16GB still overkill for modern games?

[BD2003]

On Win 7, used for nothing but gaming, no applications running in the background or anything....is there anything out there pushing past 8GB yet?

 

[Craig234]

Not that I've heard of, but I run out of 4GB with world of tanks and a browser open after hours.

 

[Zeze]

Definitely overkill. Even 8gb is more than plenty.

But RAM is so god damn cheap nowadays, another 8gb is like what, $30?

Actual performance is at CPU and GPU (and GPU RAM) anyway.

 

[Rifter]

Considering very few games even have true 64 bit engines you could make a argument anything over 4 GB is overkill let alone 16GB.

 

[PowerYoga]

Definitely overkill. Even 8gb is more than plenty.

But RAM is so god damn cheap nowadays, another 8gb is like what, $30?

Actual performance is at CPU and GPU (and GPU RAM) anyway.

ddr3 prices are actually going up now, unfortunately.

 

[tidy]

.

 

[alcoholbob]

Maybe in a few years more RAM will be needed as multiplat games are designed for next gen consoles that have gigs of memory. Won't hurt to have 16GB.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Definitely overkill. Even 8gb is more than plenty.

But RAM is so god damn cheap nowadays, another 8gb is like what, $30?

Actual performance is at CPU and GPU (and GPU RAM) anyway.

Might want to take a peek at your pricecharts chief - I did and

 

[Dankk]

Do you know why?

http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1aoquu/psa_upgrade_your_ram_asap/

I work at a major computer parts wholesaler in my city, and I've been hearing some nasty news coming down the pipe about RAM prices. They're going up. Fast.

Basically, there are a few factors that contribute to this:

1. When windows 8 was launched, all the major manufacturers started stockpiling. Windows 8 wasn't as successful as everyone wished it was, so everyone stopped production and started clearing out stock. That was a few months ago. Now, there still is little production and stocks are getting low, therefore prices up.
2. Copy/paste point 1 with AMD's Piledriver.
3. The mobile and tablet market are taking off, so a lot of focus has been shifted from desktops to making chips for tiny little mobile devices.
4. Chinese New Year. Those son o' bitches party for a freakin' month. No one goes to work, nothing gets made. Availability falls, and prices rise.

When we ordered a bunch of Kingston 4GB sticks back in October, they were about $16 CAD. Now we pay double that. Buy up your RAM quick if you need an upgrade in the immediate future.

 

[Aikouka]

I had issues with memory-munching programs like web browsers putting me really close to my 8GB "max". So, I just said screw it and upgrade to 32GB, and now I pretty much never have to worry. I am tempted to upgrade to Haswell, and it would certainly be a bummer if RAM prices grew a lot by then. I could buy some RAM now and just toss it in my server for the time being.

 

[blurredvision]

I originally had 8GB in my machine, then upgrade to 16GB because RAM was cheap. I then upgraded to 32GB back in December, mainly because I've been testing quite a bit for work and have the need for multiple Server 2012 VMs for my test lab. Other than that, I don't need more than 8GB, would never use it.

Looking at prices, I paid $164 for 4x8GB. Looking at the same RAM now, 3 months later, it's at $208.

 

[Rinaun]

I originally had 8GB in my machine, then upgrade to 16GB because RAM was cheap. I then upgraded to 32GB back in December, mainly because I've been testing quite a bit for work and have the need for multiple Server 2012 VMs for my test lab. Other than that, I don't need more than 8GB, would never use it.

Looking at prices, I paid $164 for 4x8GB. Looking at the same RAM now, 3 months later, it's at $208.

Yup. I bought 16gb for 75$ in 2011, now it's almost 110$ for the same amount. I don't regret going 16gb at all, but on the other hand I've never used all 16gb for gaming. I typically have windows open while I game so the additional RAM makes everything super responsive and allows me to avoid closing apps before I game. If you have the extra cash and plan on keeping your computer for 2+ years from now or do any form of multitasking while gaming, I'd suggest getting 16gb. Waiting is only going to make it more expensive if you need it in the long run!

 

[Wyndru]

I use about 10 gb for my minecraft servers, running a few maps at a time, but no single game is taxing more than 3-4gb that I've seen.

 

[BD2003]

Sounds like 8GB will do then, thanks guys.

 

[gorcorps]

When I had 8gigs I was even able to turn windows page file off completely without any issues. I've since upgraded to 32gig mostly just because it was a hell of a deal (can't beat $100) and the only way I know it's in there is because I installed it myself. No noticeable difference in anything I normally run.

 

[Tweak155]

I only "needed" (still don't need that much) 8gb but wanted to fill all four ram slots for dual channel ram. Then I thought if I ever wanted to upgrade later I couldn't just replace 2 sticks. So I said the heck with it and bought 4x4gb for $70. I'll be set for a long, long time to come (assuming bus speeds don't increase drastically in the next 5 years - that is one upgrade I find worth going for).

 

[aaksheytalwar]

As soon as 64bit games start coming in, 8gb will become the bare minimum. By 2014 to remain comfortable the norm will easily be at least 32gb ram.

 

[Tweak155]

As soon as 64bit games start coming in, 8gb will become the bare minimum. By 2014 to remain comfortable the norm will easily be at least 32gb ram.

Lol. Someone needs their coffee!

 

[Barfo]

ddr3 prices are actually going up now, unfortunately.

Good to know I'm set for the next 3 years.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

I guarantee my statement. By 2014 8gb would be the minimum requirement for intensive games like witcher 3 and bf4. 16gb would be recommended. And to stay comfortable with multitasking and quick responsiveness, you will need 32gb. This change will happen sometime between 2013 end and late 2014.

 

[Tweak155]

I guarantee my statement. By 2014 8gb would be the minimum requirement for intensive games like witcher 3 and bf4. 16gb would be recommended. And to stay comfortable with multitasking and quick responsiveness, you will need 32gb. This change will happen sometime between 2013 end and late 2014.

Quoting so it can't be changed. I hope I remember to come back to this thread in 2014 but I likely wont lol.

They'd be losing a whole slew of the market. A lot (majority?) of people that play BF3 aren't playing with the rigs we play with. You can increase demand via in-game settings from 4gb to 8gb for example on one version of the game (even that must be pretty dang hard), but from 4gb to 32gb? Maybe I'm just not seeing it.

Either way I wouldn't mind eating my words. Would be interesting what a game would be like that needs 16gb.

 

[TheSlamma]

The thing I like about having 16GB in my Win7 X64 is that my page file never gets used at all.. Bring up Performance monitor during any game and it's still flat-lined. I don't really like to turn it off as I have seen programs in the past throw a fit if it was not there (even if it didn't use it) So now with 16GB it's not a worry.

 

[Wyndru]

The thing I like about having 16GB in my Win7 X64 is that my page file never gets used at all.. Bring up Performance monitor during any game and it's still flat-lined. I don't really like to turn it off as I have seen programs in the past throw a fit if it was not there (even if it didn't use it) So now with 16GB it's not a worry.

Slightly off topic question, is it required to adjust the page file settings in Windows7 (like we did in XP) or does it handle this on it's own?

(i.e. if you have a ton of memory to spare, does it automatically prioritize the memory over the pagefile, or do you have to disable the pagefile to force it?).

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Bf3 needs 8gb to be maxed out. It stutters a bit with 4gb. Bf4 will require at least 12-16 but nobody buys 12, so we assume 16. Not 32gb. 32gb then will be the 16gb of now. Allowing you to open dozens of chrome tabs, a few additional apps, bf4 and still be silky smooth. That will require 24-32gb so we assume 32gb. Bf4 should run fine with 16gb. But games which release in end of 2014 will need at least 16gb to be maxed out, the top 10% intensive games that is. This is without multitasking or any buffer. That is where 32gb comes in.

As a simple run, every 2-3 years the amount of ram needed at least doubles. 8gb became the norm in 2010 or so. Time for 16gb is now. 16gb will become required by 2013/2014 in some game or the other.

Max Payne 3 already recommended 16gb for ultra high end setups.

 

[gorcorps]

I guarantee my statement. By 2014 8gb would be the minimum requirement for intensive games like witcher 3 and bf4. 16gb would be recommended. And to stay comfortable with multitasking and quick responsiveness, you will need 32gb. This change will happen sometime between 2013 end and late 2014.

There was even a 64bit version of Windows XP, and we're still waiting for games to take advantage of it. There has now been at least four Windows OSes with 64bit, and now all of a sudden you think the ram requirements are going to quadruple in a year?