Read-Only Memory or RAM for short is the most crucial part of your PC. If you are a gamer, you might have struggled with low RAM at some point in your life. I remember playing most of the games with only 1GB of RAM. But today things have changed. You need a good amount of RAM to get good performance in games. You might be asking how much ram do I need for gaming? Or what is the sweet spot for ram in gaming? Or you might want to know the optimal frequency that will compliment your rig. That is why I will give you all the answers in this simple and easy guide.
When someone is building their PC, they want the best parts for their system, a system that has it all. Sometimes, the budget restricts the user to go beyond. Low RAM can cause problems while gaming as Ram ensures your system gets to access all the necessary game files in time. I was playing PUBG PC with only 8GB of RAM, and the game kept crashing. I had to get an extra ram stick of 8GB to play that game.
The amount of ram needed actually depends upon the user’s requirements. If you want to play older games like CS:GO or Dota 2, 4GB of RAM is enough. Newer games may require more ram to function well. Though the ram required to run a game doesn’t necessarily mean it will give the best results. More RAM is usually the best option to go from minimum requirements.
In today’s age, a 64bit pc can hold enough ram to support all your needs. In the past, picking the ram was not that hard as the upper limit for 32 bit PCs was 4Gb. But now the upper limit for a 64bit PC is precisely 16 Exabytes which is more than enough. You might never need that amount of RAM in the near future. Today most PCs are 64bit and they are enough for gaming.
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Current Ram Generation
Before we talk about the ram’s capacity or frequency let me tell you about the current generation of Ram. Currently, DDR4 RAM is the norm in the market. DDR5 is just around the corner, and you might see it in the consumer market soon. If you are using an older processor, you might be familiar with DDR3 RAM. While DDR3 ram is slower and consumes more power, you dont have many options if you have an older processor like an i7 4th gen. But if you are using a newer processor, be it Intel or Ryzen, you will need a DDR4 ram.
Common RAM Capacities
Rams usually come in 4, 8, 8, 16, 32, or even 64GB of sticks. We are going to list all the RAM uses below:
4GB of RAM: 4GB of RAM is for those users who don’t play games. People who are using older operating systems usually have 4GB Ram. This amount of RAM is for people who use their PC just to surf the internet or use light applications.
8GB of RAM: People with this amount of RAM can run most of the games that came 2-3 years ago. People can also run newer games that don’t require heavy specs. 8Gb of RAM can be the minimum requirement for most of the games but it isn’t recommended for heavy games in 2022.
16GB of RAM: 16GB of RAM is considered to be the sweet spot for gamers. If you are a person who plays competitive games, or AAA title games, you can get good performance with this kind of RAM. 16Gb is considered optimal for gaming as well as streaming.
32GB of RAM: People are opting for 32GB of RAM these days more often than before. 32GB of RAM can be considered overkill for a gaming PC unless you use editing or other heavy software. 32Gb can future-proof your PC if you opt for it.
64GB of RAM: You can go for 64GB of Ram if you want, but is it really necessary? Most of the games run fine on 16GB of ram. Even if you want to future-proof your PC by going with 32 or 64Gb of RAM, it will be useless as DDR5 Ram is just around the corner. It will take some time for DDR5 Ram to be readily available for the consumer market, but sooner or later it will happen.
How Much RAM Should I Get?
I recommend users who play games mostly on their rig opt for 16GB of RAM as it will fulfill all the needs of a gamer. You don’t want to overkill your PC, and you can use that money on other parts for your gaming rig.
You can opt for 8GB of RAM if you are on a tight budget. If you are not planning on streaming and just want to enjoy games you can opt for the 8GB stick. Although 8GB is enough for most games, it will affect performance in some games. It heavily depends upon the games you are playing.
If you want to future-proof your build you can go for 32GB of Ram. If you are an editor and you are building a workstation, we recommend you to go for 32GB or more ram depending upon the usage. Although, 32GB of RAM, as mentioned earlier, can be overkill for your PC.
Dual-Channel Memory
Do you know you can get better performance by installing two memory sticks rather than one? Dual-channel is the way. Most motherboards in the market allow dual-channel memory. You can get a performance boost by using multiple RAMs. For instance, if you are using 8GB ram you can get two 4GB rams in a pair. Kits are usually cheaper, and you can get them in similar frequencies. Rams with similar frequency and clock speed work best together.
You might get a noticeable difference when you switch to dual-channel memory. I got a massive 80 fps difference in Valorant when I got two 8GB sticks instead of one 16GB stick. You might see an insignificant difference in some games. So, you might want to research the game and its requirements beforehand.
Sometimes the Ram stick fails. If you have more sticks installed in your system it’ll be easier to replace them. We recommend going dual-channel even if you are going with 8GB ram.
Conclusion
So, did you make up your mind after reading this simple guide? If so, I am glad that I helped you. Picking the right amount of ram can be tricky but with this guide, you can know how much ram you need for gaming. I would say 16GB of RAM is optimal for gamers, as most games can run smoothly with this much ram. In the end, I would say dual-channel memory is the best option that you might consider because if something goes wrong you can still game.
