Will I need to upgrade to 16 GB RAM for Windows 10?

[Joseph DeGarmo]

I've been noticing that Windows 10 is being a memory hog with about 33% higher RAM usage than Windows 8.1. I'm currently running two 4 GB G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3 1600 MHz sticks. For the sake of stability in top-end games, will I need to add another pair of the same model RAM sticks? And I'm wondering if there will be enough clearance for the extra two sticks. If not, then what would be a good low-profile model to use that is either white or blue? I'm upgrading my motherboard and CPU cooler to the following:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Silverstone AR03 81.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK S ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($264.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $309.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-08 08:47 EDT-0400

 

[boju]

I read Windows 10 should use less resources than Win8.1, certainly more ram will help but im wondering if there's a memory leak somewhere, possibly a buggy driver.

 

[USAFRet]

I'm not seeing Win 10 using more RAM than 8.1 I have it running on an old laptop with 2GB RAM.

More RAM can't hurt, though. But it really, really needs to be a matched set. No guarantees that another 2 sticks will work, even if they are the same model.

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

So after I upgrade the board and do a clean install of Windows 10, should it fix any high memory usage issues? I know I need to do a clean install of Windows 8.1 first, upgrade to Windows 10, then clean install Windows 10 later if necessary.

 

[USAFRet]

So after I upgrade the board and do a clean install of Windows 10, should it fix any high memory usage issues? I know I need to do a clean install of Windows 8.1 first, upgrade to Windows 10, then clean install Windows 10 later if necessary.

It depends. What applications are sucking up your RAM?

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, and system are burning up the most memory. I had an average idle RAM usage of about 25% in Windows 8.1 and now while using the Edge browser, I hover around 40% RAM usage.

 

[boju]

Kaspersky and Malwarebytes may be the cause, have you checked again for Win10 installs from them?

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

I'll need to update Kaspersky to the 2016 version. I'll do that and report my findings in a bit.

 

[USAFRet]

Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, and system are burning up the most memory. I had an average idle RAM usage of about 25% in Windows 8.1 and now while using the Edge browser, I hover around 40% RAM usage.

On my cheapo 2GB system, idling is 51%. Opening Edge brings that up to 59%.
On my 4GB HTPC, idles around 40%. Opening Edge brings that up to 47%.

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

So I updated Kaspersky to the new build and RAM usage improved slightly. Malwarebytes, however, is chomping up a lot of memory. I disabled Malwarebytes and my RAM usage is now cut down to about 28% on idle. Since I have Kaspersky Total Security, is it really necessary to keep Malwarebytes?

 

[USAFRet]

So I updated Kaspersky to the new build and RAM usage improved slightly. Malwarebytes, however, is chomping up a lot of memory. I disabled Malwarebytes and my RAM usage is now cut down to about 28% on idle. Since I have Kaspersky Total Security, is it really necessary to keep Malwarebytes?

So it's not Windows 10, but your applications.
It's good to have, but not as a continuously running application. Run that on demand.

 

[boju]

In time, common applications such as Malwarebytes will get their act together, still early days.

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

So even though Malwarebytes has real-time protection, is it still safe to not have it running all the time and let Kaspersky do all the work?

 

[USAFRet]

So even though Malwarebytes has real-time protection, is it still safe to not have it running all the time and let Kaspersky do all the work?

Correct. Running both at the same time may cause some weird file locking if both were trying to scan the same file at the same time.
Say if you just downloaded some application install file.

 

[boju]

Will depend on you and how unsafe you surf. If you're careful and know a thing or two it wont matter too much you can still do a malware scan from time to time and let Kaspersky do most of the work along with using popup blocks in your browser will also help prevent malware.

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

OK, thanks. I'll keep Malwarebytes off and run a scan with it on a daily basis. At least until that gets updated. If memory usage eventually gets to be a problem for high-end games, virtual operating systems, and video editing, then I'll look into getting a 2x8GB DDR3 1866 MHz RAM kit. I may run my current RAM sticks with that and overclock them to 1866 MHz for 24 GB of total system RAM. If that does not work, then I'll sell my old RAM kit and stick with the new 2x8 GB RAM kit.

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

Now, even after a clean install and Bitdefender free running in the background, I'm still getting at least 36% RAM usage on idle! I'll try to sign out and sign in back into Windows and if this keeps up, then I'm upgrading the RAM. I'll get a new 2x8 GB RAM kit.

 

[USAFRet]

Now, even after a clean install and Bitdefender free running in the background, I'm still getting at least 36% RAM usage on idle! I'll try to sign out and sign in back into Windows and if this keeps up, then I'm upgrading the RAM. I'll get a new 2x8 GB RAM kit.

On my 4GB HTPC, with TeamViewer and AV running, I'm seeing RAM at 29-30%.

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

RAM usage went down a bit after logging back in. Just in case if I need to upgrade, is Kingston Hyper X Fury a good brand? I saw this and it looks pretty good for the price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($78.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $78.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-16 19:38 EDT-0400

 

[USAFRet]

Yeah, they're pretty good. I've not heard any complaints.

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

There are a couple of factors which will bring about the need for more RAM. Samsung Rapid Mode for my new SSD which will use system RAM as cache and future video editing and movie creation projects. So for that price, I think it's safe to say that it's worth a buy. I'll take that into consideration. Reviews state that 1866 MHz is detected out of the box without tweaking any BIOS settings, so it looks great. I'm looking into building a cheap general-purpose Micro ATX PC using older components, such as my previous mATX motherboard, as a Christmas gift, so if I get the new RAM kit, then all I'll need is a CPU (Pentium G3258), hard drive, and case to build that.

 

[USAFRet]

Oh yeah. 16GB is great, especially at todays prices.

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

I enabled Samsung Rapid Mode using Process Hacker 2. Now, even with Malwarebytes not running and Bitdefender free active, I get this on idle:

At this rate, a game like GTA V will likely max out 8 GB RAM. In that case, my RAM will bottleneck the system. So yes, I'm picking up that 16 GB RAM kit and will install it very soon.