Question How Much RAM In 2025?

[Heat_Fan89]

I'm putting together a gaming rig that will be strictly 100% for gaming at 4K. I have the option between 32GB (2x16) or 64GB (2x32). They are both Corsair Vengeance Non-RGB CL30-36-36-76. My wallet says go with the 64GB RAM but my brain tells me, since all I will be doing is gaming and NO multitasking, 64GB will be wasted.

I'm waiting on my Fractal North XL, it's on its way from Amazon.
I'm waiting for the release of the Ryzen 9900X3D
I'm considering the RTX 5080 or maybe the 7090XT, depending on the performance levels.

Thoughts?

 

[jeremyj_83]

I'm putting together a gaming rig that will be strictly 100% for gaming at 4K. I have the option between 32GB (2x16) or 64GB (2x32). They are both Corsair Vengeance Non-RGB CL30-36-36-76. My wallet says go with the 64GB RAM but my brain tells me, since all I will be doing is gaming and NO multitasking, 64GB will be wasted.

Thoughts?

For just a gaming rig then 32GB is enough. You can use that $100 savings for something else in your system. For example instead of doing just a single 2TB SSD you could do a 512GB or 1TB boot drive and then a separate 2TB drive for games.

 

[Lutfij]

32GB if you're building a gaming system with multitasking. 64GB if you're going to be using the system for productivity purposes besides day to day tasks and gaming.

Make and model of your motherboard/processor combo for your build? If you're going with an AM5 platform, make sure the ram kit you pick has AMD's E.X.P.O advertised on the packaging.

 

[Gururu]

It would be a challenge to add another kit later if you wanted to bump up to 64 since different production lots don't always match well. Newer games like Doom Dark Ages require 32 for 1440+ gaming, so already that is the lower limit. Even though I have 4 slots, my 2x16 is kind of wasted since I'd probably be better off replacing them for a 2x32 bump for an upgrade. What about 2x24?

 

[Heat_Fan89]

32GB if you're building a gaming system with multitasking. 64GB if you're going to be using the system for productivity purposes besides day to day tasks and gaming.

Make and model of your motherboard/processor combo for your build? If you're going with an AM5 platform, make sure the ram kit you pick has AMD's E.X.P.O advertised on the packaging.

Memory Sticks
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CBRJ63RT?smid=A2Q1LRYTXHYQ2K&th=1

Mobo
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DPY4D638?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

PSU
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BQRCD834?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Cooler
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DF7B7324?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1

Thermal Compound
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L9BDY3T?smid=A2T6N244WTLWGU&psc=1

Case
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJCJ3ZZB?ref=fed_asin_title

 

[Heat_Fan89]

For just a gaming rig then 32GB is enough. You can use that $100 savings for something else in your system. For example instead of doing just a single 2TB SSD you could do a 512GB or 1TB boot drive and then a separate 2TB drive for games.

I already have a brand new spare 1TB NVME Gen4x4 just for the OS.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

It would be a challenge to add another kit later if you wanted to bump up to 64 since different production lots don't always match well. Newer games like Doom Dark Ages require 32 for 1440+ gaming, so already that is the lower limit. Even though I have 4 slots, my 2x16 is kind of wasted since I'd probably be better off replacing them for a 2x32 bump for an upgrade. What about 2x24?

I'd either go 2x16 or 2x32 and I wasn't aware of Doom memory requirements

 

[Zerk2012]

I'd either go 2x16 or 2x32 and I wasn't aware of Doom memory requirements

I might also consider 2×24 never know in the future you might start steaming or using other programs while gaming.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I might also consider 2×24 never know in the future you might start steaming or using other programs while gaming.

The timings are slower with the 48GB kit. Whereas the timings of the 32 and 64GB kits are faster. Since i'm going with a Ryzen and the X3D-CPU, I want to give it the fastest RAM possible which the Vengeance sticks i'm looking at have a rating of CL30-36-36-76. The latency of the 48GB kit jumps to CL36

 

[jeremyj_83]

The timings are slower with the 48GB kit. Whereas the timings of the 32 and 64GB kits are faster. Since i'm going with a Ryzen and the X3D-CPU, I want to give it the fastest RAM possible which the Vengeance sticks i'm looking at have a rating of CL30-36-36-76. The latency of the 48GB kit jumps to CL36

This 24GB kit has the timings that you are looking for. Alternatively you can get a 6400MHz kit with the subtimings being slightly higher but the CL is 32 so the same overall latency as 6000MHz at CL30.

 

[Zerk2012]

The timings are slower with the 48GB kit. Whereas the timings of the 32 and 64GB kits are faster. Since i'm going with a Ryzen and the X3D-CPU, I want to give it the fastest RAM possible which the Vengeance sticks i'm looking at have a rating of CL30-36-36-76. The latency of the 48GB kit jumps to CL36

Gaming in 4 K its not going to matter.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Gaming in 4 K its not going to matter.

AMD CPU's especially the X3D's love fast RAM and even if that weren't the case, if i'm going from 32GB to 48, I might as well go to 64GB. It's not that much more in price and the speeds are solid for both the Vengeance sticks.

 

[Bob.B]

I'm putting together a gaming rig that will be strictly 100% for gaming at 4K. I have the option between 32GB (2x16) or 64GB (2x32). They are both Corsair Vengeance Non-RGB CL30-36-36-76. My wallet says go with the 64GB RAM but my brain tells me, since all I will be doing is gaming and NO multitasking, 64GB will be wasted.

I'm waiting on my Fractal North XL, it's on its way from Amazon.
I'm waiting for the release of the Ryzen 9900X3D
I'm considering the RTX 5080 or maybe the 7090XT, depending on the performance levels.

Thoughts?

If the budget allows go for 64 that will give you headroom for new games that will come down the pipe.

 

[Zerk2012]

AMD CPU's especially the X3D's love fast RAM and even if that weren't the case, if i'm going from 32GB to 48, I might as well go to 64GB. It's not that much more in price and the speeds are solid for both the Vengeance sticks.

7500F also likes fast ram but really no difference in 30 and 36. I have no problem with you getting 32GB,48GB, or 64GB.
For waiting on a 9900X3D for gaming a complete waste of money the 9800X3D is all you need and since your gaming in 4K.
I would even say the 8 core 9700X would be the same as the rest since your mostly going to be limited by the video card.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmRAwAu9Gm4

 

[LordVile]

I'm putting together a gaming rig that will be strictly 100% for gaming at 4K. I have the option between 32GB (2x16) or 64GB (2x32). They are both Corsair Vengeance Non-RGB CL30-36-36-76. My wallet says go with the 64GB RAM but my brain tells me, since all I will be doing is gaming and NO multitasking, 64GB will be wasted.

I'm waiting on my Fractal North XL, it's on its way from Amazon.
I'm waiting for the release of the Ryzen 9900X3D
I'm considering the RTX 5080 or maybe the 7090XT, depending on the performance levels.

Thoughts?

32, 64 is a waste and 16 is still more than enough. You’ll also be GPU limited at 4K anyway.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

32, 64 is a waste and 16 is still more than enough. You’ll also be GPU limited at 4K anyway.

Not a particularly helpful suggestion. 32gb min, is most certainly the way to go. There are many games that will use up a good sup of 16gb, leaving very little ram available for even just the system to remain snappy.

 

[jeremyj_83]

32, 64 is a waste and 16 is still more than enough. You’ll also be GPU limited at 4K anyway.

With the price of RAM it makes the most sense to go 32GB right away unless you are on a very tight budget. Even for normal desktop usage there is little reason to go less anymore unless budget is quite tight.

 

[alceryes]

32, 64 is a waste and 16 is still more than enough. You’ll also be GPU limited at 4K anyway.

Untrue. There are many videos and reviews (by professional reviewers) describing how 16GB is no longer sufficient.
Also note that the one guarantee we have is that the situation will just get worse for 16GB RAM systems. Newer games will get more and more memory hungry, not less. Today, right now, Black Myth Wukong can perform 10% faster at 4K with 32GB RAM vs 16GB.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mklCPWNyJC0

https://imgur.com/a/0zKxzjx

View: https://imgur.com/a/0zKxzjx

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

AMD CPU's especially the X3D's love fast RAM and even if that weren't the case, if i'm going from 32GB to 48, I might as well go to 64GB. It's not that much more in price and the speeds are solid for both the Vengeance sticks.

Fast ram isn't the be all and end all, either. For Ryzen 9xxx, having the ram run in sync/coupled mode with a 1:1 ratio on the FLCK (infinity fabric clock), and mem clock, and mem controller clock, yield best latency. So for this, the suggested sweetspot is 6000mhz(3000mhz DDR).

Faster ram than that, will then switch to decoupled mode, which has higher latency but faster clock speeds. There is a trade off to be had.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Untrue. There are many videos and reviews (by professional reviewers) describing how 16GB is no longer sufficient.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mklCPWNyJC0

https://imgur.com/a/0zKxzjx

View: https://imgur.com/a/0zKxzjx

That's a really good chart, showing how much system mem is used 👍

We can't forget though, that Windows can and will use more ram if it's available. However, 16gb just doesn't cut it any more. 32gb min for a good gaming rig.

@Gururu made a good point about the new DOOM game. Other games will follow suit. That's how it is, and what we can expect.

 

[USAFRet]

32, 64 is a waste and 16 is still more than enough. You’ll also be GPU limited at 4K anyway.

Some of my hobbyist level CAD files are having issues at 64GB.

The system sitting here waiting to be assembled has 96GB. (see Raptor in my sig line)

 

[alceryes]

We can't forget though, that Windows can and will use more ram if it's available. However, 16gb just doesn't cut it any more. 32gb min for a good gaming rig.

Yes, Windows does have a memory back-pressure mechanism that kicks in once you get near the total system RAM installed.
But that just means more page file usage. Page file is much MUCH slower than system RAM. Unfortunately, Windows will use some of your pagefile regardless of how much RAM you have, but you never want to hit that back-pressure mechanism and cause it to use more than absolutely necessary.