Everyone says 16Gbs of RAM is overkill for gaming, but some games already recommend 8Gb?

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MrCanEHdian

MrCanEHdian

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So, the game Planetary Annihilation, which I hope to play with the rig I build, is on Steam and Steam recommends you have 8Gb of RAM to play the game. My question is, if a game is now suggesting you have 8Gbs, will it be long until a lot of games recommend 8Gbs or more?
 
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Tradesman1
If you look at computers over a period of time, it's interesting to note that prebuilt computers have always lagged behind in DRAM for what most enthusiast and gamers truly want need...and then there's also the non stop common phrase 'X-Amount is all you'll need for the next 5 years", but few seem to watch what is happening with software and how developers and programmers (same basic thing) continue to utilize DRAM, what was just a few years ago, 2 GB is all you'll ever need (prebuilts w/ 1GB), then the 1155 came abouut and it was 4GB is all you'll need for the next 5 years or (prebuilts up to 2-3 GB at that point), then in the mid-latter stages of IB, it was 8GB is all you'll ever need, and people continue to say that (and presuppose...
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wolverine96

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I think 8GB will be enough for quite a while longer. They only recommend 8GB because they don't want you to have 4GB.

You could always get 8GB now and upgrade to 16GB later. If you plan on doing this, I would get an 8GB stick to start out with, and add another one later. You could also get 2x4GB and upgrade to 4x4GB later (if your motherboard supports four RAM sticks).
 
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jkhoward

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I know of one game that actually uses more than 8 GB of memory. That game is Battlefield 4 with maximum settings and uses right around 9 GB of memory. Eventually games will use more than 8 GB.

The time they will start using more GB is just around the corner though due to consoles now coming with 8 GB of memory. Most of these PC ports will use the same if not more memory if available to them.

8 GB is fine for now..
16 GB will last you for another 10 years!
Maybe..
 
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jkhoward

jkhoward

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What the heck is going on here?

This guy is talking about VRAM and we are talking about RAM.

Yeah in the future our damn graphic cards may have 128 GB of memory on them just to load a damn VR environment. Who the knows? I never said it wouldn't happen. I don't understand why you think I said anything related to that.
 
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MrCanEHdian

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I see what you're saying, the single stick of 8GB makes sense, but isn't there a benefit in dual channeling? Like 2x4 or 2x8 as opposed to just straight 8GB?
 
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MrCanEHdian

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But you do think that 16GBs would be wise to buy now?
 
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MrCanEHdian

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The minimal requirements say Windows Vista SP2 64-bit, so I guess the 64 bit goes for Windows 7 and 8.1 too? So, if they begin programming in 64 bit, they could use up to 8GB of RAM?
 
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clutchc

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It would be limited to what the OS can accept. Windows 7 Home Premium for example has a 16GB limit.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa366778%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
 
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wolverine96

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Yes, I was meaning to start with 1x8GB, and after upgrading later, you will have 2x8GB. In the meantime, you would just have to suffer from not having dual-channel benefits. But I'm pretty sure 2x8GB is better than 4x4GB. I think it's faster, but if not, at least you could upgrade to 32GB later!
 
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MrCanEHdian

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What exactly are the benefits of dual-channel? Are they significantly noticeable in gaming scenarios?
 
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MrCanEHdian

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16GB is incredible! Then, perhaps, 16GB becoming the sweet spot isn't too far away? Of course, by making games that use more than 8GBs, a lot of consumers would be alienated, since RAM has become expensive.
 
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MrCanEHdian

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I think that's a great idea, and if I found it too slow or something, I could simply buy another 8GB stick basically right away, just looking to cut costs on things that may not be necessary right now. The video you linked me to and from what others are saying, the performance difference for gaming is negligible, most say a difference of less than 1%.
 
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Tradesman1

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If you look at computers over a period of time, it's interesting to note that prebuilt computers have always lagged behind in DRAM for what most enthusiast and gamers truly want need...and then there's also the non stop common phrase 'X-Amount is all you'll need for the next 5 years", but few seem to watch what is happening with software and how developers and programmers (same basic thing) continue to utilize DRAM, what was just a few years ago, 2 GB is all you'll ever need (prebuilts w/ 1GB), then the 1155 came abouut and it was 4GB is all you'll need for the next 5 years or (prebuilts up to 2-3 GB at that point), then in the mid-latter stages of IB, it was 8GB is all you'll ever need, and people continue to say that (and presuppose that people only build rigs for gaming) but you look at prebuilts over the last 6 months or and see the far majority of them are 6-8 GB, 16GB prebuilts are becoming fairly common....I know on client builds, regardless of intended use, I suggest 16GB as the entry level point, especially with DDR4 coming, DDR3 has beeen rising and quite probably will continue as DRAM makers continue to gear up for DDR4 production, once it hits prices will rise more as production will drop and we'll see prices really go up much as they have with DDR2 and DDR - limited production = limited quantity = higher prices
 
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MrCanEHdian

MrCanEHdian

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If history continues to repeat itself... Then why do people keep thinking that 8GB will be enough? If what you say is true, and I believe you, then 16GB will almost be necessary in 5 years I suspect. As you said, DDR3 prices seem to be rising consistently, and DDR4 is coming out, so 8GB likely won't be the "sweet spot" for long, and 16GB will be very expensive relative to the present in a couple years.

Thank you for all your valuable help, I really appreciate it :). I'm just about to order my build now, and because of your argument, am going with 16GB 1600MHz CAS 9.
 
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MrCanEHdian

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So when someone says something is enough in terms of RAM, I should basically double it xD?
 
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