A Question of RAM

[tonydean2]

I am in the process of building a new PC (1st build) and have been looking for an answer regarding how much RAM I should install. Having trawled You Tube extensively I am very much confused. Some are saying no amount is too much, others saying 32 is the best option whilst others are saying that the sweet spot is 16. I guess I am hoping for a concensus from people who are, or have built PCs for gaming and are not worrying about gaining subscribers and patreons or liked to this supplier or that supplier in a sponsorship arrangement. So please community which is best 16 or 32. Any advice will be greatly appreciated

 

[Pedro Azevedo88]

16 is plenty for gaming. No need to buy 32, and even if you want you can always buy the same kit later on, and add another 16.
In my view it's just a waste of money if gaming is your objective.

 

[tonydean2]

16 is plenty for gaming. No need to buy 32, and even if you want you can always buy the same kit later on, and add another 16.
In my view it's just a waste of money if gaming is your objective.

Thanks for that I think that's what I'll end up doing

 

[Terry Rock]

Some folks go out and spend 'a king's ransom' on RGB RAM.
I guess its okay, if you're into that kind of thing.
I personally spent $119 for 32 gigs of TimeTec DDR4 3600 (2x 16GB) and cannot be happier.
It is well-built, no frills, black PCB, no heat-spreader stuff.
I tested without a single error over a 24 hour period using Memtest86+ and Prime95.
I set timings to 1T 16, 19, 19 19, 36... set the 3600MHz clock speed manually in the BIOS... set DRAM voltage to 1.39 volts and turned off XMP and PBO.
I already had some new Vantec heat-spreader laying, so after testing I installed those.
I haven't had a single issue and I race every sim except for the PCars series and Iracing.

 

[AmazingReflex]

I've had recent stability issues, not sure the main issue but ACC was crashing. I had my RAM overclocked to 3600 from stock 3200. I have now reverted BIOS to 'Opitimised Defaults' until I prove I have stability back. I still re-enabled XMP so the RAM is now running at stock 3200.

I don't think I've noticed much drop in performance / FPS. I was running 5Ghz all cores, 3600Mhz RAM. System is stable. I'll give it some time and then I might start upping clocks again just to see difference. I'd rather have the game not crash after 15 minutes of racing!

 

[Botmeister]

The thing with memory is, when you use 2 RAM slots, you want them exactly the same. When I bought my last 2x16 GB i checked the serial numbers and they ended xxx01 and xxx02. Perfect. Your CPU get's data from RAM and performs instructions with that. That works best if both RAM slots are from the same manufacturing process/time. If 16GB is enough for you, go for it. If you ever want to upgrade, buy them now and save money on the long term. That's also why you can by a package that contains 2x16GB, otherwise they could have better sold you 2 seperate ones

 

[Elaphe]

I'm currently configuring my new PC (a i7 10700KF) and I think I'm going to install 32 gb of 3600 CL16. I've been using 16 gb in my older 4790K for many years and I think 32 gb is not too much for todays standards.

 

[Killg0reNL]

Go for faster RAM the faster the better, especialy in ACC. Aim for 4000MHz or ar least 3600MHz. For ACC 16Gb looks about to be enough. So when you have to choose for 32Gb-3200 or 16Gb-4000 pick the 16Gb-4000 (and make sure you can add another two 16Gb-4000 when needed)

 

[Durge Driven]

rF2 endurance race at Spa 44AI with 15 individual Prototype-GTE-GT3 models
Ultra PP most everything else max 100fps Gsync ultra latency yadda yadda smooth as
Only 3 hours into a resume / replay and 16GB is kaput
Finish session must reboot
Mind you that is only 1440p

 

[Turk]

Probably get by just fine with 16gb, but that is kind of the industry standard at this point. I upgraded my rm last year to 32 from 16gb, just because it had gotten so cheap. Can't say I've noticed a difference in the PC.

 

[Des Pearce]

I've swapped from 16 to 32gb of 3600mhz ram, I used to, occasionally, get games running poorly (like a single frame stutter every 5 seconds) which a restart always sorted. Not had the issue since putting more ram in, not sure why because it could be ACC (which I see 15gb ram usage via fpsvr) to RRE (less ram heavy) and RF2.

The extra cost is fairly minimal when you've invested in a rtx3080,nvme drive, huge psu, reverb g2, 8040 rig, DD wheel, load cell pedals and god knows what else

 

[Fennario]

No need to buy 32, and even if you want you can always buy the same kit later on, and add another 16.

Best practices would be to get a new 32gb kit and sell the old 16. Adding another 16 may or may not work properly... depends on speed, how tight you've pushed the timings, and other factors.

 

[Case_]

I've never been in a situation where I would've needed more than 16GB for gaming, and I run a ton of stuff in the background. I'd go as far as to say that if you're having issues with 16GB, there's either something wrong with your system, or with the software you run.
But I mean sure, if you don't care about money, then by all means, get 32GB, it's not like it will hurt anything except your wallet.

 

[brc19]

rF2 endurance race at Spa 44AI with 15 individual Prototype-GTE-GT3 models
Ultra PP most everything else max 100fps Gsync ultra latency yadda yadda smooth as
Only 3 hours into a resume / replay and 16GB is kaput
Finish session must reboot
Mind you that is only 1440p

View attachment 451500

Memory leak from poorly written software?

 

[Durge Driven]

untested assumptions ?
ever resumed a 3+ hour race ?
how much ram did you use ?
didn't think so

 

[Case_]

It's rF2, so yes, a memory leak from poorly written software.

 

[Durge Driven]

Well tried same replay again for ya

rF2 running 700 MB
3 hour resume from replay climbs to 24% of ram
Then loading each car is another 2% of ram
Into replay it peaks at 12 GB then drops to 9 GB
Then when you resume replay it goes back up to 12 GB

Now loading a new race same settings and cars 11 GB

Now same race again but setting no replays 8 GB

Now same race and settings but with 45 F3 Eve ( single model ) 3.7 GB

After closing rF2 in any above 400 MB


edit: just retested all scenarios got same results
I conclude that 15 hi quality models use over double the ram ( 8GB ) opposed to a single lower quality model ( 3.7GB )
Sounds reasonable to me

 

[Durge Driven]

Just do it load 15 DLC models set 44AI and boot Spa endurance tell me how much ram you use then ???

 

[Durge Driven]

Takes 2 minutes you only need to get into garage and open task manager
Anyone ?

 

[Durge Driven]

All tests have 44 AI while sitting in garage at Spa

F3 Eve - 3 GB *** Last test I neglected to close VPN, Malwarebytes, Dashboard and others
1 GT3 model - 6 GB
15 GT3-GTE - 8.5 GB
20 GT3-GTE ( all models ) - 10.5 GB

I thought it may be other studios dynamics only need data from I car for each model ?