PC games nowadays are getting very demanding of high-end hardware components. Each year new games are launched with higher graphics than the previous, requiring your PC to be built with certain specifications. And this raises questions among gamers about how much RAM they need for gaming and streaming.
Currently, 16GB RAM is the standard for both gaming and streaming. Most games can be played and streamed at the same time if you have 16GB RAM on your PC. Some games may not work and require more RAM but for the most part, 16GB RAM will cover all your needs.
Here in this article, we will discuss why 16GB RAM is or isn’t enough for gaming and streaming so you have a better understanding of what you can and can’t do with 16GB RAM.
Table of Contents
Why 16GB RAM Is Enough for Gaming and Streaming?
Most modern games can be played smoothly with 16GB RAM. But streaming is a different beast on its own. And if you’re doing both at the same time, it is natural you’d want the best performance from your computer.
1. Gaming with 16GB RAM
16GB RAM is enough for gaming because gaming doesn’t take much RAM. Instead, the CPU and GPU matter more in gaming. Although most games recommend 8GB – 16GB RAM, they don’t use more than 3-5GB of memory. This is even less if your CPU and GPU are high-end.
2. Streaming with 16GB RAM
Streaming also takes about the same amount of memory. Granted there are quite a few factors to count on when streaming, such as streaming software, web browsers, live broadcast window, chat servers, etc. But all of these put together also don’t usually exceed 4-5GB RAM.
So having 16GB of RAM will cover both gaming and streaming. Even if you run multiple programs for streaming and also run a game, it won’t take more than 16GB RAM. So, if you have 16GB RAM, you are safe to both play games and stream at the same time.
What Happens if You Don’t Have 16GB RAM for Gaming and Streaming?
As stated before, 16GB RAM will fulfill all your gaming and streaming needs. But if you don’t have 16GB RAM on your PC, you might not be able to do both at the same time. Even if the game doesn’t take much memory, it is harder to run so many programs for a PC with lower RAM than 16GB.
Your PC might lag and you will experience frame drops while gaming and streaming at the same time if you don’t have 16GB RAM. You might also face software crashes and even your PC might crash if the memory is full all the time from doing so many tasks at once.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does RAM increase FPS?
Yes, RAM does increase FPS. It boosts your system’s performance which loads the game faster causing FPS to increase.
Does having dual monitors increase RAM consumption?
No, dual monitors do not increase RAM consumption. But dual monitors are used so you can run multiple programs at the same time through different displays. This does cause more RAM consumption. But just having 2 monitors do not.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you’re thinking of gaming and streaming on your computer with 16GB RAM, you can do it without a second thought. 16GB RAM is more than enough for doing multiple tasks like these. We hope we were able to help you understand if 16GB RAM is enough for gaming and streaming or not. If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us in the comments section.
