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Velvet Digest

Do you need 16gb of RAM for gaming?

Author

Emily Wilson

Updated on May 04, 2026

We consider 16GB to be a nice sweet spot for a solid gaming system. It should be more than enough to run your games and multitask as needed. You'll also want at least 16GB if livestreaming is a priority for you. As far as just simply gaming goes, 16GB is plenty, and really, you can get by just fine with 8GB.

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Keeping this in view, do you need 16gb of RAM?

8GB of RAM is the sweet spot for the majority of users, providing enough RAM for virtually all productivity tasks and less demanding games. If you're running demanding applications like video editing and CAD, or you're a hardcore gamer, then we recommend that you start at 16GB and go up from there.

Additionally, is 8gb RAM enough for gaming? Technically there isn't going to be too much RAM for your system unless you have bought more than the motherboard can handle. As mentioned, 8GB of RAM is great for gaming as many, if not all, games will run well at this RAM capacity.

Keeping this in consideration, how much RAM do I need for 2019 Gaming?

8 GB is the minimum for any gaming PC. With 8 GB of RAM, your PC will be running most games without any problem, though some concessions in terms of graphics will probably be required when it comes to the newer, more demanding titles. 16 GB is the optimal amount of RAM for gaming today.

How much RAM do I need 2019?

8GB RAM. Now we're into performance territory. If you're serious about your PC, then I consider this to be the new default. If you're buying or building a machine dedicated to photo or HD video editing and rendering, or just want a fast system, then 8GB of RAM is the minimum you should consider to avoid frustration.

Related Question Answers

Is 32gb RAM too much?

Is 32GB overkill? In general, yes. The only real reason an average user would need 32GB is for future proofing. As far as just simply gaming goes, 16GB is plenty, and really, you can get by just fine with 8GB.

Is 64gb RAM overkill?

64gb may be overkill, unless you're doing a lot in after effects. If you are the 64 would help with the ram preview. Yes, you'll want a nvidia geforce gpu for better performance in Premiere, After Effects and Blender.

Can RAM affect FPS?

RAM amount does not directly affect FPS. The speed of your RAM could, but you can't change that with an upgrade it's decided when you build a system by the parts you choose. RAM is fast storage.

Is faster RAM worth it?

Faster RAM will give your PC better performance in certain specific benchmarks, but in terms of actual benefit to most users, having more RAM available is almost always better than having faster RAM. It also means that overclocking RAM in the system BIOS is rarely worth the effort. This is especially true for gaming.

Is 32gb RAM overkill for video editing?

32GB RAM: This can carry a heavy load for video editing while still using background projects. 64GB RAM: This amount of RAM can handle 8K footage in 10bit or more. You can also have other programs like After Effects running simultaneously.

What speed RAM should I get?

RAM frequency is measured in MHz and usually immediately follows the DDR version in the RAM spec. For example, 8GB DDR4-2400 RAM is running at a frequency of 2400MHz. Frequencies of RAM typically range from 800MHz in older DDR2 modules up to 4200MHz in DDR4.

Is 12gb RAM enough for gaming?

If your going with 12GB of ram, don't be expecting much of a gain, if any. 8GB of RAM is good for gaming right now, and roughly 6 months in the future, 16GB of RAM is recommended if you streaming games, or doing editing on a 15–20 minute, 1080p60 video or on a rather large image.

How much RAM is too much?

A lightweight system today can get by with 4GB of RAM. 8GB should be plenty for current and near-term future applications, 16GB gives you comfortable space for the future, and anything over 16GB is likely overkill unless you specifically know you need it (such as for video editing or audio post-production).

Does more RAM increase FPS?

And, the answer to that is: in some scenarios and depending on how much RAM you have, yes, adding more RAM could increase your FPS. On the flip side, if you have a low amount of memory (say, 2GB-4GB), adding more RAM will increase your FPS in games that utilize more RAM than you previously had.

Is there ddr5 RAM?

DDR5 Release Date Back in March of 2017 JEDEC announced that DDR5 was being worked on and should be released in 2018. Jumping forward to November 2018, SK Hynix finally announced the first ever DDR5 compliant RAM module, which they in turn said would be available to consumers come 2020.

Is i5 good for gaming?

In the end, Intel Core i5 is a great processor that is made for mainstream users who care about performance, speed and graphics. The Core i5 is suitable for most tasks, even heavy gaming. The Intel Core i7 is an even better processor that is made for enthusiasts and high-end users.

Will more RAM help gaming?

Yes, it will. Upgrading RAM from 8GB to 16GB will increase gaming performance much. System processes will accupied around 3GB of physical RAM. So, bigger RAM will increase whole system performance.

What is the best RAM for gaming?

  1. Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 32GB DDR4-3200MHz. The best RAM for gaming.
  2. G. Skill Trident Z RGB 16GB DDR4-2400MHz.
  3. Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB 32GB DDR4-2666 MHz. The best RAM for gaming for fully customizable RGB.
  4. G. Skill Ripjaws V 16GB DDR4-2400MHz.
  5. Patriot Viper Elite 8GB DDR4-2400MHz.

How much does RAM cost?

1GB stick – around $10 or less (DDR or DDR2, the more recent DDR3 RAM typically comes in larger sizes) 2GB stick – around $10 -20 (DDR3) 4GB stick – around $20-30 (DDR3), or around $30-45 (DDR4) 8GB stick/kit – around $40-60 (DDR3), or around $60-90 (DDR4)

Does RAM speed matter?

Your RAM's speed does not alter how fast your CPU goes, even when overclocked or hyper-threaded, but it can slow the CPU down depending on if your RAM is full or not. RAM speed comes down to how much data is transferred at a given time, and much of that can be determined by the number of your RAM module.

Is 16gb RAM enough for video editing?

A computer used for video editing needs plenty of RAM, up to 32GB. 16GB should be the minimum here. If you are really into this type of editing, you will need a high-end graphics card, which is expensive, but beneficial.

Does more RAM make games load faster?

Faster RAM can improve communication speed with the processor and decrease load times. Also, having enough RAM capacity to load the entire operating system and all startup programs will improve load times.

How many cores do games use?

Most of the modern games are well optimized to run on any number of cores. Specially if you are talking about pc games. But as most of the intel processors just come with two cores and hyper threading thus most game developers actually put emphasis on single core hyper threaded performance optimization.

Will more RAM make my computer faster?

Basically adding more RAM makes your computer able to have more applications opened at the same time and helps to keep most important and most used data in RAM so the access times will be faster. if an application needs 1Gb RAM to work and you have 4Gb it will not run faster if you add more RAM.