Question Worth it to go from 8gb > 16gb RAM?

Inquisition8

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Nov 15, 2018
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I have an older system, but a goodie. i7 4770k, 8gb DDR3 800, 1TB SSD, 1660 Super. I'm hoping to build a new system around the end of this year, but in the interim would I see reasonable boost from 8 > 16GB? It's kind of cheap. I do light gaming (mainly D2R), but I will have 20-30 Chrome tabs open at a time for some analysis work I do.
 

Inquisition8

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Nov 15, 2018
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Do you ever peg out your RAM in normal use? That's your answer.
I notice a slowdown, but not 100% usage. This is a broader question. Most slowdowns I've noticed are from "too many" Chrome tabs, but this is necessary for some of what I do. Certain we apps (statistical analysis for example) are also massive resource hogs.
 

Tech Junky

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Jan 27, 2022
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16GB will speed up / stabilize Chrome.

windows as a rule of thumb reserves 25% of the available RAM on boot
Chrome though bloats considerably with RAM use. I typically start with 16GB as a baseline when building systems. Chrome though in some releases chewed through it with not looking back and tabs crashing / browser closing. I upped it to 32GB for ~$80 off Amazon and don't have those issues anymore but, more recent releases have reigned in the resources from Chrome considerably. With several tabs open right now it's hovering in the 6GB range where before the updates sometimes it would balloon to 16-20GB for some reason.

If you do a Shift + Esc you can kill off demanding tabs that aren't in use
1643818408200.png

RAM use also depends on what types of pages you're loading. Scrolling through the processes from the above will give you an idea as to what's causing the RAM to be consumed.
 

Insert_Nickname

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May 6, 2012
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More RAM is always better.

I'd say 8GB is minimum these days, and since you specifically mention chrome I see no reason not to go 16GB if you can afford it.
 

aigomorla

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When building a new PC, i recommend future proofing and going 32gb+ depending on the amount of Cores your future PC will have.
I have seen some games Peg easily at 12GB of Ram... but since you mentioned light gaming, i guess this might not apply, but still, having a bit more is always better.
 

Insert_Nickname

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May 6, 2012
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When building a new PC, i recommend future proofing and going 32gb+ depending on the amount of Cores your future PC will have.

We're talking a DDR3 system, so you will not be able to reuse memory for a new PC. So I'd not overspend, but 16GB is perfectly reasonable. 32 is a bit overkill for a 4770K. Better to save that money for a real upgrade eventually.
 

aigomorla

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We're talking a DDR3 system, so you will not be able to reuse memory for a new PC. So I'd not overspend, but 16GB is perfectly reasonable. 32 is a bit overkill for a 4770K. Better to save that money for a real upgrade eventually.

Ahh yeah, but he said he was going to upgrade soon...
So on his new system upgrade i was recommending he go past 16gb and jump onto 32gb+
As for the DDR3, system, i wouldn't invest in anymore on it unless he intends to recycle it for something else.
Its done and finished, any additional funds would not merit anything and best to be sidepool'd for the new system.
I really do not think any ram ugprade at this point will benefit him at all.
Diablo 2 Resurection, can use 8GB+ of ram, however, an additional 8 gigs isn't very cost effective.
Its not a complex game like Amazon's New World.

20-30 google tabs is wash on 8gb ram... here i have 62 tabs open and you can see the mem usage.

Capture.JPG

Is the OP going to have 20-30tabs open and play D2R at the same time? Well, then i would hurry and go for that system upgrade, as the core parts are not that overpriced... *just avoid newegg*

My advice ultimately is this:
A larger SSD upgrade would be preferred, or even a nVME with a PCI-E card adapter if he has the pci-e ports available, or just a large 2TB SATA SSD, to bring with him on the next build as a secondary drive for the new system.

Whatever he spends i would look at the possibility to bring to his new system.
 
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Charlie98

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Nov 6, 2011
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As for the DDR3, system, i wouldn't invest in anymore on it unless he intends to recycle it for something else.
Its done and finished, any additional funds would not merit anything and best to be sidepool'd for the new system.
I really do not think any ram ugprade at this point will benefit him at all.

That was my thought as well. Unless he is really struggling with tapped out RAM, I wouldn't spend a penny on it. I speak from experience... I just retired one Sandy Bridge system, and combined the components to limp the other along until it's Time comes... but, again, I wouldn't spend anything to prop it up, let alone 'upgrade' it. Just me.
 

Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
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I agree, more RAM is needed, and should be a pretty inexpensive upgrade for this system.