Memory Upgrade Worthwhile?

[SKOzone]

My PC presently has 8 GB of RAM and I am encountering some of the "mini freezes" others have mentioned. Would it be worthwhile to upgrade to 16 GB? Even if the upgrade does not cure the mini freezes, would an upgrade still be worthwhile in terms of overall performance with AH3?

SKOzone

[Bizman]

8 is plenty, HiTech has 4 on his AH3 development system. However, 16 isn't overkill. If you do some photo and video editing, that might come in useful. Most likely it won't cure the mini freezes.

If you've got nothing really important use for your money, get 16. However, if you spent that money on your wife/girlfriend that might cure some mini freezes of another ilk.

[DaddyAce]

I agree 100% with Bizman.  $ better off spent elsewhere, unless the RAM upgrade is for things other than AH3.  If I recall correctly I think I saw Skuzzy post that AH3 uses about 3 GB.

[Skuzzy]

8 is plenty, HiTech has 4 on his AH3 development system. However, 16 isn't overkill. If you do some photo and video editing, that might come in useful. Most likely it won't cure the mini freezes.

If you've got nothing really important use for your money, get 16. However, if you spent that money on your wife/girlfriend that might cure some mini freezes of another ilk.

Actually HiTech has 8GB of system RAM.  He had 4GB, but we upped it to 8GB during the AH3 development for the Windows 10 update.  If you are running Windows 10, 8GB is a good number.  Like 4GB was good for Windows 7.

[DubiousKB]

Bite the bullet. Cram as much RAM as your system will allow. IMHO, there's no such thing as too much RAM. Think you have too much? wait 3-4 years and it won't be enough...

I'm rocking 32GB (4x8GB), so at least I can say that my RAM is not a problem...

[100Coogn]

Bite the bullet. Cram as much RAM as your system will allow. IMHO, there's no such thing as too much RAM. Think you have too much? wait 3-4 years and it won't be enough...

I'm rocking 32GB (4x8GB), so at least I can say that my RAM is not a problem...

Unless he will be doing some serious video editing, I would consider anything over 16GB overkill.

Coogan

[TequilaChaser]

Unless he will be doing some serious video editing, I would consider anything over 16GB overkill.

Coogan

People on here always mention just video editing as a program/project that really requires more memory.... AutoCAD,  several graphics creating programs, load calculations programs and HVAC-R programs all are major system memory hogs....along with some audio production programs

Just trying to be helpful

TC

[Bizman]

@ Skuzzy: Thanks for the update, added to my notes.

@ TC: There's a reason mentioning video editing only. That's a hobby connecting gamers and housewives although the subjects may be from entirely different worlds. The ones you mentioned are more of a professional kind of tasks, IMHO, and people buying a license for AutoCAD for $1,400.00 a year or Creative Cloud for $69,99 a month probably also know what the requirements are.

[Skuzzy]

Actually too much system RAM can slow the system down.  Now, stop rolling your eyes and pay attention.

Look at the RAM specifications and compare the various sizes of the modules.  There is a threshold where the larger the RAM module, the slower they run.  This is due to densities versus noise versus power.  There is a point where the density causes the RAM to have to run slower to be reliable.

Do not just look at the rated speed of the RAM.   Look at the wait states and do the math.  There is a threshold where the wait states combined with the cycle time can cause faster rated RAM to run slower than slower rated RAM.

There is a lot of marketing influence driving manufacturers to get that rated speed as high as they can. Inserting more wait states is one trick to do that.  On higher density RAM, it happens a lot.