How Much RAM Do I Need For Gaming?

How Much RAM Do I Need for Gaming? – Overview

Most gaming enthusiasts wonder about such stuff to play the trending games smoothly. RAM marks a significant impact on the quality of settings, graphics, OS, system memory, and speed when playing games.

The gaming configurations have constantly changed in recent years, thanks to the ever-increasing demand for heavy games.

Gone are the days when 4GB RAM was enough to play your favorite games. Now, a minimum of 8GB RAM is preferred to play any modern game without trouble.

Plus, most heavy gaming titles require at least 16GB of RAM for better configuration. Anything beyond 16GB (32GB or more) falls under the overkill category.

How Much RAM Should You Stuff in Your Gaming Laptop or Desktop?

Desktops are generally faster than laptops because of their available physical space for graphic cards. Usually, the graphic cards are a less powerful version of the same desktop version for laptops.

This might not affect the requirement of RAM for a laptop or desktop. Most modern games necessitate higher RAM to run smoothly. Therefore, to gain maximum performance, 16GB RAM would be the sweet spot.

Motherboard, CPU, GPU, and storage also play a significant role in increasing the clock speed in laptops or desktops.

If both laptops or desktops have the same configuration, then also the desktop would produce a better performance. But that doesn’t signify that lesser RAM would work perfectly.

The minimum RAM requirement for gaming a rig is now 8GB or more; the 4GB RAM is now inoperative. Installing at least 8GB of RAM is necessary to let the games work efficiently on any PC. Besides, many games now ask for a minimum of 16GB or more RAM as well.

Importance of RAM in Gaming PCs

RAM holds the maximum value when it comes to gaming PCs. When playing a game, the data files, graphics, and all other processing files are stored in the RAM for a smooth gaming experience.

But, today, most games come with one of its kind configurations, so one needs to choose the RAM as per the system requirement. That is why picking higher RAM is suggested to fit all the gaming configurations perfectly.

Picking an ideal RAM capacity, type, speed, and configuration is obligatory to avoid technical interruptions when playing on a gaming rig.

A 16GB RAM would be an excellent decision to avoid such hitches. It’s better to move to a 64-bit OS, as the RAM capacity on a 32-bit OS is limited to 4 GB only.

Understanding the Universal RAM Capacity- Choose the Best for Gaming      

Getting familiar with the widespread RAM capacities would make it easier to make the right choice. After the 4GB RAM is out of order, most gaming rigs entail at least 8GB, while many games still ask for 16GB, 32GB, or higher RAM amount to operate faultlessly.

Today’s high-end PCs and games do not work smoothly on 4GB RAM, thus making 8GB memory an absolute must.

Here, let’s discuss the standard RAM capacities:

• 4GB RAM

For an uninterrupted gaming experience, 4GB RAM is not enough for modern games. Today, the games work on heavy graphic cards requiring better system configuration. You may experience constant lags while running multiple programs and applications simultaneously with 4GB RAM. Upgrade to at least 8GB RAM to play heavy games without interruption.    

Only the usual office computers, still working on a 32-bit operating system, which we can never represent as gaming rigs, have 4GB RAM.

Note: Upgrading RAM capacity in 32-bit Windows systems is not viable, as these operating systems do not support higher RAM.

• 8GB RAM

When searching for the minimum RAM requirement for a gaming computer, 8GB RAM is possibly the best to go for.

With better CPU & GPU configuration, capacity, OS, and 8GB RAM, the games would run without any trouble.

8GB RAM is the minimum requirement for most games, but most modern demanding games require better graphics and OS to run efficiently. So, identify the basic requirements for particular games before installation.

• 16GB RAM

Want the best RAM capacity for all the latest games? 16GB RAM is undoubtedly the safest bet to opt for.

For most of the on-the-go and upcoming games, 16GB RAM operates without hiccups. No modern game can run your OS out of RAM unless there is not any memory-heavy program already in succession.

Pros suggest going for such heavy RAM capacity to run 4K games without hitches.

Note: When running 64-bit Windows systems, upgrading RAM capacity is possible and easier.

• 32GB RAM

Only the pro gamers or those who wish to invest in extra can install 32GB RAM. It is also denoted as overkill in the technical language. Such an enormous amount of RAM allows you to play any game without interruptions.

Not many of the games require such heavy RAM and trouble the operations. Investing in such high RAM capacity may not be a good idea if you plan to upgrade other components, such as CPU, graphic cards, etc., as your current motherboard may not support these new components.

Note: Several gamers now go for 32GB RAM capacity to prepare for future games, which are still on the horizon. 32GB, 64GB, or more RAM capacity is only for those running memory-heavy programs, even while gaming.

Here is the 5 best 32 GB of RAM to help you decide

How to check memory usage on Windows?

Make sure you keep your regular applications up and running (so that you can have an idea of your accurate memory usage)

Step 1.

Hold ctrl + alt and delete and then click on “task manager”. Alternatively, you can right-click on the taskbar and then click on “task manager”

Step 2.

Click on the “Performance” tab

Step 3.

Click on “Memory”

Step 4.

Look at your memory usage out of what you have available

 

See Also

How to Upgrade RAM on Laptop?

How to speed up windows 10 laptop?