Is it OK to have 12 GB RAM?
Definitely. You can have three 4 GB RAM sticks in three of your slots. Or, 8GB and 4GB sticks in two slots etc combinations but its recommended to have equal RAM sticks to have better performance. So it's better to place two 8 GB sticks totalling 16 GB instead of 12 GB RAM in total.
Rule of thumb is the 8GB is enough for current games. Also note that 12GB can be a bit of an odd ball configuration depending on the motherboard. Some systems have been know to run better with 8GB than 12GB as result. So consult, your motherboard manual to make sure your memory configuration is optimal.
Most experts agree that 12GB RAM is more than enough for most users in 2022. That being said, some power users think that they need more than 12GB of RAM. If you are a power user, then you might need more than 12GB of RAM. However, for most users, 12GB of RAM will be more than enough.
To meet the demands of modern software, 16 GB of RAM is what most people will need. This amount will help strike a good balance between running standing and resource-hungry apps on your computer.
8 GB is plenty much space for current applications and programs. It's ideal for high-end multimedia businesses. Likewise, 16 GB gives you a lot of comfortable space for future applications. Anything above that is probably overkilled unless you have specific uses for it, depending on your business's industry.
How much RAM do you need? Generally, we recommend 8GB of RAM for casual computer usage and internet browsing, 16GB for spreadsheets and other office programs, and at least 32GB for gamers and multimedia creators.
12gb or 8gb will have very little bearing on battery drain. In fact 12gb will be more efficiency overall as it will be able to hold more in memory rather than having to revert to Ram Boost.
For gamers, 64GB is certainly overkill: 16GB will be fine for new title releases in the near future. It's what else is on your PC hoovering up the memory that might require it.
Key takeaway: Opt for 8GB of RAM if you want decent performance on less demanding titles, but go for 16GB if you want to play the latest and most resource intensive hits. If you want to do things like stream to Twitch, we'd recommend opting for the 32GB options offered on many gaming PCs.
It is overkill if you use it for watching videos, playing games, doing financial work. It is not overkill if you want to use it for some “extreme” coding like using Eclipse or virtual machine with other programmes and they still works smoothly.
Does 16GB RAM make a difference?
16GB is the recommended amount of RAM for playing most games and will provide a noticeable increase in performance from 8GB. You will also be able to run applications in the background without affecting gameplay.
A 12GB data plan will allow you to browse the internet for around 144 hours, to stream 2,400 songs or to watch 24 hours of standard-definition video.

RAM (random access memory) is a key component in any gaming PC. Adding more RAM can boost system responsiveness and improve frame rates when compared to systems with less memory.
Generally, the faster the RAM, the faster the processing speed. With faster RAM, you increase the speed at which memory transfers information to other components. Meaning, your fast processor now has an equally fast way of talking to the other components, making your computer much more efficient.
No, this difference is not a major improvement. If you have 12 GB RAM now, a tiny upgrade to 16 would not be significant. Upgrading to 32 or 40 GB if possible would be the way to go.
For the vast majority of gamers, 16GB is enough. However, if you plan on streaming or running multiple applications while your games are running — OBS Studio, a web browser, etc. — 32GB will give you a little more room.
More From Popular Mechanics. When your computer is running programs in its random access memory, or RAM, it only takes up a fraction of the space. But over time, that RAM memory fills up, which will slow your computer down in the long-run.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch Task Manager. Or, right-click the Taskbar and select Task Manager.
- Select the Performance tab and click Memory in the left panel. ...
- Open the Processes tab to see which tasks are consuming the most RAM.
School: For most college students, 8GB of RAM is plenty. However, students who process a lot of data should consider at least 16GB of RAM. Work: 8GB of RAM is fine for daily productivity. If you do a lot of processing, consider upgrading to 16GB or more.
So if you can afford it, 16 GB of RAM is not an unreasonable baseline for your 2022 machine. You might not take advantage of all that power right now, especially if you don't use your computer for intensive tasks.
Is it worth getting 16GB of RAM instead of 8GB?
8GB of RAM is the sweet spot for the majority of users, providing enough RAM for virtually all productivity tasks and less demanding games. If you're running demanding applications like video editing and CAD, or you're a hardcore gamer, then we recommend that you start at 16GB and go up from there.
No it is not. The standard is at Least 16 GB so 32 is not overkill. It allows you to cache more information so your apps load quicker but that is also dependent on your CPU. The more threads your CPU has the more processes can run without causing a slow down.
Hardware requirements
RAM: 4 gigabytes (GB) or greater. Storage: 64 GB* or greater available storage is required to install Windows 11.