8gb to 16gb worth it?

D

DreamTheater36

Gawd
Joined
Jul 25, 2004
Messages
615
I have been thinking about upgrading my desktop ddr3 ram from 8 to 16 and I was curious how much better performance I could expect?
 
Like most things, it depends.

What are you using your PC for?

Games? Not much, if any.

Video editing? Yes likely so.
 
Memory won't make your computer go magically fast if you increase its size. It will allow you to have more programs open without your memory having to be flushed to make room for your current program. So it makes multi-tasking better and like the other guy said, video editing will see a benefit but other than that memory won't make your computer faster.
 
ValeX said:
I upgraded from 6gb-12gb. No difference in performance, but damn I feel cool.
Plus it keeps the dust out of my previously empty dimm slots
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I guess it is in our nature as hardware geeks to want to continuously upgrade our hardware. In some cases the intrinsic benefit we recieve goes beyond careing about real world performance. So If you have the itch and the cash then go for it.
 
ValeX said:
I upgraded from 6gb-12gb. No difference in performance, but damn I feel cool.
Plus it keeps the dust out of my previously empty dimm slots
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Lol same. My friend gave me his other 8gb (4x2) DDR3 since he was moving to all mobile devices. Stuck the ram into those two empty slot and giggled in amazement of having 16gb that i'll probably never use. :D
 
I often hear folks say that it's not worth it and I am not sure how they can make such a pronouncement without first knowing how the system will be used. Fastman and the others are spot on. It depends on your usage of your system.

Most single apps won't use the additional memory, but it does allow you to run multiple apps comfortably. For example, I am a developer...and routinely have the following running:

  • At least one RDBMS
  • An app server
  • An IDE
  • Debugging tools
  • Command Windows
  • Numerous browser windows (email, access to web-based issue tracking, research)
  • UML tools
  • Word / Excel (use cases, requirements, etc)

I also may be streaming something, running builds, and running VMs. Even if you don't have as many heavyweight apps running simultaneously as I do, if you are ever tempted to use VMs, you can't have enough memory.

My advice:

  • If you are running many apps simultaneously and your system is bogging down, go wild...and blow 40 bucks
  • If you aren't, don't bother upgrading now
  • If you are building a new PC and aren't penny pinching, do it. You may use it in the future and having the same type of memory in each slot makes life easier if you OC.

BTW, I also game my a$$ off...ad no, it doesn't really help...but my SSD does. :)
 
For bragging rights, depends on what it is worth to you. If you are expecting a performance increase save your money. I have 16GB in my recent build, but I only did it because I have a case window and it looks cool with 4 sticks of Mushkin Redlines in it. According to Task Manager I have 11GB free of that 16 right now.
 
If you are not using all of the 8 gb's you already have, then you will see no performance gain.
 
More ram just give the OS more breathing room. I have 12GB on my server and even though i have never seen it go over 6 it just make me feel good knowing that i have that much extra in case i need it.
 
I doubt there's any PC game(s) that could possibly need more than an 8GB kit provides, anyone ever seen a game use that much? Which games can/do?...any?

I'd upgrade to 16GB if proven lmao! It's cheap!
 
I've only hopped over the 6 Gb mark once with tons of gadgets, HW monitors and vent open while playing SWTOR, and it was just barely
 
Yeah this is a mental thing.. some of us remember when ram was $40/mb....

(yes I have 16gb and don't need it)
 
I think if one had large memory and if one had consume it than the system will not work as fast as before it was working...As it has large content stored in the system so it takes time for processing..
 
Redbeard80 said:
Yeah this is a mental thing.. some of us remember when ram was $40/mb....

(yes I have 16gb and don't need it)
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Well you could always open up every program on your system :D

I personally think a good 16GB 2133 is a good way to kinda future proof your current build and a future one. (Just in case prices ever go up, which prob won't happen they seem to keep dropping...but who can predict the future...so yeah) I believe all 2133 can be run at 1333, so even if you have an old 775 CPU or AM3 use it at 1333 or OC it a little 1400-1666 for example with tightened timings, and then when you get a new build the speed is there if you want a little extra for possibly better/more stable OC'ing.

Only downside is you have to pay a premium for 2133 over 1333/1666 but it's also better if you get tight timings @ 2133 and below speeds imho. Yet if prices ever go up when you need more memory then yeah shoulda went with 2133 when it was cheap (now) imho. Like I said though I think it will stay low for quite awhile though (Till DDR4 comes out and makes DDR3 obsolete...market seems flooded currently with low priced DDR3)
 
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The memory industry is working hard to increase prices. Chip prices are rapidly falling. In fact, many articles came out just recently where the industry has warned that prices would soon be going up as they scale back production. Many reasons were listed. The biggest one was market saturation. It's no secret that higher prices equals higher profits for anyone. In this case, the memory industry. Many people might think that the flooding that caused the current situation with hard drive shortages will end up costing huge losses for the hard drive industry. Not the case at all. They are on track for record profits. That industry also just cut their warranty on a majority of their products boosting profits even further. The memory industry would love nothing more than to be in this position. Produce less products and charge higher prices. Over the past few years we've seen the industry take steps to not only increase profits but control the market. China did this when they bought, then brought, I think three major memory producers under one roof to have total control of output and pricing. I might have some of the facts a bit wonky but I have the gest of it correct I think. The point I am making is, memory is pretty cheap at the moment. I would invest in 16gig, 2133. 4 x 4 chips. If not, then I would absolutely invest in 8 gig 2133 4 x 2, 1.5v. The reason for the 4 x 2 arrangement is so that you can run quad channel in future builds. While I don't think memory will jump in price anytime soon and may even go lower, memory is a good investment if you are smart about it. Also, if you ever get into HD video editing or working with raw images or web design, trust me, 8gig will be used in a matter of seconds. A well rounded computer, in my opinion taking into account the cheap pricing on high performance DDR3 2133 memory, should have 16gig or ram. Just because you do not use it now does not mean it will not be of use later. There is also always the [H]ard Cool Factor to consider as well. It's just pretty sweet to drop that your rig has 16gigs of ram.
 
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lorenzostpierre said:
I think if one had large memory and if one had consume it than the system will not work as fast as before it was working...As it has large content stored in the system so it takes time for processing..
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right. your point being?
 
mentally it's worth it.

everyday use, i don't use anything remotely close to 8gb, but i sure love having more than that

with prices so low, and suspected of rising... i would take a look at how [H]ard you are, and then make the decision.
 
My experience in short:

Built i7 930 system. Bought 6GB of DDR3. It was great.

Upgraded to triple monitors. (2x) 24in, (1) 30in @ 2560x1600. Starting running Display Fusion. Once I got used to all the screen real-estate and started running more programs, I would constantly bump against the 6gb limit.

Found 24gb kit for $130. Upgraded (and OCed to 4ghz).

It's awesome. If you use photoshop, premier, etc, or another series of memory-intensive applications, you can easily take advantage of all the ram.

System is blazing fast. I leave lots of things running, and it has no (detectable) negative effect on performance. I highly recommend upgrading to the max your motherboard will support IF you like multi-tasking with serious apps, AND you already have multiple monitors. If you are running a single monitor, spend the money on a 2nd. Then you'll want more ram ;-)
 
Modded Oblivion can get up to 5GB usage. Stalker with texture mods can take up to 6GB, and Gothic 3 with the Ultra Ini can take over 7GB (because it loads EVERYTHING at startup). Skyrim modded might exceed 8GB but I haven't seen anyone mention how much it can use yet. Supreme Commander with Sorian AIs will eventually use an infinite amount of RAM because it's broken that way. I think GTAIV misbehaves with RAM too but I'm not sure exactly how.

So, 8GB will cover all but maybe 1 or 2 games under certain circumstances, and when they're using more than that it's usually badly broken design.
 
i went from 4GB to 12GB


the 8GB i added was round about the price of the 4GB i had initially.


in my case I think it was useful... the 4GB was a bit light.


but given how cheap ram is and that no new ram standard seems to be right around the corner... meh might as well, as more people have 8+ GB it seems that software makers are going to start finding ways to use it eventually. It does make for a gigantic pagefile and Hiberfil.sys but oh well.

I would be tempted to do it...cause it seems lately there hasn't really been as frequent..OMG i need to upgrade my whole rig type stuff coming out... so if you have a i5-2500K like me or a i7-2600K odds are you are going to (might as well probably) keep it for awhile. Since the RAM is still so cheap and since it seems like our current rigs may well be around awhile i'd go for it now... who knows maybe the ram factories will all go broke with low prices and the survivors will jack up the price down the road?
 
16 gigs is so cheap these days i paid more for 1 gig of pc3200... back in the day, than i did for 16 gigs ddr3 1600
 
In my recently acquired system I got 16GB of RAM although I only need 8, the reason is fairly simple, I plan to have it for 3-4 years which is long enough to DDR4 come out and making DDR3 possible upgrades overpriced, and paying $120 for 2 sticks of DDR3 memory in 2015 or 2016 would be a bad idea if I can get it for $50 in 2012 right?
 
Simple, if your not using over 8G of ram = No

as more people have 8+ GB it seems that software makers are going to start finding ways to use it eventually
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Ya, more bad lazy programming,. people thought with more cores software would get faster, and it didnt really, just more lazy code.

there is no "meh may as well buy it cause it is cheap' if your not using over your current amount of ram, it is useless to get it, period.
 
I have 16GB but I have 4GB of it in a RAM disk to put browser caches and Win7 temp folders and page files on.

Works for me.
 
If you're not hurting for money I don't see why you couldn't go 16GB.

Do you NEED it? Probably not for gaming. Unless of course you're playing those heavily modded open world games as evilsofa suggested.
 
i just built a mATX and thought 8gb would be fine, but when running ps cs5 and playing games etc, it would stick every now and then but after the upgrade that all went away.
 
I gave $48 bucks for the first 8gb. I couldn't help myself when I found 8 more of the same stuff for $25.
 
use the money u save from not going 16gb for an ssd, or better gpu
 
Visually, I like seeing all the slots filled. That's just about the only benefit you get.
 
jreinlie4 said:
Visually, I like seeing all the slots filled. That's just about the only benefit you get.
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Aside from looking cool, that's a bullshit statement.

Running VMs will quickly eat through 16GB of RAM.
In the end, it all depends upon what one does with their system.
 
For surfing the internet, watching movies, and playing games, there is no need to go over 8 gigs. Even for future proofing is bullshit. By the time you would actually need it the next gen ram will come out and be cheap.
 
hdgamer said:
For surfing the internet, watching movies, and playing games, there is no need to go over 8 gigs. Even for future proofing is bullshit. By the time you would actually need it the next gen ram will come out and be cheap.
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I do agree with this though.
 
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