It’s among the first buyers will ask when looking for the latest gaming laptop: “How much RAM do I need?” Does the 4GB of system memory found on many budget laptops adequate to play games that I enjoy? Or do I need 8 GB? Or 16? Maybe 32? Don’t be concerned… very few games, if any, require 32GB of RAM!
The good news is that a variety of exciting and enjoyable PC game titles can play on just 4GB of RAM. However, these are not the most recent or well-known ones. For the most popular, top-rated games, you’ll require more RAM to keep the high frame-per-second (FPS) rates required for smooth gaming.
However, there’s some good news also. Forces of the market (such as a decline in the sales of smartphones) have been decreasing the cost of memory. There is more RAM for the money than you could a couple of years ago.
What is the ideal amount of RAM needed to play PC games?
The RAM requirements vary for every game’s title and format (first-person combat sports and adventure, virtual reality, simulators, and others). Therefore, if you’re purchasing a brand new gaming system to play a particular game or genre, you should first check the requirements of the game’s maker for processor speed, RAM, and graphics card. There are usually the “minimum” and “recommended” specifications for your system.
In general, Here’s a rundown of the most well-known RAM sizes and their capacity to support today’s ever-growing range of games for PC:
- Gaming RAM 8 GB: Having just 8 GB of RAM is going to limit your choices of genres and game titles however, certain older games can be played with ease. Even though most of the games of today provide 8GB in the “minimum” RAM requirement, experts generally recommend having your manufacturer’s “recommended” RAM allotment (nearly always more than 8GB).
- Gaming RAM 16GB: An 16 GB RAM chip is required to provide the most extensive selection of current games on PC and game genres. A lot of experts refer to it as”the gaming “sweet spot” for RAM. Unless you’re running a game server or playing the role of game administrator/referee, experts say 16 GB of RAM will usually be sufficient for all but the most demanding games.
- Gaming RAM – 32GB: If you’re trying to “future proof” your new gaming system, then having 32GB of RAM could be an ideal idea. Some companies are already suggesting 16GB for their latest games, like Control, Red Dead Redemption as well as others. It can assist if you intend to use your computer to do other tasks (such as listening to music) when you’re playing.
- RAM to play games 64GB: the majority of gaming experts believe 64 GB of RAM as being too much to play games. These massive amounts of RAM are typically targeted at video editors as well as other users who work with large files. Actually, most of the modern graphic features in today’s PC games are dependent on the VRAM of the discrete graphics card, rather as opposed to general system RAM (this is the reason why you’ll be able to see “dedicated GPU” among the suggested specifications for game environments that are high-performance).
Other factors that impact RAM, in addition to the fact that they influence gaming performance
Of course, RAM isn’t the only thing that determines the degree to which your PC is able to play the games you love to play. Two distinct components of your system – – you’re probably able to guess the names of them — typically have a greater impact on performance in games:
- processor: If it’s about determining whether your PC is capable of playing your favorite games, the primary determinant can be determined by the processing speed. There is a lot of game-related information in memory, however, the speed of your CPU will be the primary determinant of how quickly the data will be able to produce visible on-screen actions and responses.
- Graphics systems with integrated graphics (built in the CPU) have to – by nature -use general system memory when creating game graphics, whereas the discrete graphic card (GPU) is equipped with its own dedicated VRAM which can handle a variety of graphics-related tasks. Thus, a PC equipped that has a discrete GPU will provide smoother visuals for games with less memory than a system that has integrated graphics.
Strategies to boost gaming performance with less RAM
However, it is true that you cannot necessarily buy the highest-quality and most expensive computer that is available. If the price or availability forces you to purchase a new computer with lower RAM than you prefer, there are options to boost gaming performance:
- Find the system that will allow you to increase your memory later either through the addition of a RAM card or sticking it into one of the slots that are empty on your motherboard or inserting a larger memory card into the main slot. This provides an element of “future-proofing” but without forcing you to invest the entire purchase upfront.
- Reduce the number of other programs that consume your memory. Shutting down open programs as well as browsers, eliminating applications that are not listed in your Start menu and other easy steps can allow you to free small portions of memory that your system could use to run your game.