[SOLVED] Do I need 32 GB of ram?

[Bladestorm]

I'm building a computer and have everything that I want decided on. I had a friend tell me recently that getting 32 instead of my planned 16 gb of ram would be a great idea. He uses his PCs for different things than I do and he's a professional, so I didn't give it much thought initially. Thinking about it more though, is 32 worth the increase in price? Are there any games that need 32, or will in the near future? I'm not a huge gamer anymore, but I plan on keeping this build for the next 5-7 years.


J

 

[USAFRet]

I'm building a computer and have everything that I want decided on. I had a friend tell me recently that getting 32 instead of my planned 16 mb of ram would be a great idea. He uses his PCs for different things than I do and he's a professional, so I didn't give it much thought initially. Thinking about it more though, is 32 worth the increase in price? Are there any games that need 32, or will in the near future? I'm not a huge gamer anymore, but I plan on keeping this build for the next 5-7 years.


J

All depends on your use.
For me, I need 32GB. CAD, running multiple VMs, etc, etc.

For you? Well...it depends.
Strictly gaming? 16GB is probably enough.
But....3-4-5 years from now, you may need that extra RAM as your use changes.
Much much better to buy it now, all as a set (2x 16GB), rather than to try to 'add' another 16GB later.

 

[Bazzy 505]

I'm building a computer and have everything that I want decided on. I had a friend tell me recently that getting 32 instead of my planned 16 mb of ram would be a great idea. He uses his PCs for different things than I do and he's a professional, so I didn't give it much thought initially. Thinking about it more though, is 32 worth the increase in price? Are there any games that need 32, or will in the near future? I'm not a huge gamer anymore, but I plan on keeping this build for the next 5-7 years.


J

Right now, 16GB is the sweetspot, for gaming anyways. But with the ongoing bloating of even the simplest utilities, memory is kinda treated like candy these days. It's very likely this sweetspot will shift to 32 GB in another 2-3 years. If you want to keep your build for 5-7 years and can afford the extra 16 gigs, you may just go ahead and buy the full 32 gigs now and avoid the headache of looking for matching compatible sticks 3 years down the road ( it's never good idea to mix and match DDR sticks of different specs and manufacturers).

 

[geofelt]

Normally gaming and such does well with 16gb.
Some apps can use ram as workspace or even as drive cache.
For that 32gb or more might be appropriate.

My suggestion is to buy what you need today, perhaps 16gb.
If, in the future, you need more, increase your ram to whatever you need.

This may be a wholesale replacement with a larger kit or, you can take a chance on compatibility by adding ram.

 

[Flayed]

A surprising number of applications and games leak memory over time.

 

[perrynick17]

the faster you can get the ram to run on you system is where you will see performance, the cpu should have specifications on what ram speed it was built for and your motherboard memory QVL list will have confirmed/tested ram kits for your motherboard as well as information on memory speed and if XMP or overclocking is compatible on those kits , also a good thing to note is if you have a dual channel memory set up. filling up 4 dims with memory on a dual channel motherboard will decrease your target speed

I have seen 8gb kits set up the correct way out preform builds with excessive incorrect ram kits

 

[USAFRet]

the faster you can get the ram to run on you system is where you will see performance, the cpu should have specifications on what ram speed it was built for and your motherboard memory QVL list will have confirmed/tested ram kits for your motherboard as well as information on memory speed and if XMP or overclocking is compatible on those kits , also a good thing to note is if you have a dual channel memory set up. filling up 4 dims with memory on a dual channel motherboard will decrease your target speed

"fast" does not make up for "not enough".

If one needs 32GB RAM, having the fastest 16GB on the planet is not good enough.

 

[perrynick17]

"fast" does not make up for "not enough".

If one needs 32GB RAM, having the fastest 16GB on the planet is not good enough.

also correct if your application's need that amount of resources then grab a big kit, but make sure you can hit a higher target speed for more fps

 

[Bob.B]

I'm building a computer and have everything that I want decided on. I had a friend tell me recently that getting 32 instead of my planned 16 gb of ram would be a great idea. He uses his PCs for different things than I do and he's a professional, so I didn't give it much thought initially. Thinking about it more though, is 32 worth the increase in price? Are there any games that need 32, or will in the near future? I'm not a huge gamer anymore, but I plan on keeping this build for the next 5-7 years.


J

For most users the answer is no.
16GB is fine.
If I was building today and I could afford it I would go for 32GB.
16GB may work fine for me today but I can't tell what I'm going to get into tomorrow.
The extra ram does not hurt anything except maybe my wallet.

 

[Bagaskoro Olga Yonear]

I'm building a computer and have everything that I want decided on. I had a friend tell me recently that getting 32 instead of my planned 16 gb of ram would be a great idea. He uses his PCs for different things than I do and he's a professional, so I didn't give it much thought initially. Thinking about it more though, is 32 worth the increase in price? Are there any games that need 32, or will in the near future? I'm not a huge gamer anymore, but I plan on keeping this build for the next 5-7 years.


J

If you're not a huge gamer anymore, then you should know or at least plan what will you do for the next 5-7 years. Is it design? Video editing? 3D modeling? Programming? Or just office stuff and some casual gaming?

As far as i know, 16GB is enough for designing, casual gaming, light~medium video editing & motion graphic designing, basic~advanced 3D modeling & rendering, and programming. I used 16GB in my office btw.
And 32GB is basically for professional video editor, motion graphic designer and 3D artist.

We know that we don't know what will happen for the next 5-7 years. But we can see that everything is closing the gap with reality, and it mostly on 3D stuffs, either modeling, rendering or gaming. So I guess, for a work like designing with photoshop or illustrator will not change significantly. Maybe video will go to 8K, but are you really going into that for the next 5-7 years? It's all your choice. The money and the plan is yours.

 

[Zerk2012]

I'm building a computer and have everything that I want decided on. I had a friend tell me recently that getting 32 instead of my planned 16 gb of ram would be a great idea. He uses his PCs for different things than I do and he's a professional, so I didn't give it much thought initially. Thinking about it more though, is 32 worth the increase in price? Are there any games that need 32, or will in the near future? I'm not a huge gamer anymore, but I plan on keeping this build for the next 5-7 years.


J

I would get 32GB now and be through as long as you don't have to downgrade the processor or video card to pay for it.

You never know what you might wish to do with the PC in a couple years.

I went over the years (a bunch of them) from just internet and light gaming, to heavy gaming and some work programs, to a bunch of work programs and gaming, now back to mostly net and gaming but still do some work.

 

[Bladestorm]

Right now I'm planning on sticking with 16gb. If I need to I can just buy another couple sticks of RAM that are identical and be fine, right?

 

[USAFRet]

If I need to I can just buy another couple sticks of RAM that are identical and be fine, right?

Maybe, maybe not.

RAM is sold as a set, for a reason.
16GB you buy later may not work with the 16GB you buy today.

Even if the same model/size/manufacturer.
Yes, really.

Buying the exact same ups the possibility of working, but still not 100% Yes.
Will that exact same set be avaiable when you need it? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[lvt]

I had a friend tell me recently that getting 32 instead of my planned 16 gb of ram would be a great idea.

He wasn't wrong on that.