If you’re looking for a PC for day-to-day tasks like audits, accounts management, data handling, and inventory management, 8GB is more than enough. It is also enough if your office mostly uses spreadsheets and data management software. While creating and editing documents is generally a low-resource task, office productivity gets much more demanding as you open multiple files in multiple programs. For this test we looked at various programs in Microsoft’s Office Suite, examining how large files stress memory as well as using multiple productivity programs at once. If you want to make the most of your multitasking, these are the tests to look at. It may be an Intel technology, but enthusiast-class AMD motherboards are also designed to support XMP. As motherboards are often programmed to slightly alter certain timings to further stabilize AMD’s different memory controllers, motherboard manufacturers have occasionally applied their own names to this setting, such as Asus and its D.O.C.P. If a laptop’s memory is soldered on, choose an amount that you think will see you through the machine’s lifetime. For example, if you anticipate doing more RAM-intensive tasks in the future, pony up for 16GB now. It will be cheaper than replacing your laptop sooner than anticipated. But what about high-end gamers, you ask? While some top-of-the-line gaming laptops come with 32GB of memory, that amount has little to do with gaming needs. The cynical might call it a way to justify expensive configurations; or you could see it as the laptop maker maximizing the specs across the board to create a bleeding-edge vibe. RAM configuration strategies New laptops Artiom Vallat / Unsplash

You can also have too much RAM. If, for example, you’re only using 12GB of RAM under the most demanding circumstances and you have a 16GB kit, upgrading to a 32GB kit (assuming all other aspects are equal) won’t impact your performance whatsoever. It’s effectively wasted money. Choosing a laptop that relies on SODIMMs rather than soldered RAM makes it possible to upgrade the amount of RAM you have later on. However, if you want to run something more powerful and high-end to make high-quality videos, such as Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro, you need something more powerful than 12GB. Without sufficient RAM, your PC will start to cause problems even if you just install them (and not use them). This is because they occupy a lot of space on your PC. Tablets are not designed to deal with heavy-duty software tasks, so their RAM needs tend to be pretty low — similar to a lot of smartphones. When we ran the game on our Alienware 15, we saw that firing up Steam and opening GTAV from our games library resulted in 5,324 MB of in-use memory, with 9,319 in standby. On a 16GB system, that’s a sizable chunk of memory to dedicate to a single program. Those numbers held fairly steady throughout actual gameplay, so there’s no appreciable difference between running the game and playing the game that we could see. For this particular game, we’d echo the recommendation to have 8GB of memory or more, and think our 16GB system probably hits the sweet spot for playing demanding AAA titles.

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Similarly, if you’re a professional moviemaker or a cinematographer, 12GB is completely out of the question. Your PC won’t be able to run professional video or picture editing software. To make them work, you’ll have to add more RAM. – Animation Generally, computers use DDR4 or DDR3 RAMs. These are relatively larger plates that promise enhanced performance. Meanwhile, mobile phones have either LPDDR4 or LPDDR3 RAMs. These are smaller plates, which is why you get less in terms of speed and performance. You’d only need to go past that if you perform certain tasks, like editing huge video or photo files or playing some of the most demanding games — though you should focus on CPU and GPU performance first if you need to maximize the return on your investment. Most people don’t use a laptop for such tasks, but if you do, buying enough RAM is crucial. It’s more difficult to upgrade RAM in a laptop (or, in some recent models, impossible) compared to a desktop, so buying what you need at the start is paramount. In addition to standard RAM, there is also VRAM. VRAM (video random access memory) stores graphics data and is located on your graphics card. VRAM acts as a buffer between the CPU and display for rendered images. Video games and 3D graphic design programs benefit most from VRAM. If you’re planning on playing resource-intensive games or creating your own video games, you’ll need a good amount of VRAM. If you just want something for your classes and assignments, 8GB is more than enough unless you’ll be running some resource-intensive software. Online meetings and classes are usually conducted on Google Meet, Zoom, or some other similar light software.

Yes; as an average user, 12GB should be good enough for you unless you want to do some heavy and resource-intensive data processing. Conclusion Gaming with only 8GB of RAM in your system can be a dicey proposition. Yes, there are many games — including modern titles — that run perfectly fine with 8GB of memory. But if you want to play something demanding like The Division 2, which requires 11.3GB of RAM, 8GB simply won’t cut it. You’re better off streaming games from services like GeForce Now or Xbox Game Pass on PC if you only have 8GB of RAM. How much RAM most people need: 16GB For DDR4 memory, kits that run at 3,600MHz are considered some of the best, as they work natively with Intel and AMD CPUs and offer excellent performance. Going higher than that can offer some benefit, but it means tweaking the settings to get the most out of it — especially on AMD PCs. For DDR5, the fastest the memory the better, but as you get into the extremes the cost rises much faster than the performance.

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Of course, these programs will run on 8GB of RAM too, since that is what they generally require. However, with 12GB, you’ll be able to get a smooth, lag-free experience, allowing you to get done with your work faster. – Video Editing Now that you know their main differences, let’s discuss a few different purposes to better understand whether you need 8GB or 12GB of RAM. of RAM is best for slightly demanding tasks like graphic design and editing videos (but not for cinematography). It’s also enough to run some less-demanding games. As we can see, there are a number of cases where 8GB is more than enough for you. However, for ERP programs and certain corporate software applications like iDempiere and Oracle, 12GB is a better option if you don’t want to encounter any issues. – Studying

When it comes to 8GB RAM vs 12GB RAM, gaming is important to discuss. In most cases, 8GB is good enough for gaming but if you’re a seasonal player and like to play games in your free time, 12GB is the better option. With it, the game will run smoothly without causing any problems. Plus, your device won’t lag since there’ll be enough free space to allow it to function smoothly. of RAM is best for multitasking or running a couple of heavy programs simultaneously. It’s also enough for playing some of the more demanding titles available today. Tasks like 3D modeling and animation will also work well with this amount of RAM. FAQ Section – Is 12GB RAM Good for a Laptop? For a more nuanced look at how much RAM you need, here are some of the most common quantities of RAM, and who might be best suited to that quantity.The good news is a resurgence of AMD-compatible DDR4-2933 memory modules on the market following Intel’s addition of this speed to its 2020 desktop processor guidelines. Those who think that DDR4-2933 is unacceptably slow should dig a little deeper to find out what other people are running with the same motherboard and processor. Imitation can be far more than the greatest form of flattery—it can save you a heap of time and trouble! ▶ AMD X399 Chipset Motherboards (With First or Second Generation Ryzen Threadripper CPUs) The 16GB Alienware 15 held strong, but the in-use memory approached the 14GB mark, while the amount of free memory dwindled to nearly zero. At this point we started to see programs slow down, with jittery navigation and slowness in loading files as they were opened. GTA V continued to run, and we enjoyed a shootout and a car chase before moving on to the next level of multitasking torture. We did this again, bumping up to 30 tabs, six streaming vids and 30 photos. Everything still worked, including the game. At this point, on both the 8GB Dell Inspiron 178 and the 16GB Alienware 15, you’ll notice that the amount of standby memory changes, reprioritizing things to briefly open up additional free space.