Upgrade to 32GB if I'm hitting 13GB in early 2023?

S

SpongeBob

The Contraceptive Under the Sea
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Jan 15, 2011
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I was looking at how much memory my current system is using in Fortnite Zero Build. I figure with the recent graphics upgrade it might help give me a better idea of what some games are using. Turns out my system was using something like 12-13GB of memory that day. Obviously I still had 20% to spare but would upgrading to 32GB seem like the better option at this point or am I just spending more money for no reason? I can't see video games using less resources obviously.

Also anyone know how much performance I would be missing out on with Cl16 3200Mhz over Cl18 3600Mhz I'm mainly concerned with 1% lows with my Ryzen 5000 series.

Sidenote, does windows 11 handle memory different than windows 10 or is it the same? I tried windows 11 the other day and I just urgh... I'd move to win11 for performance benefits I guess.
 
IF you have a DDR4 system, AND you wanna little bit of future proofin, then get a 32GB kit NOW, as the prices are currently trending way lower than in recent past, and memory requirements are always increasing....but as soon as production starts slowing down, the prices will skyrocket rather quickly...

As for diff in timings, there's not much difference, and the general consensus I have seen is that 3200mhz is a sweet spot for Ryzen, although this could differ on any given rig...

As for memory management overall, there's not much diff in 10 to 11, however, 11 will be getting the direct storage API's soon, and before 10 IIRC, so if you run nvme drives, 11 MIGHT give you some performance improvements, but the games themselves have to be coded to take advantage of it also...
 
I can't even imagine using just 16 gigs of system memory in 2023 if you actually use your computer to do more than open a few tabs and play the occasional game. I had 32 gigs all the way back in 2016 and use the crap out of it as most time when I'm playing games I'm using well over 20 gigs of total system memory.
 
Well gaming, tabs open, listening to twitch music when gaming windows 11 on Sunday I was using 11.3gb. So if you were working in CAD or something. But I don't think my experience would be a whole lot better doubling it. I think I'm going to wait a while I just returned a wonky 32gb kit.
 
I do wonder if there isn't (at least one windows) 2 variable going on, to see if 16 is enough for you

memory in use
(compressed)

You will always have some part compressed has it can for something ended up faster, but wouldn't the OS decide to favorise compression to save memory when you have less and get closer to the max and would it not slow the system down even if you see a number below 15.5 meaning that in theory it could use pagefile just when it is better than ram, has it compress harder and more of what goes into ram ?

Maybe would you had 32 gig, instead of seeing 11.3 it would be at 13 with less compression going on
 
yeah 32 for a while, a couple games are pushing into 64 territory
 
SpongeBob said:
How and which games are using that much ram? Are you hosting a server and playing?
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When I say 32 I mean using more than 16. I multitask game/web browse and never close anything but there are a couple new games that use more than 32. You can wait until you buy one like that. My new build will be 64.
 
Mega6 said:
When I say 32 I mean using more than 16. I multitask game/web browse and never close anything but there are a couple new games that use more than 32. You can wait until you buy one like that. My new build will be 64.
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No single game is going to use more than 32GB, at least without mods - listing said games/mods would help beyond ultra niche territory.
The biggest game to date is Hogwarts Legacy, and by itself can use upwards of 20GB RAM, but that is well below 32GB for a single game and OS instance.
 
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This is just for my own insanity cause I'm having a hard time finding an answer. If you say have 2 ram modules 2x16gb for example. When windows loads does the OS or a program does it get spread around or does it mostly or all get used on 1 module before the other. Same goes for 4 modules. Does the OS or program get spread to all 4? I've been trying to understand ram a bit more as of late, I never paid much attention to it before since tweaking it felt boring.
 
Yeah, it depends. Look up interleaving though. Ideally, you do want it pretty mixed up, but you're at the mercy of the memory controller and the address lines and what not.
 
SpongeBob said:
This is just for my own insanity cause I'm having a hard time finding an answer. If you say have 2 ram modules 2x16gb for example. When windows loads does the OS or a program does it get spread around or does it mostly or all get used on 1 module before the other. Same goes for 4 modules. Does the OS or program get spread to all 4? I've been trying to understand ram a bit more as of late, I never paid much attention to it before since tweaking it felt boring.
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My "feeling" it is the memory controller that manage that level of details of where the ram used by the OS, which asked it for ram addressing and if your are in dual channel mode it has no choice to spread the load has it come.

BingGPT say:
Linux does not ask for a specific stick of RAM to the memory controller. Instead, it treats all RAM as a global single RAM pool1. The Direct Memory Access (DMA) controller transfers data only when the CPU performs operations that do not use the system buses
The memory controller is responsible for managing the memory and it is connected to the RAM through a series of wires known as a “memory bus” . The operating system (OS) manages primary memory and moves processes back and forth between main memory and disk during execution 1. Memory management keeps track of each and every memory location, regardless of either it is allocated to some process or it is free
 
Being of an age that every byte was precious, I've always been the "If I don't need it, shut it down or strip it out!" type. Never understood the "Two hundred Tabs open Internet browser" Alpha male types that exist.
 
daglesj said:
Being of an age that every byte was precious, I've always been the "If I don't need it, shut it down or strip it out!" type. Never understood the "Two hundred Tabs open Internet browser" Alpha male types that exist.
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Now I'm the same. I swear browsers are finicky sometimes anyway. For me it's getting rid of the clutter. Feels good man just close that browser and move on.

Anyone else kinda feel like windows 10/11 in 2023 with 32gb of ram is starting to feel like the ideal amount? 16GB is fine but I kinda feel like we're getting there or maybe we will be with next gen games coming. Running 2042 or Fortnite with a browser up playing music from Twitch my system shows I'm using around 12-14GB.
 
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AMD 5900x, 3070, ASUS 570 MB, I was running 32 gig but mismatched sticks so couldn't get full speed. Just got a nice used matched set on the H of 4x16 so Why Not? Not sure if I will have the using 4 slots problem but even if I have back down to two I will at least be able to run them at rated speed. The old more is better attitude won't leave me alone.
 
32GB prices are pretty sweet now and ram demands have been going up since computers were invented so it's either get it now or later. The difference is when getting it now, you won't feel a crunch the the software bloats on you while others will and then will have to upgrade while you can stay on your platform. Unless you want to upgrade, then just leave it as is.

16GB became the new 8GB and now 32GB will become the new 16GB. And as the world turns...
 
If you have to leave Outlook or a couple browsers open and want to switch to a game while waiting on something coming in you will generally find that 16GB getting eaten into pretty quickly. It's not even just 100 open tabs in the background at this point - Chrome and Teams are memory hungry and getting worse. I have 16GB in one of my laptops (soldered, no expansion slots) and have seen applications close while just using a browser thanks to several mandatory security programs running in the background. I've gotten to the point that for basic desktop PCs I've been recommending and rolling out 12GB-16GB as baseline instead of 8GB, and for anything needing more intensive usage going with 32GB.
 
As many have said, YUP!
Just upgraded my awesome and very expensive Samsung B-die 2x8 3200CL14 kit to a 32 2x16 3600CL16 kit because I know prices will jump for DDR4 soon and in FS2020 VR I know already there is a bump for higher RAM in my user case, and ya trends don't stop. Most every AM5 board is paired with 32GB minimum. Get with the times us old skin flutes ya!
 
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