As you are landed here I am damn sure that you are looking for buying a new gaming laptop. But confused about a few things which include specs, and features. So, the RAM could be one of them.
These days, you’ll get thousands of laptops with different specs and features but choosing the best one will be quite difficult and for that, you should look for few important things and RAM is one of them.
After purchasing a gaming laptop if you’ll realize that it is not perfect for your gaming needs, it’ll waste your hard earned money. So, if you have a doubt about how much RAM you need for your laptop for gaming then here you’ll get the answer which will clear all your doubts. So, to learn more about it keep reading this article properly.
Before we get into the main topic first we will see more about RAM and how actually it works for gaming.
What Is RAM (Random Access Memory)?
After the CPU, RAM (Random Access Memory) is one of the most important factors of the laptop or computer.
RAM is a short-term memory where the system stores the data which it needs to access quickly.
What actually RAM does is, it keeps the data of the app which you are using and makes it easily accessible so that the CPU can quickly find it and open it without looking into long-term memory (SSD/HDD) to complete any of the tasks very quickly.
What Does RAM Do?
RAM (Random Access Memory) is called “short-term” memory or “Volatile” memory, it means it retains the data as long as the system is on. But when the laptop is turned off it wipes out all the data.
But when the laptop is turned on again, the operating system, applications/programs, and other data that you are currently using, the RAM keeps it in its short-term memory. So that, the CPU can easily access it and complete any of the tasks quickly too.
Here I just want to clarify one thing that is RAM is a short-term memory while SSD and HDD is a long-term memory where it stores all your data permanently, so don’t be confused.
Does RAM Affect Gaming?
Well, the answer of this question is Yes, it affects. Because gaming is an intensive task where a good amount of RAM is a must. If your laptop or desktop doesn’t have enough RAM for the game that you want to play on your laptop then it will struggle.
Sometimes, what happens is we buy a gaming laptop with an excessive amount of RAM that actually we don’t need, and it is a complete waste of our money. Actually, for most of the games, 16GB of RAM is good enough. But if you’ll buy a gaming laptop with 32GB RAM or more than you require, it will be overkill.
By doing this you would waste your hard-earned money also. Instead, you can do one thing, first, make a list of which games you want to play and check the requirements of that games so that you can get a better idea about that how much RAM is enough for your gaming.
How Much RAM Do I Need For Gaming Laptop?
Ok so now, coming to the main topic to give you the answer of your question. As you are thinking that how much RAM a gaming laptop needs then in some cases 8GB is also enough but 16GB is good to go.
Actually, not all games require the same amount of RAM, this is why I suggest you to check the requirements of all the games and then make your purchase decision. So, that you can get a perfect machine as per your need.
To give you a rough idea of how much RAM do you need for a gaming laptop, here I have created a list.
4GB RAM:
The games which are released in the 2020s require a decent amount of RAM. If you are planning to buy a gaming laptop with 4GB of RAM then you are taking the wrong decision because it is not enough for that.
Actually, a laptop with 4GB of RAM is good for normal usage like doing some assignments in MS Office, video conferencing on Zoom or Google Duo, web browsing, watching videos, etc. But for gaming, you’ll need more than that.
8GB RAM:
8GB of RAM is still good but not the best. However, if you are on a tight budget or have a limited budget and also don’t want to keep up with the latest games then simply go with 8GB RAM.
However, 8GB of RAM is still not enough, it can be able to handle some of the low to medium-graphics games which means it’ll limit your gaming experience. You can’t play the latest games such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, Fortnite, and many others.
16GB RAM:
When it comes to gaming then 16GB of RAM is the holy grail. The reason why I am telling you this is that most of the latest games need 16GB RAM to run it smoothly without lag. Else, you can’t get the best gaming experience.
These days demands of gaming are increasing and this is why nowadays you’ll get to see some of the games which require more than 16GB RAM. If you are the one who streaming games online or runs the game servers then definitely you might need more than 16GB of RAM.
32GB RAM:
If you want your gaming laptop to be future proof then you need to ensure that the RAM you are planning to buy with your laptop would be 32GB. Here I want to tell you that, this could be an expensive option for you, but it’s worth it. Due to massive RAM, it would last for the foreseeable future also it can be able to handle any games which is currently available or release in the future that’ll require 32GB RAM.
64GB RAM:
Well, 64GB of RAM is really overkilled. Currently, there are no such games that require 64GB RAM, and being ready for the future with this much amount of RAM is needless.
Almost all the latest games that you are planning to play on your new gaming laptop such as Assassin’s Creed, Red Dead Redemption 2, GTAV, Call of Duty, etc., will not require more than 32GB of RAM. You can play all these games at high graphics settings. So, still, you can consider 32GB RAM for once but 64GB is overkilled.
Does More RAM Mean Better Gaming Performance?
As we all know that adding more RAM will surely improve the gaming performance of your laptop but this is the case only when your system has less RAM than what your games require.
However, all the games have their own requirement for RAM. For instance, if the game which you want to play requires 8GB of RAM but already you have in your laptop 16GB of RAM then it doesn’t need to upgrade it to 32GB. If you will do that then you can’t see any performance boost or improvement in your system.
Again in some cases like, if you want to play large open-world games such as Far Cry, Saint Row, The Witcher, etc., then having more RAM can help to reduce the stuttering. The reason behind this is, these games need to load more data once you move toward the new scenes, and it becomes too heavy as you progress in your game.
When it comes to multitasking then having more RAM will definitely help because it can easily handle any kind of heavy multitasking and also the programs running in the background.
Can I Upgrade RAM On My Gaming Laptop?
Well, in most of the cases you can upgrade the RAM in gaming laptops. But to do that, the first thing you need to know is whether your laptop memory is directly soldered onto the motherboard or not. To know whether your laptop is further upgradable or not you can do that very easily by using the Crucial System Advisor tool.
If your laptop is further upgradable then another important thing you need to look into that is the what is maximum amount of RAM you can upgrade in your gaming laptop, because it is depending on your laptop’s motherboard. Once you’ll know that how much RAM your laptop supports then think how much you want to expand it and depending on that buy the new RAM.
After that, you’ll need to do is open a bottom cover to access the memory slot. And if it has an empty slot for memory then simply add the new memory stick into that slot. But in case all the slots are filled, then you’ll need to remove one memory stick from them and replace it with the new one. Generally, RAM comes in this capacities such as 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB.
For instance, if your gaming laptop has two memory slots with two memory sticks of 4GB, which means your laptop has 8GB of RAM in total. So, to upgrade your gaming laptop to 16GB, you’ll need to replace it with one stick of 12GB or replace both sticks with two 8GB memory sticks.
The frequency of RAM is another important factor that you need to consider when you are going to buy a new RAM. Currently, DDR5 is the latest one which has a higher speed than the older DDR4 and DDR3 RAM. But make sure that buy a memory which is similar to your current memory series and also from the same manufacturer so that you can’t face any compatibility issues.
Final Words
So, this is from my side and I hope that you have got proper knowledge about how much RAM you need in your gaming laptop.
Now, you get to know how RAM is one of the important factors in your gaming laptop. Also, how less RAM can affect your gaming experience like you can’t be able to play your favorite games at higher settings and also will face lagging issues.
To avoid this kind of issue try to get the ideal size of RAM which is 16GB. Almost all the latest games you can play on your gaming laptop with 16GB RAM without any lagging or freezing issues. But for budget buyers, 8GB of RAM is still good for normal gaming.
In the end, I just want to tell you that the overall gaming performance not only depends on a good amount of RAM, but you also need an equally powerful CPU and GPU as well.
Still, if you are getting stuck and can’t able to consider how much RAM you need then simply tell me your requirements via email or below comment box I will help you out accordingly.
