Question Upgrade , 16GB RAM or 32GB RAM kit?

[FamilyFriendly101]

I want to upgrade my ram since I do notice the difference between when I play and when my friend plays games ,we're both gaming at 1080p and he almost has the same specs as me :
r5 3600
rx 6600
MSI A520M-A PRO
The only major difference between our setups is the RAM , he has 2x16 GB 3200 MHZ and I have a 8gb stick and a 4gb stick with my pc running at 2133 MHZ (I upgraded my whole pc except the ram and both sticks are several years old)
My question Is if I should get a 3200 8x2 GB Ram kit or a 3200 16x2 one , is the difference really that noticeable in gaming and multitasking with these specs?

 

[boju]

16GB has been the sweet spot yesteryear and pretty much still is enough depending what you do but yeah 32gb is becoming the new sweet spot. Keep inmind too, Windows consumes 3 to 4gb for itself so more ram would benefit in the long run with games increasing in memory usage. Vram size can also have an affect on system memory usage depending how much is utilised and when that data is shifted to system memory temporarily. So if you did upgrade gpu at some stage with more vram you'll have the system memory to back it up.

Also since Ryzen, and Intel too, can be finicky about mixing ram, it's best to get an amount you'll be comfortable with now instead of attempting to add sticks later, there's a good probability you'll have a hard time of it getting them to work properly together. Two sticks, and of even capacity is always best for stability, speed & full dual channel mode. Ryzen does support memory flex mode where a portion on uneven capacity (like with your 8 + 4gb) runs in dual channel but is limited, half the 8gb in single channel, doable but not ideal. Ryzen needs fast ram (that is compatible, 3200 is a good speed) and full dual channel to perform.

 

[helpstar]

depends on what you game and the other things you wanna do
gaming not that much:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GKl47n2Zs0

 

[Bob.B]

I want to upgrade my ram since I do notice the difference between when I play and when my friend plays games ,we're both gaming at 1080p and he almost has the same specs as me :
r5 3600
rx 6600
MSI A520M-A PRO
The only major difference between our setups is the RAM , he has 2x16 GB 3200 MHZ and I have a 8gb stick and a 4gb stick with my pc running at 2133 MHZ (I upgraded my whole pc except the ram and both sticks are several years old)
My question Is if I should get a 3200 8x2 GB Ram kit or a 3200 16x2 one , is the difference really that noticeable in gaming and multitasking with these specs?

If you can afford it get the 2x16.

 

[Misgar]

My question Is if I should get a 3200 8x2 GB Ram kit or a 3200 16x2 one , is the difference really that noticeable in gaming and multitasking with these specs?

Start 'Task Manager' on your friend's machine, click 'Open Resource Monitor' and select the 'Memory' tab. Open a memory intensive game or run a few large program(s).

Make a note of the 'In Use' memory and the 'Standby' memory. Also check 'Free' memory if there is any.

Chances are, your friend's computer has configured less than half the 32GB RAM as 'In Use'. This is good. You might find that 'In Use' is around 10GB, hence the remainder of the RAM (22GB) is available for any program.

Now check your computer. With only 12GB system RAM, if your 'In Use' is also 10GB, you only have 2GB of RAM left over and would benefit from a memory upgrade.

If you're unsure as to the exact meaning of 'Standby' memory, don't worry. Windows pre-loads various apps into 'Standby' to speed things up if they're needed (an example might be Microsoft Office apps) but the OS will release this memory if another program asks for it.

Personally, if this is your main PC, I'd bump it up to 32GB. You may end up with lots of spare memory most of the time, but some apps work better/faster with room to breathe. An increase from 12GB to 16GB probably won't make much difference, apart from running all RAM in dual channel mode.

 

[geofelt]

There are two aspects to ram.
1. How much do you have, and is it enough.
2. How fast is the ram, and does it matter.

1. Misgar's suggestion to use resource manager is good. But, the key stat to look for is the hard fault rate.
A hard fault happens when an app needs some code that is not in ram and needs to fetch it from the page file.
Anything much more than zero says you can use more ram.

2. Ryzen depends on fast ram for performance.
You now have mismatched ram. It is likely running at default speeds. 4gb will be running single channel at half speed.
You may also be having ram errors from the mismatched ram.
16gb will cost you about $25 and 32gb about $50. Faster is better up to a point.

Some games now want 16gb or more. If possible, buy 32gb.
Ryzen is also sensitive to ram compatibility.
Buy a kit that shows up on your motherboard ram qvl list, or is explicitly supported by a ram vendor support app for your motherboard.
Update your motherboard bios to currency. Many bios fixes address performance.

 

[Misgar]

the key stat to look for is the hard fault rate.

Thanks for the tip. Just checked the 'Hard Faults (per sec)' on my 7950X, 64GB RAM, running a 1080p to 4K upscale and the values are all zero. All good (so far).

 

[logainofhades]

I would not go with less than 32gb today.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

32 minimum. A few games today even have 32GB recommended. I have 64GB myself and am glad I did it.

While programs and games are getting more complex, coders are also getting sloppier and lazier and not optimizing code or writing it efficiently and that trend will only get worse.

What @helpstar posted is true, what you dont know however is what gear the RAM is in those vids. Some boards refuse to go Gear 1 (DDR4) with 4 DIMMs, others like mine you have to force it but works fine otherwise.