8GB vs 16GB System RAM

[1405]

My friend has the budget gaming system below:
Pentium G4620
Asus H110M-E
2 x 4 GB DDR4-2133
RX-470 4GB
Corsair 650W PSU

He is disappointment with the dual core and wants to upgrade to a low cost quad core; probably the i5-7400. He also has a chance to pick up a used GTX 980 in great condition at a ridiculously low price. But we are unsure if the 8GB of system ram will still be enough for gaming then. It seems everyone is going for 16GB now. But with a 2 ram slot motherboard, adding new ram would mean totally replacing what he has now. Worth it?

 

[atljsf]

8 gbs enough for some games but more ram is better in the near future, especiall now that he is going to add the 980, so he will use higher resolutions on all games

on some games ight now, 8 gbs is too little, gta v is using 6 gbs of ram, and windows uses 2 or 3 more or less, so you need more than 8 in the near future and a i5 with a gtx 980 will be a machine used for a couple more years so, yes, add the another 8 gbas

but you have 2x4gbs there now right?

better sell the 2x4gbs and buy 2x8gb kit

 

[1405]

8 gbs enough for some games but more ram is better in the near future, especiall now that he is going to add the 980, so he will use higher resolutions on all games

on some games ight now, 8 gbs is too little, gta v is using 6 gbs of ram, and windows uses 2 or 3 more or less, so you need more than 8 in the near future and a i5 with a gtx 980 will be a machine used for a couple more years so, yes, add the another 8 gbas

but you have 2x4gbs there now right?

better sell the 2x4gbs and buy 2x8gb kit

Yes, 2 x 4GB now in a 2 slot board. I think he will have to temporarily pass on either the i5 or the 980 if he needs to spend another $100 on ram. At least for awhile. Until he can sell the 2x4GB sticks and save a bit more. Thanks for the reply, btw.

 

[Isokolon]

it really depends on the game.
most games don't use more than 8GB, barely 6 even
some of the late 2016 AAAs like 10-12GB RAM though

 

[1405]

it really depends on the game.
most games don't use more than 8GB, barely 6 even
some of the late 2016 AAAs like 10-12GB RAM though

We just did a rough test of Doom 2016 (Vulkan, Ultra, 1080p), and task manager showed a pretty steady 5 - 5.1GB in use. It dropped back to 1.6GB when we quit the game and Steam. So maybe 3.5GB in use for running Doom? Is Doom a AAA title?

Now he's back to thinking of staying with 8GB and getting the new CPU and GPU. Maybe getting more RAM later.

Edit: Typo fixed on the ram usage

 

[atljsf]

if ram is fine for the moment, skip ram, do it later, first the gtx, then the cpu and finally the ram