go to the minimum requirements.

It is a change that will occur sooner rather than later, with the next standard being 32 GB. In the professional sector, configurations with 32 GB are common and even insufficient depending on the program they use.

You have already seen that Inventor requires 64 GB or more, so the programs go far beyond video games.

See Also: What is High-Bandwidth Memory

If you are thinking of upgrading components, and RAM memory is among them, we advise you to opt for 32 GB, either DDR4 or DDR5. This capacity is the future, being able to be standardized from next year with established DDR5.

Logically, those who want to navigate and little else… 8 and 16 GB of RAM will suffice. However, we focus on more demanding audiences that go further with the equipment.

We hope that this information will be of help to you. If you have a contrary opinion or any doubt, leave it below so that we can answer you.