Is 4 GB of RAM normal? How much RAM do you really need for modern games?

Good time everyone Let's talk about how much RAM is needed for a gaming computer, how much is normal and how much should be the minimum. So look, today it’s 2016 (and your year may be different, well, at the time of reading), and it’s not at all the time when 4 gigs of Opera was enough for everything. What am I talking about? Well, I’m talking about a very ancient time, when the Pentium 4 reigned. Although I have gone somewhat far into the past..

Well, today a gaming computer should have at least 8 gigs random access memory. It doesn’t matter whether it will be DDR3, DDR4 or even DDR2; this type of memory, if I’m not mistaken, is only available on the 775 socket. By the way, top processors on socket 775 can no longer handle all modern games...

But when I wrote 8 gigs, I meant only 64-bit Windows, because in 32-bit, a program, including a game, cannot take more than 2 gigs of Opera. Well, that's how Windows works. And 32-bit Windows will not see more than 3.5 gigabytes, this is also very important

So, look, you can also read on the Internet that you can play on 4 gigs of RAM. I'm not saying that this is not true, but it's just that with this amount of RAM the swap file will also be used. No, not for the game, but for background programs, well, although it can also be used for games. As a result, you will experience slowdowns, if not in the game, then later in running programs. But I think you understand that with 4 gigs you won’t be able to play all modern games easily.

The fact is that users do not quite correctly estimate how much RAM a program or game consumes. It happens that a game requires 4 gigs of Opera, but in the task manager you see that it uses only 3 gigs or even less. This does not mean that the game actually needs less RAM, it’s just that Windows took some of the data and threw it into the swap file, because it knows better how to manage the RAM. Windows 10 is generally very well optimized in terms of memory.

In order for modern games to work more or less normally, you need, as I already wrote, at least 8 gigs of memory. If you have 4 gigs, then some games may work fine, but not all, that's for sure. Well, that is, there may be glitches and to be sure, I advise you to have exactly 8 gigs. It's best to have 16 gigs. This will be enough for the future, well, it will definitely be enough for three years.

By the way, I recommend DDR4 memory, it is not only faster, but the levels are bigger size than DDR3. You can take one DDR4 stick for 16 gigs, although there is still such a jamb. In general, look, for a gaming computer this is NOT ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT, but if possible, then it is better for the memory to work in multi-channel mode. That is, if you are going to install 8 gigs, then it is better that there are two 4 gig strips, one strip for one channel and another for the other. But, as you understand, this is not entirely economical in the sense that the RAM slot will not be occupied to its full potential, so to speak.

Also, an SSD is not particularly important for gaming. Yes, if you have an SSD, the game will load faster, the levels in it will also load faster, and the textures will load faster. All this is good, but it will affect the game itself, that is, the FPS minimally, if at all. Much better than a lot of RAM

Let's go back to the RAM, why do I recommend 8 gigs, or even 16? Modern games demand more and more. Windows itself uses RAM not only sparingly but also wisely: the more it is, the less savings, well, I think this is logical. But what happens to idle RAM? It is used for caching (well, unless it is disabled, of course). Everything possible is cached, including game data. What is this all for? This is all to ensure that the processor is occupied only with the game, so that it is minimally distracted by anything, so that there are no FPS drawdowns due to reading or writing some files. All this will be cached. In general, a lot of things are cached, not just files.

Therefore, to summarize, we can say that for gaming computer in 2016, even in the future 2017, it is best to have 16 gigs of opera installed. The minimum, as I already wrote, is 8. Well, I don’t even know 4 gigs, although some games will work, but of course it will all be at a low resolution, or maybe at a medium one. But you won’t be able to overclock particularly on 4 gigs. You should also take into account that Windows itself also wants RAM. In general, the ideal is 16 gigs

Better 16 gigs than 8 gigs + SSD. It's my opinion. The more RAM, the more Windows optimizes everything so that everything opens quickly and there are no glitches.

Well, guys, that's all, I hope that everything was clear to you here. Good luck and good mood

Generally quantity required memory determined by the tasks you are going to solve using a computer.

For example:

• for browsing the Internet and working in office programs 2 GB is enough;
• more demanding programs, games on medium and maximum settings quality - 4 GB;
• retouch photos 4 GB;
• for the newest games at maximum quality settings and very memory-demanding programs - 8 GB;
• work professionally in Photoshop at least 8 GB;
• for rendering it is a floating figure. For those who are professional renderers, it costs 22 gigs on Windows Ultimate. But in general you can render with both 4 and 8 - depending on the size of the scene. But still, than more topics better. Moreover, it is the volume that is important; the memory frequency does not play a special role.

What happens if there is not enough RAM?

So far, the total amount of RAM that is used by the operating system and running programs, less than installed, the system operates at full capacity. If there is not enough RAM, the system starts using HDD as a lack of memory and then there is a sharp decrease in the speed of the system.

If the amount of data does not fit in RAM, then operating system or programs will be forced to use virtual memory for temporary storage. This involves using a page file that is located on the hard drive. The operating speed of a hard drive is several times slower than RAM. That's why the computer will start to slow down a lot.

The more RAM, the better. Then all calculations will be carried out at lightning speed and calls to the hard drive will be minimal. But there are still limitations.

The main components that affect the speed of a computer are clock frequency system bus, processor, video card, RAM, hard drive and even the presence free space On him. It is the combination of these devices that determines the performance of the system as a whole. If at least one of them is slow, then no matter how much you increase the performance of other modules, the computer will still slow down.

The amount and characteristics of RAM installed in the system directly affect the speed of the computer.

used for temporary storage of data, for correct operation launched on this moment processes, programs and applications. It serves as a buffer between central processor and a hard drive.

How much memory can you put in a computer?

The amount of memory that can be installed in a computer depends on the number of slots motherboard and operating system. For example, 32-bit Windows only sees 3.2 GB, even if you set it to 4 GB.

64-bit Windows 7 versions do not experience such problems:

• Home Basic supports up to 8 GB.
• Home extended up to 16 GB.
• Professional, Enterprise, Maximum up to 192 GB of memory.

How much does RAM cost?

Here are the prices for some RAM modules in the Sotmarket online store.

RAM modules for laptop

• Kingston KVR1333D3S9/4G DDR3 4GB SO-DIMM - RUB 1,910.
• Kingston KVR16S11/8 DDR3 8GB SO-DIMM - RUB 3,750.
• Corsair CMSA16GX3M2A1600C11 DDR3 16GB SO-DIMM - RUB 8,100.

RAM modules with cooling system

• Kingston KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX DDR3 4GB DIMM - RUB 2,340.
• Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9/8G DDR3 8GB DIMM - RUB 4,260.
• Corsair CML16GX3M2A1600C9 DDR3 16GB DIMM - RUB 6,570.
• Kingston KHX18C10AT3K4/32X DDR3 32GB DIMM - RUB 12,210.
• Corsair CMX64GX3M8A1333C9 DDR3 64GB DIMM - RUB 26,120.

How much RAM is needed for modern games? This question is now being asked by an increasing number of users, but it is understandable, because previously the gaming industry was not as developed as it is now. With the release of new shooters (and not only), hardware requirements are inexorably growing, and here the question arises by itself: is it the reluctance of developers to properly optimize applications, or is there a real need to increase system requirements every year?

Whatever it may be, it is necessary to start from what we have, and we have on currently games whose system requirements say “requires 4–8 GB of RAM.” Today we’ll check whether it really is so and how much RAM is needed. This article in no way claims to be objective, since the number of applications for which tests will be carried out is small. But this article will provide some “food” for thought, so to speak.

A little theory...

As you know, a 32-bit OS (x86) in theory can use no more than 4 GB (2 to the power of 32) of RAM. In practice, taking into account the peculiarities of device addressing, it will be even less - about 3.5 GB. And this is not a problem specifically with Windows, it’s just how the x86 architecture works. Let's assume that we have Windows 7 installed, that is, at least 800 MB of RAM is already occupied by the system (in the case of the 32-bit version). Total remains 2.7 GB free memory. But there is also such a thing as “virtual address space,” which in 32-bit Windows is limited to 2 GB.

In other words, each application running in a 32-bit environment cannot consume more than 2 Gigabytes of RAM (that is, I mean that the majority of applications for stable operation, as a rule, no more is required).

In order to get around this limitation, Intel Physical Address Extensions (PAE) technology, which supports 36-bit addressing, was introduced since the days of Windows XP. It was supposed to increase the memory threshold allocated to each individual application from 2 to 4 GB, which in itself is not bad. However, the technology was never implemented properly, and problems arose with drivers; and also, as it turned out, some applications developed in a 32-bit environment worked very glitchy in a 36-bit environment.

But there are still 64-bit OSes. For example, the same Windows 7 with this bit capacity immediately after loading takes up not 800 MB, but already about 1 GB of RAM. However, the theoretical amount of memory increases to cosmic values ​​(2 to the power of 64), which in reality, even for top-end computers, are limited to 64 GB of RAM. Naturally, with the increased total amount of RAM, the virtual address space has also increased. At 64- bit systems Each application can occupy an arbitrarily large amount of memory.

But if we just take and run a 32-bit application in a 64-bit environment, then the 2 GB threshold will not go away. And even at the moment, “native” 64-bit games are far from the majority. Therefore, increasing this threshold to 4 GB requires applications that support the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE flag(meaning "larger address space"). Please note that using this flag in a 32-bit environment will only allow you to get 3 GB of address space; if you want more, you need Windows 64 bit. It's only a matter of time before the number of 32-bit copies of Windows, downloaded by users around the world will become so small that they can be neglected when developing games. Well, for now, developers are forced, at best, to make two versions of the game application, for 32 and 64 bit systems, respectively.

“At best” - because many don’t even do this, because it’s too expensive, but release the game as a 32-bit application, or, at the most, with support for the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE key. And these are the majority. From all of the above, it turns out that modern games do not consume more than 4 GB, with rare exceptions. To begin with, I will give an example of several tests from 2009, taken from the authoritative resource thg.ru. Yes, although the tests are old, they are based on some very power-hungry games, even by today's standards (Crysis, GTA4, FarCry2, Left4Dead).

As you can see, in most tests the difference between three and six gigabytes of RAM affects the amount of FPS very little, more precisely, it does not affect it at all, except for GTA 4, in which, with an increase from 3 to 6 GB, the FPS increased by 5 frames. That is, 3 GB of RAM is enough, despite the fact that (as previously mentioned) about 1 GB is consumed by the Windows 7 x64 OS itself. The total remains around 2 GB of free RAM. In other words, it turns out that the games of that time did not consume more than this amount, but rather even less, something around 1–1.5 GB maximum, no matter how much anyone said.

Independent tests

I was not too lazy and decided to arrange my tests with blackjack on the games that were at hand, so to speak. These were: ETS2, STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl, TDU2, Car mechanic simulator 2015 and Watch dogs. My computer has exactly 4 GB of RAM. And this is what happened in the end:

The most “voracious” was Watch dogs, which took over as much as 2.15 GB and this at high graphics settings with a screen resolution of 1680x1050 pixels. IN Full resolution HD with ultra settings, the need for RAM will increase to 2.5–2.8 GB maximum. It turns out that 4 GB is enough so that nothing slows down, and this is significantly less than what the developers stated system requirements(6–8 GB) for specifically Watch dogs, for example.

Perhaps in the next two years, a single game will need 4 GB of RAM, that is, it will already be necessary to have 6 GB of RAM with you so that nothing slows down. It seems to me that the situation with overestimation of system requirements is a general trend that will not disappear soon. The developers seem to say: “dude, this is how much RAM you need,” thereby saving themselves from reproaches about poor performance from users. But now you and I know that much less is needed 😉

P.S.: I recommend watching a video on the topic. By the way, the author of the video after reboot Windows 7 x64 takes up as much as 1.5 GB, I think this is due to the numerous services and applications hanging in the background, which, apparently, are loaded automatically when the system starts. For me, I repeat, this value fluctuated around 1 GB.

Come on, don't make eyes like that. Don't brush this article aside for YouTube videos. Together we will find out. I'm talking about the less obvious issue of using random access memory, also known as random access memory or RAM. Specifically, I'll focus on two key issues: Is the type of memory important and how much is required. Well, you understand. For games. Fortunately, this topic easily lends itself to simple and accessible generalizations, which pathologically lazy journalists love so much. However, this is good for you too, since everything will not be too confusing and we will answer the most thorough questions. Prices are indicated in dollars. If you are too lazy to read the entire text, then we will answer like this:

• 16 GB RAM is only $40 more expensive than 8 GB.
• If you're building a new PC, go for 16 GB. The exact characteristics are not very important, the main thing is compatibility.
• If you already have a solid build but less than 16GB of memory, consider upgrading, but keep in mind the gradual transition from DDR3 to DDR4 for the new Skylake (Intel) and Zen (AMD) processors.
• In the unlikely event that you only have 4GB, upgrade to at least 8GB immediately.

Things to remember

In most cases, when it comes to PC performance, what you absolutely need and what will make your computer more enjoyable in general and enhance your gaming enjoyment in particular are not the same thing.

There is a minimum, which is basically enough, but it constantly makes you nervous. And there is a value, exceeding which does not give a tangible return. It is this value that I am interested in.

Think about it this way. Technically, you can play with 4GB of RAM, but levels will take a frustratingly long time to load and you'll be left with headaches due to lag when switching apps and overall system sluggishness. On the other hand, if there are theoretical situations where more than, say, 16 GB of memory will provide a real benefit, then they are so rare that they can be safely ignored.

The main thing is volume

Why does the amount of memory affect performance mainly compared to its frequency?

The answer is quite simple. Each running application takes up a certain amount of memory. Whether it's a browser tab or a fancy game, their data has to live somewhere. There are three places for this: the processor cache (not very large, and the data is mostly duplicated in RAM), RAM and hard drive.

Programs that are not running even in the background can quietly remain dormant on the hard drive. But all running applications must fit entirely in memory in order for them to be accessed. fast access, because RAM is many times faster hard drive, even if we are talking about SSD.

When space in RAM runs out, the operating system begins to cache data on the hard drive, in the so-called “swap file.” Typical example This case involves using several programs and switching between their windows. When RAM runs out, the system will partially or completely transfer the minimized application to disk. Switching back will cause a long delay between returning to memory minimized application and moving the previous one to disk.

What about games?

In theory, when the program is already working, everything is fine. The download may take a while, but once the memory space is freed up, everything is fine, right? And most games will fit freely in 8 GB, right?

Firstly, I don’t really like this approach, even if it’s true. I'm quite lazy, so I prefer to keep everything running until I somehow need it. Right now my task manager is showing almost 7 GB used memory. This is mainly thanks to 50 open tabs, Skype and antivirus. There's also Photoshop with a bunch of extraordinarily large images for one of the articles. And a little bit more. Is this normal?

Now I have 16 GB of memory (I use an old computer on LGA1155 to replace the broken one on LGA2011), and I had 8. If I needed to run the game without closing windows, I had to sacrifice something. Fallout 4 shows 2.7 GB in the task manager, which is not the most memory-intensive game.

But even if the game finds a place for itself, you need to leave a little more for background processes and for additional needs of the game itself. Every time you exceed the available capacity and access the swap file, everything starts to work in jerks. In the case of games that load open world on the fly instead of traditionally loading levels, this can be quite frustrating.

Memory management in Windows

Things get even more complicated when you consider how Windows manages memory. The system has physical memory, virtual memory, used memory, cached memory, paged and non-paged pool. I don’t really want to go into details of all the nuances, so I’ll explain everything, sacrificing the accuracy of the definitions, but without inflating the article to prohibitive proportions.

A game or application requires a certain amount of physical memory. You will see this number in the task manager next to a specific process. But Windows is able to cache additional application data, freeing up a decent amount of memory. This data becomes part of the shared cached memory, again visible in the task manager.

Simply put, the more Windows data will cache in memory, the fewer disk accesses there will be and the faster the computer as a whole will work. How this applies in detail to each specific game, I won’t say for sure.

Is it possible to refrain from upgrading?

It should be emphasized that everything I said does not apply to exotic situations when some mods for Skyrim themselves eat up 8 GB. This doesn't even get into the fact that newer games like Star Wars Battlefront list 8GB RAM as their minimum requirement.

In the same way, you can challenge my situation with an abundance of tasks. Some will say that it doesn’t come close to my 10 GB, and in general, it costs nothing to close several tabs in Chrome. And these are normal arguments. Only here's the thing. The difference between a cheap 8GB DDR3 kit and a cheap 16GB kit is about $40, and it's about the same for the expensive kits. So now the question for you is: can you hold off on 16GB RAM?

Perhaps the minimum 8 GB requirements for Star Wars Battlefront clearly paints a picture of the near future?

The memory capacity can be increased without getting rid of the old one. The only exception would be the transition from DDR3 to DDR4 for new processors. But even in the worst-case scenario, it will cost an additional $40. So I don't see what to think about here. But a jump to 32 GB at once, especially if taken in two modules, will already significantly lighten the wallet, without giving a noticeable increase in performance.

Why speed doesn't matter

Wait, that's not all - I didn't say about detailed characteristics memory. Frequency, timings and all that. I didn't say it because it's not important. The main thing is compatibility and volume. Last years this is true even for overclocking. Previously, during processor overclocking system bus, memory could give at least a modest increase. But today, when there are multipliers and dividers, it either definitely does not solve anything (in unlocked chips), or most likely does not solve anything (the latest Intel Skylake with overclocking at base frequency).

I admit that I may have missed some nuances regarding the latest Skylake, and perhaps I will cover them in the future if you are interested. But in general cases Memory speed characteristics are insignificant on modern platforms.

In any case, my main argument is the cost. Yes, if you use memory more economically, 8 GB will be enough for most games. And if 16 GB cost hundreds of times more, I would be more careful in my arguments. But they don't cost that much. So I don’t have to be so sophisticated either.

Let's pose the question more simply: is it worth paying $40 for the opportunity to open as many programs as you want and run games whenever you want?

I will answer for you. Costs. So give yourself 16 GB of memory. And play to your heart's content.