I'm building my first PC from scratch after having only used pre-built ones before, and I'm unsure about how much RAM I should get. I'm going for a mid-range setup with a Ryzen 5 7600 processor and an RX 7600 graphics card. I mainly want to run emulators like Dolphin and PCSX2, do some programming, and play last-gen and indie games, which I believe only need around 16GB of RAM. However, I've been hearing that 16GB might soon be the minimum requirement for many tasks, and I'm wondering if I should invest in 32GB now to future-proof my build. Any advice?
5 Answers
For your first build, I'd say 16GB is really good and way more cost-effective with RAM prices these days. If you find yourself with some extra money, consider putting that towards a better graphics card instead—it's going to give you better performance than just adding RAM.
Last year, I went with 32GB and I'm glad I did—originally, I wanted 64GB! I've learned that while it can go above 16GB, you can usually manage under 16GB if you need to. Plus, last year's prices for DDR5 RAM were great—$90 for 32GB!
If you're into multitasking and running multiple applications at once, I would recommend going for 32GB. Personally, I had to upgrade to 32GB since 16GB wasn’t cutting it for me. But if you're not planning to multitask heavily, 16GB should still do the job just fine.
It's definitely better to get 32GB, but if you’re on a budget, you could start with one 16GB stick and then add another later. That way, you'll still benefit from dual-channel RAM when you expand.
Get 16GB for sure! Anyone suggesting 32GB without understanding your needs probably didn't read your full message. From your description, 16GB is sufficient.
Related Questions
Lenovo Thinkpad Stuck In Update Loop Install FilterDriverU2_Reload