Should You Upgrade to 32GB RAM for Gaming?

For most gamers playing at 1080p or 1440p resolution, upgrading from 16GB to 32GB of RAM offers very little benefit for the high price based on today‘s games. The extra memory capacity gives diminishing returns and provides minimal FPS boost. 16GB still remains the recommended sweet spot that delivers a great gaming experience with room to multitask.

However, if you stream or record gameplay, play at 4K, or want to heavily future-proof your system, the extra headroom from 32GB RAM can be justified. Let‘s dive into the pros, cons and benchmarks to see if it‘s worth it for you.

What Difference Does RAM Make for Gaming Performance?

RAM stores all the game data like textures, maps and player models needed at an instant by the CPU and GPU. More RAM capacity means more can be loaded at once for snappier performance. Think of it as short-term memory for your active programs and games.

Higher frequency RAM can also boost FPS as it transfers data faster between components. Optimizing RAM speed is complex due to timings and architecture limits. But in general, 3600MHz RAM provides a nice sweet spot today.

For gaming, you want enough RAM capacity to avoid paging data out to your hard drive as this slows things down. 16GB covers most games today, but some heavy titles are starting to recommend more.

Current RAM Usage in Games

Let‘s look at how much RAM current popular games need:

Game	RAM Needed
Apex Legends	8GB
Elden Ring	12GB
Call of Duty: Warzone	12GB
Red Dead Redemption 2	12GB
Microsoft Flight Simulator	16GB

As you can see, even intensive AAA games run fine on 16GB RAM at common resolutions like 1080p. Some outliers like Flight Simulator require more, but they are the exception.

The Steam survey confirms 16GB is the most common capacity amongst gamers. Over 62% have 16GB systems. Less than 15% have 32GB or higher.

Benefits of 32GB RAM for Gaming

While not a must-have today, upgrading to 32GB RAM offers some benefits:

Enables Heavy Multitasking

You can comfortably run multiple apps alongside your game:

• Browser with 20+ tabs
• Discord, Spotify, hardware monitors
• Recording/streaming software like OBS
• Video editors and other productivity apps

With 32GB, your game performance won‘t take a hit even with many background processes. No need to close other apps when gaming.

Future-Proofing

Games are gradually using more VRAM and RAM over time. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare recommends 12GB, up from 8GB for past titles. The upcoming Hogwarts Legacy requires 32GB RAM.

Having 32GB future-proofs your build for more demanding games in 2-3 years. It also leaves ample room if you add more high resolution monitors down the line.

4K Gaming

When gaming at 4K, the higher resolution textures demand more VRAM and RAM. 16GB can cause bottlenecks at times depending on optimizations. Upgrading to 32GB gives headroom for smooth 4K gameplay.

Content Creation

When live streaming, recording long videos, or editing gameplay footage, the extra RAM aids creativity apps without compromising game performance.

Downsides of 32GB RAM

The benefits above may not justify the downsides:

• Large Price Premium: 32GB (2x16GB) kits often cost 70-100% more than 16GB (2x8GB) kits. This high price for minor performance gains only makes sense for some.

• Diminishing Returns: As you‘ll see in benchmarks later, FPS boosts are often negligible between 16GB and 32GB – less than 5% in many games. Excess unused capacity gives little real-world benefit for most.

• Potential Compatibility Issues: Running 4 sticks of RAM instead of 2 stresses the memory controller more. This can cause stability problems or prevent hitting max XMP speeds, especially on older motherboards.

So if you just plan to run games and a couple lightweight background apps, the large premium for 32GB RAM is hard to justify. But for heavy multitaskers and content creators, it can enhance the experience.

RAM Speed vs Capacity for Gaming

Another aspect is RAM speed and timings, not just capacity. Is paying more for faster 3600MHz RAM better for performance than simply having more RAM?

The consensus is that once you have enough capacity (16GB), focusing your budget on faster RAM speeds like DDR4-3600 provides more noticeable FPS gains than just having more unused RAM sitting there.

Of course finding the ideal balance of speed and capacity for your system depends on many factors. But don‘t assume more RAM automatically means better gaming performance if you are RAM limited.

Game Benchmarks: 16GB vs 32GB RAM

Let‘s look at some real-world gaming benchmarks comparing the average FPS boost when upgrading from 16GB to 32GB RAM:

Game	Resolution	Settings	Avg FPS (16GB)	Avg FPS (32GB)	Improvement
Horizon Zero Dawn	1440p	Ultimate	102	105	2.9%
Assassins Creed: Valhalla	1440p	Ultra High	71	73	2.8%
Cyberpunk 2077	1080p	Ultra	71	73	2.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2	1080p	Ultra	132	136	3%

As you can see, in most games the performance gain is marginal, even at higher resolutions. The extra unused RAM capacity gives little real-world benefit for the money.

However, the RAM capacity demands and resulting performance gains of games continue to evolve. To future proof, 32GB is still a smart choice for many.

Ideal RAM Configs for Various Gaming Setups

Based on the data so far, here are the RAM configurations I‘d recommend for different gaming PC builds and budgets:

1080p Budget Gaming

• 8GB: Passable, but bottom spec for new titles
• 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3200: Ideal sweet spot

1080p/1440p Mid-Range Gaming

• 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3600: Great combo of capacity and speed

4K & High Refresh Rate Gaming

• 16GB: Minimum needed in some titles
• 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3600: Recommended for heavy games

Content Creation & Streaming

• 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3600: Comfortably run multiple apps and games

Future Proof High-End Build

• 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3800: Excellent for heavy workloads now and in future

These are just general guidelines – make sure to consider your full workload. But it illustrates how 16GB hits the sweet spot for most mid-range gaming. Only certain use cases demand 32GB+.

My Experience Upgrading from 16GB to 32GB RAM

I personally upgraded from 16GB DDR4-3200 RAM to 32GB DDR4-3600 in my gaming PC and did extensive benchmarking before and after.

Here were my key findings:

• Average FPS in most games only increased by 2-5% at 1080p and 1440p resolutions after upgrading. Definitely not a game changer.

• However, when streaming intensive games via OBS, having 32GB RAM ensured my game performance stayed smooth and consistent, even with 20+ Chrome tabs open. No lag like before!

• The PC definitely felt snappier overall in day to day use. But for pure gaming, the 32GB upgrade was hard to justify over a faster GPU or CPU upgrade with that money.

• One exception was Microsoft Flight Simulator saw a sizable 15% FPS boost after upgrading. Some cutting edge titles demand more RAM.

So for my usage including streaming, the upgrade to 32GB was worthwhile. But for someone focused just on gaming, I‘d likely stick with 16GB RAM and spend extra budget on the GPU or CPU instead for better returns.

Conclusion

While 32GB RAM kits are appealing, for most gamers playing at 1080p or 1440p, sticking with 16GB remains the smarter choice in 2024. It delivers great performance for the money in most titles, even with some multitasking thrown in.

However, if you stream, record long videos, or editing gameplay as a hobby, the extra RAM headroom ensures your system runs smoothly without compromising game performance.

Gaming at 4K also demands more RAM to avoid bottlenecks as textures get larger. And having 32GB future proofs your build for gradually more demanding games coming in the next few years.

But for the average mid-range gaming PC, it‘s hard to justify the 70-100% price premium for 32GB RAM today for minimal FPS gains. Focus your budget instead on the strongest GPU possible, then sufficient RAM capacity and speed.