8 gigs of ram too much for win7

[rugman1969]

I am putting together a new build, and am installing win7 64 bit. Is 8 gigs too much? Or should I only need 4 gigs and use the money elsewhere? I keep hearing conflicting sides, and its driving me crazy. Thanks

 

[calinkula]

Depends what you do, but I would guess that 4GB of RAM will probably suite your needs.

 

[one-shot]

No such thing as too much. Always not enough.

 

[tecmo34]

You only need more than 4GB for any system build if you are doing heavy HD video rendering / editing, CAD or CS4 type of applications. In a gaming build, there is no difference in performance after 3GB (meaning on benefit). The money saved can make a big difference in your build. (example--- Going from a 5770 to 5850 fo example).

 

[Scotteq]

I am putting together a new build, and am installing win7 64 bit. Is 8 gigs too much? Or should I only need 4 gigs and use the money elsewhere? I keep hearing conflicting sides, and its driving me crazy. Thanks

Open Performance monitor, Resource monitor, or use a 3rd party program to track memory usage

LOAD UP your rig, running however many programs of whatever kind you use. Then open a few more to represent max load.



Check memory usage. Is it maxxed? Or do you have a reasonable buffer left over? From there, your answer should be obvious.

 

[gamerk316]

4GB-6GB is plenty. More RAM only helps ensure there is enough consecutive free space to store data. Above a certain point, you will never see an improvement in performance.

 

[das_stig]

General workhorse 3GB
Gaming 4GB-6GB
Graphics/Video 6GB+

 

[rugman1969]

thanks all

 

[rugman1969]

Best answer selected by rugman1969.