12GB RAM: Is it too much?

[Kulthor]

Unless you're going to be doing some extreme photoshoping it's way over kill. 4-8gb should you you plenty!
Hell I'm using 2gb!

[Deleted]

A 32-bit Programm (most programs are programmed in 32bit, as is WoW) can utilize up to 2GB Ram. Windows 7 takes up to ~1 GB RAM.

So, if no 64bit program (such as video-editing programs) is used, Win7 32-bit is sufficient, which can utilize ~3,7GB RAM minus the size of the used VGA-RAM.


tldr:
If no real 64bit Program is used, a 32bit Windows-OS with ~4 GB RAM is sufficiant for _all_ your needs.

[giowatcher]

We heard you like RAM. So we put a goat head inside your computer, so you can RAM while you ram.

[Kulthor]

A 32-bit Programm (most programs are programmed in 32bit, as is WoW) can utilize up to 2GB Ram. Windows 7 takes up to ~1 GB RAM.

So, if no 64bit program (such as video-editing programs) is used, Win7 32-bit is sufficient, which can utilize ~3,7GB RAM minus the size of the used VGA-RAM.


tldr:
If no real 64bit Program is used, a 32bit Windows-OS with ~4 GB RAM is sufficiant for _all_ your needs.

If you have a bunch of doo doo running then yea but Mine only takes up 467-500!

[Deleted]

196 gigs.... what would that ever be used for? Rendering a Transformers movie? lol

I'm sure we'll be using it for games sooner or later, it wasn't that long ago that 1gig of Ram looked like overkill

[Azuazu]

Anything over 6 gigs is too much, even for editing. I sometimes even have warcraft running with photoshop, and illustrator open at the same time and my 4 gigs run it like nothing. This is also having multiple files open at the same time.

[Cilraaz]

A 32-bit Programm (most programs are programmed in 32bit, as is WoW) can utilize up to 2GB Ram.

WoW now has LAA (Large Address Awareness) enabled by default, meaning that it can make use of up to 3GB RAM. There's also supposedly a 64-bit client in the works.

[edit: (Source) -- Added as of patch 4.1.0]

[BicycleMafioso]

RAM is inexpensive - why not?
Personally, I'm sitting with 8GiB in both my laptop and my desktop. It feels about right for me; I'm quite often >6GiB used/cached.

[Fantarius]

Any more than 4GB is overkill for any kind of gaming. But with how cheap it is, go for it. It's whatever.

[DeltrusDisc]

It is far more than you need, but honestly it won't kill you having it. And unless people are on a super ridiculous tight budget, it doesn't matter to have some extra RAM... it's so damn cheap nowadays anyways. I have 16GB myself, though I fold 24/7 and render video on occasion.

[nwo]

I have 4GB on my laptop and most of the time I am sitting at 3.5GB+ usage without any games open. But that's because I usually have a few hours worth of youtube music/videos open along with at least 10+ other random tabs and at least a dozen of background apps. If I had a choice, I would definitely not go with any lower than 8GB of RAM these days, especially since it's dirt cheap.

[angael]

It is a little much for most current games on the market, but since you have already bought it, keep it. It seems a number of new games coming out use 1gb+ ram. Depending on how much stuff you run 8gb may be a little low for you. Unless your like me and like seeing a low percent ram in use :P

[sizzlinsauce]

its not overkill. anyone who says it must think that ddr4 is coming out pretty soon /tinfoilhat you can get 16gb of ram for like $120 right now. rams dirt cheap now a days.

and like a poster 2 above me. im running ar 3.42gb with wow open downloading hannah digital copy and mmo-champ up. so i guess you can say 8gb is quickly becoming the minimum for performance that wont slow down on you.

[drakolatter]

I use chrome, and I have a 64bit os - I say chrome, because every chrome tab is a new process (which means if 1 tab fails, it kills that process and not the entire browser) - and I open a lot of tabs, and games/movies open and I use about 50-60% regularly, I've been up to 80%.

IF you need it - get it - else, dont bother

Chrome has actually had all my tabs fail all at the same time. It typically happens when Shockwave and Java Crash though, Mainly hanging out on mmo-champ does that to both my work, and home computers as well as my laptop.

[Deleted]

I easily fill up more than 4gb of ram (sporting 8gb).. I would never go below 8gb again, i just like running lots of applications in the background while gaming I mean its so cheap, so why the hell not ?

Like right now i got 3GB free, and im not even in a game atm. :>

[DeltrusDisc]

All DIMM slots filled on a motherboard looks cooler to me, anyways. ;p I was so happy when I stuck in the final 2 slots and could officially say I had 16GB; it looks pretty.

[Xenodrake]

i got 24gigs of ram in why? b/c i had the 6 slots and wanted to fill them lol. For stuff that uses alot of ram is mainly servers. My setup isnt a server yet maybe i will turn it into one later down the road when i rebuild my comp but for now its just a gameing computer with Three 27in monitors ^_^ i love it.

[Ultima]

Only if you plan to photoshop while playing Crysis, can this be justified.

[Kaiser499]

So what does RAM do exactly? I never bothered to look it up and can you assign how much ram a program uses or can dedicate to?

[Deleted]

WoW now has LAA (Large Address Awareness) enabled by default, meaning that it can make use of up to 3GB RAM. There's also supposedly a 64-bit client in the works.

[edit: (Source) -- Added as of patch 4.1.0]

Good to know, thanks. Though i dont believe they´ll make a 64bit Client like... ever xD