8GB vs 16GB ram

PapaLazarou · 24 Jun 2013 at 09:47

Currently I have 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws 1600 MHz DDR3 CL9 would I gain any performance increase with gaming by adding another 8gb?

Sorry if my English isn't perfect.

Schizo · 24 Jun 2013 at 09:53

Most people will say no,but ive got 24gb ram and my pc does fly and programs are quite snappy.

So yes,if its cheap enough then why not

Orcvader · 24 Jun 2013 at 10:38

Even if it was cheap, anything above 8gb won't give extra performance or anything. If you open task manager while gaming OP, if the RAM usage is not 100% then save the money for a GPU/CPU upgrade instead.

UnworthyBean · 24 Jun 2013 at 11:16

Orcvader said:
Even if it was cheap, anything above 8gb won't give extra performance or anything. If you open task manager while gaming OP, if the RAM usage is not 100% then save the money for a GPU/CPU upgrade instead.

I'd probably agree with this really. It's tempting to get an extra 8gb but are you really going to use it?

I'm a heavy gamer and sometimes do a bit of rendering/encoding and even I feel that 16gb is too much.

Alasdairhurst · 24 Jun 2013 at 13:22

I started off with 8gb, got another 8gb later because i disabled the page file and at a couple of points using photoshop on large files it ran out of memory. I got rid of 8gb later on for another computer build and there wasn't a lack of performance, just memory shortage with large software (i ran out with paint once by making the resolution too big

)
and then i got another 8gb back to 16gb and i haven't had any problems at all.

For just gaming, 8gb should be perfectly fine and you won't notice any difference with 16gb

Phil2008 · 24 Jun 2013 at 13:33

Alasdairhurst said:
I started off with 8gb, got another 8gb later because i disabled the page file and at a couple of points using photoshop on large files it ran out of memory.

This is why you should never disable the page file, limit the page file by all means, but never disable it, as windows will throw its toys out of the pram undergoing some tasks.

Alasdairhurst · 24 Jun 2013 at 13:49

Phil2008 said:
This is why you should never disable the page file, limit the page file by all means, but never disable it, as windows will throw its toys out of the pram undergoing some tasks.

I've never had a problem so far with disabling the page file with 16gb of ram. if you enable it it still runs some tasks from the page file before running out of memory so disabling it when you are sure that you will never run out of memory ensures that you are getting the best performance. I enabled it again with 8gb though after that happened.

Admetos · 24 Jun 2013 at 15:50

Windows uses standby memory to 'cache' regular accessed files. Whatever memory is left after programs will eventually populated for standby memory.

16GB is worth it for increased standby memory.

Page file should be enabled as it increases standby memory space.

Page file should be stored on SSD if available.

Phil2008 · 24 Jun 2013 at 17:18

JasonM said:
Windows uses standby memory to 'cache' regular accessed files. Whatever memory is left after programs will eventually populated for standby memory.

16GB is worth it for increased standby memory.

Page file should be enabled as it increases standby memory space.

Page file should be stored on SSD if available.

Each to their own, some ppl says windows doesn't use page file and others say windows use the page file even with stacks of memory.

But at the end of the day what harm is page file doing enabled? I have 16gb, and Ive just limited my page file to 4gb as I dont see to point in disabling it, as windows might require it.

Admetos · 24 Jun 2013 at 17:23

Phil2008 said:
Each to their own, some ppl says windows doesn't use page file and others say windows does use the page file even with stacks of memory.

But at the end of the day what harm is page file doing enabled? I have 16gb, and Ive just limited my page file to 4gb as I dont see to point in disabling it, as windows might require it.

You read wrong. I'm saying page file should be enabled.

On my main PC I have 8GB spanned over 2 SSD's, I agree however 4GB should be plenty. With 16GB of ram never seen more than about 1GB of page file used.

Phil2008 · 24 Jun 2013 at 17:40

JasonM said:
You read wrong. I'm saying page file should be enabled..

I never read it wrong, but I cant really disagree or agree because so meny ppl has diff opinions on the page file, but I perfer to leave mine enabled and limit it

TheVoice · 24 Jun 2013 at 19:17

JasonM said:
Windows uses standby memory to 'cache' regular accessed files. Whatever memory is left after programs will eventually populated for standby memory.

16GB is worth it for increased standby memory.

Page file should be enabled as it increases standby memory space.

Page file should be stored on SSD if available.

SuperFetch is disabled when an SSD is present.

MagicBoy · 24 Jun 2013 at 19:22

Superfetch is different to the file cache.

Phil2008 · 24 Jun 2013 at 20:26

In my opinion superfetch shouldn't be disabled if you have a ssd, because your memory is stll like 10x faster then a ssd, so by disabling superfetch your lowering the performance of windows

Admetos · 24 Jun 2013 at 21:43

TheVoice said:
SuperFetch is disabled when an SSD is present.

I have read that superfetch is disabled when installing the OS on an SSD, however on all my Windows 7 installations I found it enabled as default. Maybe this was something in the early days of Windows 7 and a service release changed the default setting.

As Phil2008 says, it should not be disabled regardless of SSD, as main memory is significantly faster then any SSD.

Phil2008 · 24 Jun 2013 at 23:13

JasonM said:
I have read that superfetch is disabled when installing the OS on an SSD, however on all my Windows 7 installations I found it enabled as default. Maybe this was something in the early days of Windows 7 and a service release changed the default setting.

Mine never gets disabled either when doing a fresh install.

JasonM said:
As Phil2008 says, it should not be disabled regardless of SSD, as main memory is significantly faster then any SSD.

Yeah superfetch stores your most daily used progs in the memory for instant access, and yeah I can see where ppl are coming from by wanting to disable superfetch when getting a SSD. Even samsung ssd software recommends disabling superfetch :confused:

But the facts are the same, SSD speeds are around 500mb/s but your ddr3 memory is around 6400mb/s

MagicBoy · 24 Jun 2013 at 23:46

Phil2008 said:
But the facts are the same, SSD speeds are around 500mb/s but your ddr3 memory is 6400mb/s

How many 6.4GB app executeables have you seen? The size of a typical app there's fractions of a second between an SSD and a RAMdisk.

Phil2008 · 24 Jun 2013 at 23:53

MagicBoy said:
How many 6.4GB app executeables have you seen? The size of a typical app there's fractions of a second between an SSD and a RAMdisk.

Even so, system memory is still 13x faster, plus your SSD gets a easy life too

TheVoice · 25 Jun 2013 at 01:11

Phil2008 said:
Mine never gets disabled either when doing a fresh install.

Weird, it was on mine.

Apparently the reason Windows disables SuperFetch when an SSD is present is to reduce write wear on the SSD due to boot file defragmenting.

Admetos · 25 Jun 2013 at 01:21

TheVoice said:
Apparently the reason Windows disables SuperFetch when an SSD is present is to reduce write wear on the SSD due to boot file defragmenting.

This is correct and MS recommend disabling SuperFetch if you have an SSD.

I checked my prefetch folder tonight and it's around 50mb, I can't see it making to much difference on a modern SSD such as Samsung 830/840 Pro with good endurance however. I'm leaving my SuperFetch and Prefetch enabled.