Is 16GB necessary for gaming?

[Davin Schmitt]

So, I'm putting my build together here on PCPP, and I wanted to know if 16GB of DDR4-2133 Memory would reign any significant advantages over 8GB. I know many people now-a-days are adding 16GB just to be safe, but is it really worth the extra $30-40 SOLELY for 1080p Gaming? Any feedback would be highly appreciated, just trying to save money. Thank you 🙂

 

[juannfox]

Nowdays games are asking for 8gb using highest settings, so I think going for 16gb isn't a bad idea, since after recent E3 games were anounced, we're probably going to need more. You could go for 8 first and then add another one once you are off the budget,.

 

[why_wolf]

No not really. You'll only have a problem if the game actually does try and use more than 8, which frankly is rare and will stay rare for a long time. The big exception being open world type games those ones love to eat RAM.

So if you have the money go ahead and get 16 but if you are trying to save some cash then getting 8 is fine.

 

[Tradesman1]

If you can get 16GB - then do so. Games are using DRAM more and more and it's a trend that isn't going to change (for games or anything else app/program wise. And getting 8GB now and thinking you'll just add 8 more later - take a look through the forums, adding DRAM (even another identical set) can be and often is problematic, the forums are full of help questions on this even from people that thought the were clever and bought 2 packages of 2 sticks to save $4-5 dollars in the the difference of what a 4 stick package would cost 😉

 

[Samer1970]

If your motherboard has only 2 DIMMS slots then use 2x8G is better because in the future if you want to upgrade from 8 to 16 you will need to replace them .

If your motherboard has 4DIMMS slots , then just put 2x4G now and when games start demanding more you can add more memory as you wish using the other 2 free DIMMS

 

[Tradesman1]

If your motherboard has only 2 DIMMS slots then use 2x8G is better because in the future if you want to upgrade from 8 to 16 you will need to replace them .

If your motherboard has 4DIMMS slots , then just put 2x4G now and when games start demanding more you can add more memory as you wish using the other 2 free DIMMS

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Will you guarantee the OP that just 'adding' will go perfectly fine. and if it doesn't pay the return shipping, restocking fees, etc?

 

[Samer1970]

If your motherboard has only 2 DIMMS slots then use 2x8G is better because in the future if you want to upgrade from 8 to 16 you will need to replace them .

If your motherboard has 4DIMMS slots , then just put 2x4G now and when games start demanding more you can add more memory as you wish using the other 2 free DIMMS

_______________

Will you guarantee the OP that just 'adding' will go perfectly fine. and if it doesn't pay the return shipping, restocking fees, etc?

What do you mean ? we always have 14 days money back guarantee , I never buy from stores who ask for restocking fees for returns... it is up to him to get from a good store .

 

[Tradesman1]

Not all stores even offer refunds on open packages of components... and you say "you can add more memory as you wish", there are never any guarantees when mixing packages of DRAM - take a look through the forums. We had numerous members take this blase advice from people and ended up out a fair amount of money. Sorry, I take offensive when people are so free and easy with other peoples money, I even wrote a FAQs and Fiction piece for Tom's on DRAM so that hopefully they won't get taken in by poor 'advise'

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2741495/ddr3-faqs-fiction.html

 

[Samer1970]

Not all stores even offer refunds on open packages of components... and you say "you can add more memory as you wish", there are never any guarantees when mixing packages of DRAM - take a look through the forums. We had numerous members take this blase advice from people and ended up out a fair amount of money. Sorry, I take offensive when people are so free and easy with other peoples money, I even wrote a FAQs and Fiction piece for Tom's on DRAM so that hopefully they won't get taken in by poor 'advise'

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2741495/ddr3-faqs-fiction.html

When I said "as you wish" I meant size , 2x4 or 2x8 or 2x16 ..

as for mixing Memory , there is a list of compatible Memory released by the manufacturer , he can follow it and be fine .

he did not ask about details .. I can give him more details when he asks ...

Besides , I always upgrade RAM for my customers , it never failed once .. not once in 20 years .

They come in asking me to add more RAM all the Business days ..

If you know how to do it you will never get the wrong DIMMS , you are talking about less than 1% Chance here (Which never happened to me ) , or about people who dont know which DIMMS to order ...

Dont worry I care about other people money .. I dont give them poor advice.

 

[Tradesman1]

"there is a list of compatible Memory released by the manufacturer" yes there is and that DRAM is compatible in that package, not mixed with other DRAM. I've gotten identical sets straight from manufacturers that won't play together, that's why they test sticks together befoer packaging i.e. so they can find 4 that will all play nice. You can pull them right off the assembly line and they might play, might not. Check with manufacturers I have seen one that will guarantee two packages of DRAM will play nice. If it was as easy as you try and make it sound manufacturers would simply sell single sticks, eliminate testing and make higher profits. I would guess that the bulk of what you work on is older DDR and DDR2 rigs which did mix easily, or low end systems running basic entry level DRAM. Also as mentioned - have you ever bothered to look in the forums, there are literally hundreds of threads of people trying to 'add' DRAM and problem after problem, often identical sets.

 

[Samer1970]

"there is a list of compatible Memory released by the manufacturer" yes there is and that DRAM is compatible in that package, not mixed with other DRAM. I've gotten identical sets straight from manufacturers that won't play together, that's why they test sticks together befoer packaging i.e. so they can find 4 that will all play nice. You can pull them right off the assembly line and they might play, might not. Check with manufacturers I have seen one that will guarantee two packages of DRAM will play nice. If it was as easy as you try and make it sound manufacturers would simply sell single sticks, eliminate testing and make higher profits. I would guess that the bulk of what you work on is older DDR and DDR2 rigs which did mix easily, or low end systems running basic entry level DRAM. Also as mentioned - have you ever bothered to look in the forums, there are literally hundreds of threads of people trying to 'add' DRAM and problem after problem, often identical sets.

I never said Mix ram from the manufacturer list .. I said follow the list .. yes you get identical , you dont mix unless it is the last resort (I actually look at the chips themselves When I cant find the same old model , I make sure they use the same chips to reduce the risk , the number of chips , the size per chip , the model of each chip etc )

and dont worry I worked also with DDR3 , not only old DDR2 and DDR ... been selling DDR4 since X99 was released back in 2014 ...

let me ask you simple question , do you really think X99 8x DIMMS are filled from day one ? come on ....

 

[scuzzycard]

I have to agree with Tradesman1. I've even had identical kits not play together with X99 - and when I have seen them work together, it's only been at fail-safe timings. I think part of the problem is the IMC on Haswell-E. It's only rated at 2133, but you wouldn't know it until you tried to populate all 8 slots, at which point most chips become very uppity.

 

[Zerk2012]

Get the 16gb of memory now and you won't need to add more later.
I use a bit over 8gb now in some games with the monitoring programs I run with it.
Buy the extra now then your set instead of adding more later and having potential issues.