CPU/Mobo When do we add/upgrade RAM?

nightHawk12

nightHawk12

Novice
My system : b550+5600+6600xt with 2x8GB CL18 3600Mhz

On startup 5.2GB is already gulped down by WIndows 11. chrome consumes around 1.5GB and when gaming(Valorant) I have like 3-4GB free memory.Should I extend it to 32GB RAM by adiing 2 more 8GB sticks or just buy two more 16GB sticks incase 64GB becomes the new norm.
 
I might be wrong on this, but you should get about 30% of RAM free after your "normal" or "routine" apps have opened. If you are left with just 10% free RAM then you must add more RAM.
16GB RAM with 4GB RAM free seems normal. However, 32GB should end ease your worries about ever maxing out RAM.
 
I have 32gb in my new laptop. I would say get 64gb honestly not even 32gb. 32gb will work ofc for what you need it but 64gigs will just give peace of mine, and futuristic and most imp, that joy when you see your ram usage in taskbar and it will probably be around 20-30% in most cases used.
 
Free RAM is wasted RAM, the OS's now are smart enough to efficiently manage RAM, prioritizing foreground, high-priority tasks by reallocating memory from background, low-priority tasks as needed. Additionally, operating systems often utilize unused RAM for caching, improving performance by storing frequently accessed data.

You'll notice apps restarting/refreshing when you go back to them, if you are low on RAM. This behavior is normal, as the OS frees up memory for new tasks by evicting less critical data from RAM. The cause minor delays but the system continue to work smoothly.

However if you are doing something weird with your RAM like running lot of VMs or creating a high speed disk drive out of the available RAM, then the above rule doesn't work. In that case you actually need more RAM.
 
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