Question Is 64gb better than 32gb for editing.

[Jebetron]

I edit 1080p content and my current 16Gb is just not enough for caching it all.

So I'm looking for upgrade ideas. I'd like to future-proof a bit and that would be my reasoning for going for 64Gbs.
But on the other hand, I already have 16Gbs and another 16Gb set would only cost 70€ compared to the 200€ of the 64Gb set.

Any ideas and suggestions are welcome.
Thanks in advance!

 

[USAFRet]

First off - Adding another 16GB may or may not work.
RAM is sold in a set, for a reason


Second - If you need 64GB, buy a 64GB set. Don't mix n match.

For my CAD use, 32GB wasn't enough.

 

[35below0]

Two cons to either approach:

- buying mixed kits can cause incompatibility. RAM kits are tested and confirmed to work together. Sticks from different kits may play nice together but more often they don't get along.
- when using all 4 slots, the memory controler may limit the maximum speed. So even if you have a 4 stick kit, or mix 2 separate 2 stick kits and they do get along, you still may not be able to run them at their max speed.

- most motherboards are picky about RAM sticks larger than16Gb. More 2x16 Gb kits are compatible at higher speeds and lower latencies than 2x32 Gb kits! So getting a 2x32 Gb kit that is rated at say 6000 Mhz and CL30 to work with a motherboard is not as easy as a 2x16 Gb 6000Mhz CL30 kit. Usually 2x32 Gb kits that are compatible are 4800Mhz CL40. Which is alright for editing, though it sucks a bit for gaming.

Check your motherboard support page, and look for memory support or memory QVL.

What is your motherboard?

Oh, and to answer your question, 64Gb would be a good idea. For gaming it's not needed but professional uses can require more than 32 Gb.
Btw, 48 Gb is also an option. 2x24 Gb kits are cheaper and motherboards usually run them at higher speeds than 2x32 Gb kits.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I can say at work we regularly order Dell pcs with i7s, ssd drives and 32gb as a baseline. Once you get even basic stuff going like antivirus, outlook, word excel etc you can easily be using 50-60% of the ram.

I’d say if you are doing heavy lifting, more is always better. For gaming though 32gb seems fine for now.

 

[35below0]

I can say at work we regularly order Dell pcs with i7s, ssd drives and 32gb as a baseline. Once you get even basic stuff going like antivirus, outlook, word excel etc you can easily be using 50-60% of the ram.

I’d say if you are doing heavy lifting, more is always better. For gaming though 32gb seems fine for now.

With nothing running, my Win 11 eats up about 5-6 Gb. Nothing except the nvidia drivers/cp, windows defender, firewall control and whatever nonsense gigabyte and steelseries insist runs in the background.
If i were to add anti virus to that, the figure would only go up. Toss in a browser and maybe music or video player and it would go up more.

So it can easily get to 16Gb if working in some demanding application, and possibly more. However, i have 64Gb total and i'm yet to cross the 10Gb mark, so i have overspent on RAM.

32Gb ought to be enough for everybody. For now. But professional use cases definetly could use the extra RAM. 48 is an ok compromise, but high latency 64Gb kits are not impossibly expensive. I bought a 2x32 Crucial kit for less than $200, and i have no regrets whatsoever.

For gaming, where low latency and high speed is prefered, 32 would perform better. If latency can go hang, and you have the money, get 64 Gb for a new PC. My opinion.

 

[Satan-IR]

As said above, don't mix and match. If you decide to get 64GB get a kit/pack, don't add to the existing one. The probable issues and headache isn't worth it.

The RAM size needed depends on your work. How big the files are (mainly depends on resolution) and how much motion graphics and effects you use/work with.

RAM manufacturers (like Kingston) recommend 16GB for 1080p. I did a little video editing with Premier Pro few years back and for 1080p 16GB was kind of enough back then too. It was more a personal experience, didn't do it professionally.

I'd say 32GB is the sweet spot here and maybe even more than you need. Unless you're going to do maybe 4K and 8K videos later with a lot of effects and so on.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

With nothing running, my Win 11 eats up about 5-6 Gb. Nothing except the nvidia drivers/cp, windows defender, firewall control and whatever nonsense gigabyte and steelseries insist runs in the background.
If i were to add anti virus to that, the figure would only go up. Toss in a browser and maybe music or video player and it would go up more.

So it can easily get to 16Gb if working in some demanding application, and possibly more. However, i have 64Gb total and i'm yet to cross the 10Gb mark, so i have overspent on RAM.

32Gb ought to be enough for everybody. For now. But professional use cases definetly could use the extra RAM. 48 is an ok compromise, but high latency 64Gb kits are not impossibly expensive. I bought a 2x32 Crucial kit for less than $200, and i have no regrets whatsoever.

For gaming, where low latency and high speed is prefered, 32 would perform better. If latency can go hang, and you have the money, get 64 Gb for a new PC. My opinion.

You might be really surprised. At work we use OneDrive. So by the time we lead checkpoint endpoint, OneDrive, Microsoft teams, and have word, excel, outlook and multiple tabs on browsers open or if you’ve got a couple of browsers open, those things combined really eat into the ram available. Not to mention if you start doing heavier tasks with Adobe PDFs, Photoshop etc.