Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Is 16 GB of RAM overkill?




David Waldo, Windows/network admin for >10 years
Answered Jan 20


Currently, yes, 16GB is overkill for the average user. And by “average user” I’m talking about the type that uses their computer for e-mail, word processing, web browsing, streaming Netflix, etc. 8GB is plenty for them and will be for the near future.

Now, if someone has a need for more memory because they use high-performance applications (e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator, audio/video editing, AutoCAD, modeling/rendering) then 8GB is going to be a bit painful for them.

The average user will need 16GB at some point, but we’re not there yet. No sooner than 3–5 years, maybe longer. I wouldn’t spend the money to upgrade an existing system unless there is a specific need. But if you’re buying a new system and the upgrade from 8GB -> 16GB is cheap, why not?

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