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8 GB RAM was the recommendation for quite some time before being dethroned a couple of years ago. 16 GB became the new favorite following the introduction of the current-gen consoles, with the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X. Moreover, with multiple titles recommending at least 12 to 16 GB RAM, gamers started switching over.
However, several games still suggest 8 GB as the bare minimum. This raises a question: Should cash-strapped gamers get 8 GB RAM in 2023, or is it better to spend a bit more to acquire 16 GB of RAM? Let's try to answer this query in this article by looking at performance data, prices, and more.
8 GB RAM is falling short in 2023
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Memory and storage prices have plummeted since the beginning of the year. Currently, the cost of both DDR4 and DDR5 RAM are at their lowest. At the time of writing, entry-level 8 GB DDR4 sticks are selling for $20, with the high-performance offerings featuring RGB costing $25-30.
Things are a bit different when it comes to DDR5. One of the biggest improvements of the new memory standard is the maximum capacity bumps. With this, the baseline has gone up as well. There are no 8 GB offerings in the current DDR5 lineup. Every 8 GB RAM stick is available as a kit of two, which doubles up to 16 GB.
The prices of these 16 GB sticks are very competitive. There are multiple DDR5-5200 kits in the market that are selling for $50-60. But these sticks fail the primary objective of this article. Therefore, you'll have to stick to DDR4 to get 8 GB memory in 2023.
Performance differences
More than prices, performance is what worries gamers. There are some obvious tricks to improving RAM performance, like using the fastest XMP profiles and installing dual-channel memory. However, the best way to increase performance is to crank up the memory size.
Therefore, it is not surprising that 8 GB of memory is slower than 16 GB, except in certain unique circumstances. However, the main question is how much. Thanks to YouTuber Hardware for Gamers, we have a side-by-side look at the performance of different memory configurations.
Below is a table of the framerates recorded in some of the latest and most demanding games.
It is quite evident from the above chart that the days of 8 GB RAM are almost over. In every game, it scored about 4-10% lower. The gains of upgrading to 16 GB are evident as it adds a significant performance boost at a relatively cheap price tag.
Adding 10% more performance to your gaming system could just cost $20 as of prices in today's market. However, there are no significant merits to upgrading your memory even further.
So, to answer the question - it is better to stick to 16 GB RAM in 2023. However, if you are cash-strapped and don't have extra money to dump on system memory, you can still stick to 8 GB RAM for the foreseeable few months before upgrading to 16 GB.
