What is the rolll of RAM in Gaming

[mayur_99]

hello friend ,
i just want to know how does the RAM play important roll in HD gaming.
because i want to just upgrade my pc by ram. Currently i have 4gb RAM and i am going to upgrade upto 8gb.
so how much percent the performence increses like BF 3 gives me 40 50 FPS in 1080p high setting so after upgrading to 8gb how much it will give me?http://img.tomshardware.com/forum/uk/icones/confused.gif
my confguration is
i3 CPU 540 3.07GHz
asus gtx 560ti
RAM 4GB
mobo p7h55mle

 

[manofchalk]

RAM plays the same role in gaming as it does in general system usage.
It holds all the data that the CPU is working with (excluding what it is inside the CPU cache) at any time, and can move that data so much quicker than a HDD or SSD ever could.

Its is debatable whether 8GB is really necessary for gaming, currently 4GB is sufficient. But with RAM prices being so low and the average amount of RAM rising, it is recommended you get 8GB for a gaming rig.

In general though, your RAM doesn't impact performance that much. RAM will only hold back performance if there isn't enough of it.

 

[mactronix]

I would expect it to make Zero difference to your FPS.

Mactronix

 

[Kari]

yep nada.. if a game uses like 1.5gigs of ram, it doesnt matter whether there is 4 or 8 gigs in the system. As long as there is enough so it doesnt swap to the hdd constantly it wont make a difference in fps. Loading levels etc might be quicker if the game is smart enough to keep lots of 'old' stuff in memory rather than deleting them when they are not used anymore... or something.

 

[ram1009]

Nobody bothered to mention that you will need a 64 bit OS to even recognize 8GB of RAM.

 

[mactronix]

Nobody bothered to mention that you will need a 64 bit OS to even recognize 8GB of RAM.

Because its not relevant, when you are recommending that the purchase is pointless, knowing if its a 32 or 64 bit OS is also pointless.

Mactronix

 

[techbaddie]

Will more video card ram increase performance?

 

[Sunius]

Nope!

 

[matt_b]

Will more video card ram increase performance?

The same rule applies to VRAM and as does system RAM. Find out how much a specific application/game you're running uses with the settings you use. I've recently monitored Metro 2033 and the settings I ran it at consumed over 1800 megabytes of VRAM, A card with anything less than 2GB of VRAM would start showing signs of impact, obviously being a harder impact exponentially with the less you have.

 

[techbaddie]

Sweet, Thanks!

 

[loops]

In some cases the speed of the ram can also impact play...some cases.

AMDs APUs come to mind.

 

[mactronix]

In some cases the speed of the ram can also impact play...some cases.

AMDs APUs come to mind.

Agreed the speed will matter in some cases.
Its not worth upgrading Ram on a speed basis for extra performance though.

Mactronix

 

[maxalge]

Agreed the speed will matter in some cases.
Its not worth upgrading Ram on a speed basis for extra performance though.

Mactronix

Actually tom's recommends 8 gb for a reason for gaming.


http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778-9.html



Of course you need 64-bit OS.


1 fps - 6+ fps difference in gaming depending on game, seeing how cheap 4gb of ram is, it is a very worthwhile investment considering how it also affects everyday computer performance when doing work or surfing the internet with a lot of tabs.

 

[lchrisk]

Depends on the speed of the ram also. As people stated earlier, games only require a certain amount of ram, and the excess is not used.

Most Intel cpus don't require high speeds of ram for gaming, as the cpu doesn't pull in performance from the system memory.

For an APU, which has an integrated graphics card that is almost like a low end discreet, the chip draws from the system memory, therefore having faster ram, will yield better performance.

So basically, for intel cpus, and any cpu other than a APU, go with 1600 mhz.

I would say for an APU to get 1866 mhz, as higher frequencies yield higher latencies, which is bad.

Max is maybe 2133, no more.

 

[cybersheep]

Will more video card ram increase performance?

Depending on your resolution it can greatly affect performance. If you are running 1920x1080 1g Vram should be fine for most games, currently the only games iv seen use more are skyrim and metro

 

[cybersheep]

Depends on the speed of the ram also. As people stated earlier, games only require a certain amount of ram, and the excess is not used.

Most Intel cpus don't require high speeds of ram for gaming, as the cpu doesn't pull in performance from the system memory.

For an APU, which has an integrated graphics card that is almost like a low end discreet, the chip draws from the system memory, therefore having faster ram, will yield better performance.

So basically, for intel cpus, and any cpu other than a APU, go with 1600 mhz.

I would say for an APU to get 1866 mhz, as higher frequencies yield higher latencies, which is bad.

Max is maybe 2133, no more.

How much more performance will you see with an APU with higher speed ram?

 

[RedJaron]

Will more video card ram increase performance?

That really depends on the game and the settings you run it. Higher res textures and higher anti-aliasing settings will consume a lot more RAM.

Also, when in a multi-card setup, the RAM on all cards is cloned. So if you have two cards, each sporting 2GB, the whole setup will act like a 2GB card, just with dual processors. Higher RAM GPUs can be useful if you're running two or three cards for triple display gaming, but even that has limits.

 

[mactronix]

Actually tom's recommends 8 gb for a reason for gaming.


http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778-9.html



Of course you need 64-bit OS.


1 fps - 6+ fps difference in gaming depending on game, seeing how cheap 4gb of ram is, it is a very worthwhile investment considering how it also affects everyday computer performance when doing work or surfing the internet with a lot of tabs.

If as the article was you go looking for these restrictions you will find them. generally it wont be a real world issue.

Mactronix

 

[Limerick]

4 gigs is really suffecient but it is recommended to have 8 gigs in a gaming rig because the amounts of ram required for games is rising. And in all honesty you will see a zero performance increase in games with the extra ram. You may see your system performing faster in general though.