Is 32GB RAM worth it?

LaMOi

LaMOi

LaMOi

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I have HP PAVILLION laptop.

I am wanting to increase my RAM. I’m always willing to pay a little extra if it means I don’t have to open my laptop up again and go 32GB instead of 16GB.

But then I got thinking, my specs are somewhat modest and so by the time I come across a game I want that requires more than 16GB it will likely require a better graphics card anyway. So what the point in upgrading beyond 16GB?

But then I also was thinking that having the 32GB might help overall performance regardless.

But is it worth the extra for perhaps only a modest performance boost...?


MY SPEC:
      • Dedicated GeForce® GTX 1650 4GB graphics
      • AMD Ryzen 5 4600H hexa core processor
      • 8GB of DDR4 RAM delivers seamless multitasking
      • 256GB SSD offers plenty of storage & super-fast loading
 
For you, no. It's extremely doubtful you'll notice any benefit unless you're heavily into graphical design or routinely dealing with huge files. I would upgrade to 16GB though.
 
Having only an SSD for storage means your pagefile will be on there too.
SSDs have limited writes, and your pagefile will be writing to it all the time.
Having more RAM will reduce the activity of your pagefile.

That said, your SSD will probably survive longer than you intend to use the laptop even without increasing your RAM.
 
You'll run out out mass storage far before 16GB of RAM would become slightest problem.
That SSD is simply tiny.
 
It makes perfect sense for high-end gamers with a 3090 and a 5900x to get 32Gb ram. However, you have a 4600H and 1650 so 16Gb RAM is your sweet spot for your tier of PC.

Your next upgrade should be a 1Tb SSD. You cant fit many games on 256Gb.
 
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I'd just go with 16gb. Do you have an XMP profile in the bios to enable? If not then make sure you get ram that supports 3200mhz JEDEC.

You would probably find a larger nvme would be more beneficial than taking ram over 16gb.
 
Hey thanks folks...


Appreciate the feedback.


I’m just gaming, RTS games mainly... but some older games, SC:Blacklist, Space Marine, AVP, and state of decay 2 which is the only one that has me lower the graphical settings to have stable consistent frame rate.

I agree with most — that 16GB seems to be the sweet spot. by the time I encounter a game that requires more it will likely require a more powerful gfx card and it will probably be time to upgrade.
 
CuriousTomCat said:
It makes perfect sense for high-end gamers with a 3090 and a 5900x to get 32Gb ram. However, you have a 4600H and 1650 so 16Gb RAM is your sweet spot for your tier of PC.

Your next upgrade should be a 1Tb SSD. You cant fit many games on 256Gb.
Click to expand...


Ain’t that the truth!

probably gonna get an external SSD.
 
LaMOi said:
Ain’t that the truth!

probably gonna get an external SSD.
Click to expand...

it seems so crappy for companies to sell gaming laptops with a single storage solution even at 512gb :confused:. my laptop came with a 256gb ssd + 1tb hdd and after 2 years of use im down to below 150gb on ssd + under 200gb on the hdd, i can't remember how many games ive got, but i have had to delete some and other stuff to get my storage to how it is.

anyways 16gb will be better if its only for games just as long as its dual channel if yours only has a single 8gb which i hate about mine, but mines up for sale, so pointless to upgrade ha.
 
LaMOi said:
I have HP PAVILLION laptop.

I am wanting to increase my RAM. I’m always willing to pay a little extra if it means I don’t have to open my laptop up again and go 32GB instead of 16GB.

But then I got thinking, my specs are somewhat modest and so by the time I come across a game I want that requires more than 16GB it will likely require a better graphics card anyway. So what the point in upgrading beyond 16GB?

But then I also was thinking that having the 32GB might help overall performance regardless.

But is it worth the extra for perhaps only a modest performance boost...?


MY SPEC:
      • Dedicated GeForce® GTX 1650 4GB graphics
      • AMD Ryzen 5 4600H hexa core processor
      • 8GB of DDR4 RAM delivers seamless multitasking
      • 256GB SSD offers plenty of storage & super-fast loading
Click to expand...

It depends on your needs. If it's for light office work and gaming then 16gb is fine but if you want to edit videos/phots or run CAD then you will need 32gb to run without any issue
 
I regularly run 30+ tabs with multiple development environments, I've managed to make it over 16 GB, once or twice, but honestly I almost never see it.

LaMOi said:
So what the point in upgrading beyond 16GB?
Click to expand...

There rarely is one. Generally speaking having more RAM actually makes it slower, as the higher density dimms tend to be worse overclockers.
Maybe if you do a ton of productivity then maybe, but if you can get by with 8GB, you definitely don't need 32 GB. 16 GB will be a great upgrade, for the most part most people sit in the 8-12 GB usage range 95% of the time.
 
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16GB is great, 32GB only if you running super memory hungry stuff like cubase or other professional software. Don't get 32GB just because you think bigger numbers are better. Generally if you don't know if you need 32GB, you don't.
 
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