You probably know that RAM is an important component of your computer, but do you know how much RAM you really need? In particular, let’s see what is PC RAM and how to see our amount of available memory.
What is RAM?
Before we look at how much RAM you need, let’s take a quick look at what RAM is in case you’re unfamiliar. RAM, or random access memory, is a form of short-term storage in your computer. This is where the operating system keeps processes for the programs we currently have open.
When we turn off our machine, the contents of the memory are erased. Since RAM allows quick access, we can quickly switch between open programs. It is much more efficient to switch between programs running in RAM than to extract them from our hard disk.
Where to find its amount of RAM?
Now let’s take a look at the amount of RAM available in our system to compare it to some baselines.
From Windows 11
In Windows 11, go to “Settings > System > About” . Under Device Specifications, you will see an Installed RAM line. Note that if your system type is listed as 32-bit OS, you can only use 4GB of RAM, regardless of how much you have inside.
From macOS
On macOS, open the Apple menu at the top left of the screen and click “About This Mac” . In the resulting Overview tab, you will see a row for Memory showing how much RAM you have installed.
From Linux PC Ram
If you’re using Linux, you can enter the “free” command in a terminal window to display RAM information. However, this displays the amount of memory in kilobytes, which is inconvenient. Use “free -h” instead to display the amount in gigabytes or megabytes , as appropriate.
How much computer memory do I need?
Now that you know how much RAM your computer has, let’s take a look at some common memory amounts to see how much fits your needs.
2 GB or less: insufficient
It is unlikely to find a modern computer with only 2 GB of RAM. While that amount can handle work on a single task at a time, as with basic web browsing, anything beyond multitasking will cause major slowdowns on systems with 2GB of RAM.
Most cheap smartphones available currently have more than that. Avoid buying a computer with 2 GB of RAM if possible, and if your current machine has little of it, it might be time to consider upgrading when you can.
4 GB of RAM: Sufficient for basic use
While the standard is now moving towards 8GB, you will still find budget laptops with 4GB of memory.
But is 4 GB of RAM enough? 4 GB of RAM is enough if you only use your computer for basic tasks such as web browsing, light word processing or spreadsheet work and sending e-mails.
That’s not enough for playing modern video games, though, and your machine might experience slowdowns if you open lots of Chrome tabs or run dozens of programs at once.
8 GB of RAM: a good base
Most midrange machines you’ll find today include 8GB of RAM. Notably, all of Apple’s MacBook models include at least this. 8 GB is a good modern standard for RAM. That’s enough to juggle multiple tasks at once without slowing down, and it’s enough for gaming too.
You’ll likely need more RAM if you need to edit 4K video, stream high-end games on Twitch, or keep lots of power-hungry programs running all the time. But if you’re not a heavy computer user, 8GB of RAM should be more than enough.
16 GB of RAM: ideal for experienced users
16GB of RAM is a nice amount to have if you use your computer for heavy-duty tasks. Modern design software, video editing and demanding games will all have more room to work with if you have 16GB of RAM.
However, it’s overkill if you don’t fit that description. Those who only open a few browser tabs and don’t play video games or work with large media files may use less RAM.
32GB+ Memory: Enthusiasts Only
32 GB of memory or more is only necessary for the most demanding users. If you regularly edit 4K (or higher) videos and want to work on other tasks while creating the files, you will need a huge amount of memory.
For most others, it’s not useful and it’s better to invest that money elsewhere. Most video games don’t need 32 GB of PC RAM yet.
Video RAM is separate
We considered general system RAM above. However, if you have a dedicated graphics card in your PC, be aware that it has its own memory. This is called Video RAM or VRAM.
VRAM contains the visual information that games need to display and transmits it efficiently to your monitor. Even if you have plenty of standard RAM, game (or high-end design software) performance can suffer if you don’t have enough video PC RAM.
Didn’t forget about other upgrades to his computer
If you’re looking to upgrade your current computer or build a new one, keep in mind that RAM isn’t the only component that needs changing. Most of the time, unused RAM is wasted RAM. There is no point in buying 32 GB of memory when you are only using 4 GB, because the extra RAM is never active.
Before you buy PC RAM, know which PC upgrades have the biggest impact on performance. Above all, try to achieve a balanced upgrade (RAM, Hard disk, etc.).
To conclude…
We looked at how to check our computer’s RAM, how much RAM we need for various tasks, and how to get the most out of our current memory. In summary, it is better to aim for 8 GB as a base and 16 GB of RAM if we are a heavy user.
Luckily, upgrading our PC RAM is simple to do. After making sure that the RAM you buy is compatible, all you have to do is open your PC and clip them into the dedicated slots.
