No Way! 4GB RAM is Not Nearly Enough for Today‘s Games

As an avid gamer and content creator rocking a sweet 512GB SSD, I get asked a lot – can you really game or run intensive software on just 4 gigs of RAM? After tons of testing, tweaking, and crashing my system – the answer is a resounding no!

Let me tell you why 4GB RAM is barely enough for Windows 10 to run, let alone handle AAA gaming, video editing and all the applications we love to use.

Average RAM Usage Already Eats up 4GB

Before opening any games or creative apps, understand that Windows 10 alone uses 2GB RAM thanks to all its visual flair and background tasks. Office apps and Chrome browser take up another 1-2 GB if open. That doesn‘t leave much breathing room out of 4GB total RAM!

With less than 1GB RAM free, you‘ll constantly face lag, freezing and crashing – even web browsing chugs due to excessive paging. No bueno!

Modern Games Demand 8GB RAM Minimum

Let‘s talk about my favorite past-time – gaming! Modern titles like Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077 recommend 16GB system RAM even for medium settings at 1080p. Here‘s why they eat RAM for breakfast:

High Resolution Textures: 4K textures look incredible but eat up tons of video RAM and system RAM. At higher resolutions like 1440p or 4K, games demand at least 8GB VRAM and 16GB system memory.

More NPCs and Environmental Detail: The more stuff games render on-screen, the more RAM they consume. Even eSports titles like Valorant and Fortnite require 8GB minimum now thanks to complex maps and textures.

As a benchmark, popular games like GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 use up 7.5GB and even 9GB RAM respectively at high settings! Don‘t even think about 4GB which makes them unplayable.

I tried running Destiny 2 on medium settings with only 4 gigs of RAM and wrecked my whole weekend troubleshooting nonstop crashes! Save yourself the headache brothers and sisters.

Video Editing? Ha! 4GB RAM Says Goodbye

As a buff PC hardware nerd, I couldn‘t resist producing some sweet YouTube videos and Twitch streams sharing my passion. But professional editing software like Premiere Pro and rendering videos is no joke when it comes to RAM requirements!

Just opening Adobe software eats up 2GB RAM thanks to all their background features and libraries running. Throw in some effects, transitions and multiple video angles – I‘ve had Premiere crash from eating up 10+ GB RAM in a session!

Most video editing pros recommend 32GB RAM minimum which seems like overkill but trust me, with 4GB your system will be constantly freezing and stuttering even at 720p projects.

SSDs Don‘t Magically Increase Usable RAM

Before you call me out for ignoring your sweet 512GB solid state drive upgrade – hear me out! SSDs are amazing, no doubt – they load Windows and games much faster thanks to quick access times. But once stuff is loaded in RAM, the SSD doesn‘t help much.

Think of RAM like a table and the SSD as your fridge. Sure, the SSD (fridge) can feed your apps quick. But if the table (RAM) space is tiny, you can‘t fit much on it anyway before having to swap stuff out! Plus, RAM supplies direct bandwidth unlike SSDs relying on the architecture and CPU speeds.

Conclusion – Avoid 4GB RAM like a Plague!

Let me wrap up this RAM rant by giving my straight talk – 4GB RAM is not even close to enough in 2023 even with SSDs for all but the most basic web browsing. Upgrading to 16GB or even 32GB RAM might seem excessive now, but in another year or two it‘ll be the standard as games and software progress!

I know RAM is expensive, so my advice – start with 8GB minimum if money‘s tight and make sure you get fast DDR4 modules from reputed brands. Get dual channel RAM configurations if your motherboard supports it. Down the line you can add another 8GB module for 16GB total.

Stay tuned for my upcoming RAM buying guide and how to tune RAM for best gaming performance! Remember, frames win games and RAM wins frames. Low RAM will tank your gameplay no matter what your GPU is! Game on and prosperous PC building to all.