There are people who are freaks of gaming and others who just want to start gaming now. For that reason, they are always curious if their current computer system supports the games that they want to play or not.
The first question that arises in our mind is about how much RAM for gaming is required in 2023, and you will get your answer here. We will discuss every detail about RAM and what could be useful for you if you want to play games on your computer.
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What is RAM?
The full form of RAM is random access memory which is used to store working data and machine code. There are varieties of RAM available in the market nowadays with different brand names and memory sizes. The most common RAM sizes are 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB, commonly purchased regularly from online and offline stores.
Take an example of a game, if it is stored on a hard drive, but continuously recovering data from the HDD even when it is inefficient and slow. Hence, RAM is important since it allows your PC to access data faster, so it is able to move the data needed by the game to the RAM to speed uploading.
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Is 8GB RAM enough for gaming? Here is the short answer
8GB of RAM is the minimal amount of RAM for any gaming computer. With 8GB DDR4 modules, you will be able to play the most popular games in 2023 without any lag, but some hottest titles may not be supported by 8GB of RAM and demand 16GB of DDR4 RAM above.
You also have to avoid multitasking, like working on multiple windows and playing the game at the same time with an 8GB DDR4 RAM size. Nowadays, games like PUBG, GTA 5, Fortnite, Sims 4, Skyrim Special Edition, Call of Duty, and World of Warcraft Shadowlands can be played with 8GB of RAM.
Here is a detailed answer to whether or not 8GB of DDR4 memory is enough:
PC gamers who wish to experience a realistic gaming experience require a lot of memory. A slow response time or glitches on your PC may indicate a need for more RAM. All gamers who want to benefit from faster loading times and to improve their gaming experience should have sufficient RAM for the games they intend to play.
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A RAM upgrade will make your system more responsive, allow it to load games faster, and improve frame rates. You will need a certain amount of memory for gaming, depending on the game you are playing and whether you need to use any other applications simultaneously.
Other computer components also play a role apart from RAM:
In addition to memory, several various components to consider can improve the overall gaming experience. In addition to your operating system, SSD, CPU, and graphics card.
Old days with 4GB RAM:
Looking back at the time, 4GB DDR3 memory was more than enough for the games that we played, but as the systems have become more complex, 4GB RAM does not seem to be enough in 2023. The older games may still work pretty well with this memory size, but it is recommended for newer games to upgrade to at least 8GB to play more trending games and have a better gaming experience. The games like Minecraft, League of Legends, GTA 5, DOTA 2, and Counter strike could be played with 4GB RAM still, but it’s speed and quality of gaming would be seriously compromised. So it’s better to go up and invest something in 8GB or 16GB RAM.
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Modern System Requirements:
Computer system requirements are in serious demand these days with the arrival of new games with modern graphics. You will see that it would require more RAM to run them smoothly and upgrade other computer accessories for a better user experience. When a few years pass by, mostly older technology gets cheaper and easily affordable, so you could upgrade to an older version but at least get a better RAM than your previous memory.
We have observed that modern games look to have more and more memory, and the consumers are suggested to have 16GB DDR4 modules for some trending games.
If you only have 8GB RAM, you should avoid playing high graphics games and modern games that require lots of memory. This may crash your Windows as well if you keep gaming on this limited RAM. Imagine how it will react if a game requires 16GB and you play it on 8GB.
Keep some memory free:
If we compare the windows, say Windows 10 and 11, they use memories of around 1 to 3GB for operating while being idle. For instance, if you have 8GB RAM, you will only be left with 4-6GB for gaming and using other applications. You must keep in mind to have free memory so that your PC runs smoothly and you have extra memory for your windows to run as well.
Close other APPS to save some RAM for gaming.
You also need to understand that RAM is not used only for gaming; there are other things to consider as well which play a vital role in running your PC smoothly while playing heavy games. If they are open, any other apps will have their own space consumed while operating in the background.
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Like if you see a browser taking a space of up to 3GB of your RAM, it will be because that browser would be running with 15 tabs open. Consider closing any app running in the background for a smooth experience in gaming because it can empty a lot of RAM space for you, which could be utilized while gaming and enjoying a perfect gaming experience.
What does RAM do for gaming?
It is a memory space that stores temporary data for rapid access. It can enhance the frame pacing and frame rates when you are playing games. Before choosing any RAM for your computer system for gaming, make sure you check its speed as well as capacity.
In some cases, where it would depend on how much RAM you have in your system, upgrading it to a better RAM capacity would improve your gaming experience. It also increases frames per second—giving you a smooth experience while playing different higher graphics games. As we know that games require a specific amount of memory to run perfectly, it varies from game to game how much RAM it would require to work efficiently.
When you customize your RAM to a better version and capacity, it surely increases the performance of your computer. A lag is usually caused because of a lack of memory (RAM). The memory sticks are easily replaceable in your computer. You could simply pull the old ones and replace them with new upgraded ones.
Memory is the space that your computer uses to store data and programs. Take an example of a game, if it is stored on a hard drive, but continuously recovers data from the HDD even when it is inefficient and slow. For this reason, RAM is important as it allows your PC to locate the data quicker, so that your PC will move the crucial game data it needs to the RAM for a quick loading.
Is 4GB RAM enough for gaming?
If we talk about old games or go back to the past, 4GB RAM was more than enough for gaming, but unfortunately, 4GB doesn’t seem to be enough these days with more complexities in games and more requirements. Older games may still operate pretty well with 4GB RAM, but you should at least upgrade it to 8GB for a better gaming experience and to enjoy more modern games.
Because of low range RAM memory, you may lose an ability to multitask like streaming and using multiple tabs at the same time, or playing games and keeping something for download as well. Or you could sacrifice your desire to play games on ultra-graphics. You could play the same games on this 4GB RAM.
But you may not experience the same comfort and lag free gaming experience as you would with 8GB RAM or 16GB RAM. It also depends upon high FPS and resolution. Many people around the world play games at 1080p and 60fps, and many monitors and LCDs default to this frame rate, so for this reason, 8GB DDR4 RAM is recommended.
Is 8GB RAM enough for gaming and streaming?
Most of the modern games these days require at least 8GB RAM to operate. It is enough to stream and play games at 720p and 1080p without losing sound and video quality. Although with the technological updates each and every year, 16GB of RAM looks to be an ideal for gaming and streaming purposes for now. 8GB may be enough for you for basic gameplay, which has two effects, but once you experience a 16GB memory, there’s no going back.
For the next few years, some billion people will have an 8GB RAM setup or even less, so I would say that it will be enough for you if you don’t want to upgrade. Although I would suggest, you keep persistent storage in an SSD card rather than a rotating disk. As an SSD card lasts longer.
For everyday tasks like web browsing, streaming videos online, and another daily life usage, 8GB RAM will be a minimum of what you would require as the quality of everything is improving with each passing day. Once you have an upgraded RAM, you would not have to worry about additional tabs running on your computer as it won’t disturb your performance, but with 8GB, you may have little issues like lags.
16GB or 32GB RAM for gaming in 2023?
Well, it really depends on the game you want to play and the system you are using. It entirely depends on your preference as well. Most of the games could be played on 16GB RAM, but some require more, which means you may have to upgrade to 32GB RAM.
In 2023, there are a lot of modifications available for PCs, and more RAM storage as well, so many new games won’t work even on 32GB because they require a higher configuration. However, you could play relatively old games quite comfortably with 32GB RAM as it will provide a great user experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 8GB RAM enough for GTA 5?
GTA 5 could be played with 8GB RAM on an i5 system. You have to make sure there are better graphics apart from the RAM, and your graphic card should be better than the NVidia GTX 660 and have a better GPU than GTX 660. When you have all these points, you could consider playing GTA 5 with 8GB RAM, and it will be sufficient for you with all these specifications included.
One should know that 4GB RAM is a minimum requirement of memory to play GTA 5, but you should always keep in mind that it is not the only thing which is required to play this game smoothly, you must have at least 8GB of free space along with a graphic card 2GB, it could either be NVIDIA 9800 GT graphics card or the NVIDIA GTX 660 to run the game smoothly with 4GB DDR4 memory.
How Much RAM Do I Need For Gaming?
Most of the games require 16GB RAM for optimal performance and great FPS speed. When you have this much RAM on your computer, it will allow you to play different games without having any issues like lagging or slowness. When you are planning to start gaming, you must have a minimum of 8GB of RAM in mind to play your games without any turbulence.
Is 32GB of RAM overkill?
The modern people want to play new games and are willing to have strong gaming systems, for the 32GB RAM is the best choice. However, the recommended RAM is 16GB memory capacity for most of the trending games that people play.
But as you know, by improving and upgrading that to a 32GB memory would only enhance more pleasure while gaming as the graphics will be improved and the gaming experience would be much better than 16GB. With this information, we could say that 32GB falls under the category of overkill.
Is 12GB RAM enough for gaming?
To be honest, most games require only 8GB of RAM in this modern age. With this, we may think that 12GB is enough for gaming, but it’s not the case as it is an odd configuration, depending on your motherboard. Some computer systems work better with 8GB RAM than 12GB RAM. You may need to check your motherboard details to make sure that the configuration is optimal.
Final Thoughts:
I have tried to cover each aspect of RAM, and frequently asked questions like is 8GB RAM enough for gaming or not? Suppose you have any query other than the ones mentioned or have an additional question related to the questions already answered. In that case, you could simply ask us, and I’ll try my best to provide you with the best response, which will be purely on real-life experience while using the product.
I would also like to suggest to you at the end that you keep upgrading your RAM to a newer version and faster speed with time. It’s 2023, we see the internet getting faster; the live streaming quality increases every day. Games are improving their visuals and gameplay experience, and for that purpose, you may need high-end components such as a compatible RAM, video card, a high-end processor, and so on for efficient performance and ultimate experience.
A simple answer to your query would be yes, 8GB RAM is sufficient for you to run games but don’t forget to read the whole article to understand the details of why upgradation of RAM is important and why some games won’t support 8GB memory space.