Every gamer wants to have a fantastic gaming experience. Nobody likes to waste time playing a PC game that lags. It’s a frustrating experience if the situation persists. Many times, we try to know how to make our gaming experience better.
It leads to several questions like: Is RAM speed important in gaming? Will more RAM improve my gaming performance? Should I go for faster RAM and many other important questions?
In this post, we will try to answer all your questions and find out if RAM affects the FPS in the gaming system.
When you build your computer for gaming purposes, many people will want to increase their RAM for better performance. Why? Because RAMs, compared to CPUs & GPUs, are more affordable to purchase.
So do you need to buy a higher RAM? Continue reading!
How Does RAM affect FPS?
Before we check out the answer to this question, let us first know how RAM works. Random Access Memory or RAM acts as the temporary storage for Hard Drive and CPU.
When you start your game, the essential game files get stored temporarily on your RAM from the Hard Drive. It helps the CPU to access these files faster than accessing them from your Hard Drive.
The reason is RAMs have higher file writing and reading speed compared to Hard Drives. Hence, RAMs are faster than SSD and HDD Storage.
If you do not have the needed amount of RAM capacity, then the CPU accesses those files from your Hard Drive than the RAM. However, compared to RAM, hard drives are a bit slower. Hence, you will see a drop in FPS (Frame Per Second).
So, it’s true. RAM affects your FPS only if your PC has a lower RAM capacity than recommended to play high-end games. Suppose you have a good CPU and Graphics card. Increasing RAM will not make a huge difference. It because other things are in the proper place.
For example, the game you have installed on your PC needs 4GB RAM. Hence, if you have store 8GB RAM, your game may run alright. In the same way, even though you get 16GB of RAM, it won’t make much difference as you have already set the minimum RAM requirements.
If your game needs 16GB RAM and you have 8GB, then the FPS will be highly affected.
How Much Difference Does Higher RAM Make in Gaming?
Upgrading from 4GB to 16GB and running the game that uses a maximum of 8GB RAM may have a marginal impact, still noticeable. It will run smoothly, and you can get some extra FPS, which will improve loading time a little.
On the other hand, if you have 8GB RAM and upgrade to 16GB while your game uses just 8GB, then the difference would be unnoticeable.
Hence, prioritizing on powerful GPU or CPU based on the types of games you play and software you use can be a worthwhile investment, primarily when gaming.
RAM Speed or Size: Which’s Important in Gaming?
When buying your RAM, general advice will prioritize RAM size than speed if you are on a tight budget.
- No system can benefit from the high-speed data transfer rates when the RAM amount available isn’t enough for storing the needed application files and data.
- Generally, the standard JEDEC speeds for today’s RAM generation comes in between 2133 -- 2600 MHz for AMD and Intel-based CPUs.
- Though, AMD-based units can benefit more from the higher speed rate than Intel counterpart.
Hence, 3200 MHz frequency is highly recommended for most gamers when selecting the correct memory for their PC, with the lower clock speeds creating a loss in over 10 to 15% performance.
Does Lesser Amount of RAM Affect FPS?
As mentioned before, there is not anything as “less” amount of RAM. And we have seen that different game needs a different amount of RAM and thus, your choice may depend on the factors like games you play & processes you run.
Certain game titles like League of Legends, Dota 2, and a few others may get on fine with 8 GB RAM without any noticeable drop in your gaming performance.
But, high-end games like Assassins Creed, GTA, Far Cry, and other upcoming titles may benefit from the higher amount of RAM.
In such a case, when it comes to framerates, performance drop can impact your gaming experience.
It is better to do proper research, and when on a tight budget, opt for the appropriate RAM size for your gaming requirements.
What is the Recommended RAM Size?
Whereas the amount of memory you need differs from one person to another, you need to consider the recommended RAM size. Suppose you do not play demanding games regularly, then 8GB RAM will be enough storage to get you an enjoyable gaming experience.
But, if your games are more demanding, then 16GB RAM gives a bit of advantage, and 16GB can be future-proof as future games may need more storage.
Required RAM For Gaming – 8GB, 16GB, Or 32GB
Some time ago, low RAM was enough for gaming as those weren’t huge software to handle. However, with the development in the technology, the current software is getting vast and complex to measure and needs a good amount of RAM storage for smooth running.
When technology wasn’t very complex, 4GB of RAM was enough for gaming purposes. Then with advancement, 8 GB of was admiring, and it went on. Right now, 32GB of RAM is appreciated, especially for gaming.
Sum Up
Does RAM really affect FPS? The answer is RAM can have a marginal impact on the gaming past a few thresholds. When playing your favourite game titles, keep the RAM requirements in mind. You will not have to overspend on the memory.
As mentioned in the above post, 16GB seems to be a good amount of RAM for a gaming system in 2021.
