Is 64 GB RAM Overkill for Gaming & General Use in 2024?

As an avid gamer and content creator myself, I get this question a lot – is buying 64GB of RAM totally overkill for gaming and regular usage in 2024?

Well, the short answer is: for most gamers and average users, yes 64GB is overkill for 2023 and even next couple of years.

As of today, 16GB DDR4 RAM is still the sweet spot that provides smooth performance for modern gaming and applications. But there are some specific scenarios where having crazy 64GB capacity can be justified.

Let‘s dive deeper…

When Does 64GB RAM Make Sense?

Here are some user cases and workloads where splurging on 64 gigs (or even more!) makes perfect sense:

4K High FPS Gaming Setups

If you‘re building an extreme, no-holds barred gaming rig meant to play the latest titles at max settings and ⚡120+ FPS frame rates⚡ at 4K resolution, then yes go ahead and get 64GB RAM kits.

Having plenty of unused memory headroom gives your GPU(s) and CPU abundant breathing room to push max performance during intense scenes without getting throttled.

For example, Call of Duty Modern Warfare at 4K max settings consumes up to 19.5GB RAM for highest frame rates according to tests by Tom‘s Hardware. So for buttery smooth 4K gaming now and future titles, 64 gigs is great.

RAM usage in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare benchmarked

Source: Tom‘s Hardware

But at 1440p or lower resolutions, even 32GB total RAM capacity is plenty sufficient for any modern game today, unless you have crazy background tasks running too.

Creative Professionals – Video, 3D Work

For professional 3D modelers, CG animators, video editors and other graphics-intensive power users working with large 4K or 8K assemblies and assets, 64 gigs allows keeping more of the project files and resources in active memory rather than relying on slower storage paging.

So having over-provisioned RAM capacity directly speeds up workflow and productivity when working with complex Video Editing and CAD/CAM projects.

As a data point, Adobe Premiere Pro can easily consume over 16GB RAM when manipulating multiple 4K streams with effects based on Puget Systems testing. Autodesk Maya recommends at least 16GB RAM for working smoothly with complex 3D assets.

The more effects, transitions, models and textures you composite together simultaneously, the more memory gets used up. 64GB gives you comfort that your creativity won‘t hit any memory limits today or next few years even as projects scale up.

Recommended RAM capacities for creative applications

Software Development & Testing

For developers who need to run multiple virtual machines (VMs) concurrently for coding or testing, having copious amounts of RAM helps avoid slowdowns or app crashes. Think 64GB or even 128GB for super smooth developer environments with dozen of services running together.

Data Science & Analysis

Similarly data scientists working with gigantic multi-gigabyte datasets for training ML models or running statistical analysis can put 64+ GB RAM to good use for complex workloads. More memory expedites data manipulation and modeling with utmost fluidity.

So in summary – 4K AAA gaming addicts, media production pros and specialized power users are clear cases where splurging on a 64GB RAM configuration makes sense and is not overkill at all even today.

It may sound excessive for everyday computing needs, but for performance-intensive computing, creative workloads and memory-hogging applications, abundant active memory delivers noticeable dividends in responsiveness and productivity.

What About for Regular Users?

But what about for regular users who aren‘t building cutting-edge gaming rigs or running extremely demanding media workflows?

For most typical consumers focused on web browsing, basic office apps, casual gaming at 1080p, etc. – 64 gigs of RAM is indeed complete overkill as of 2023.

As a seasoned system builder myself, I recommend 16GB DDR4 RAM as the ideal mainstream capacity for average users that offers excellent multitasking capability at affordable prices for modern CPUs.

In terms of specs – 2x8GB DDR4-3200 or DDR4-3600 RAM kits deliver superb real-world performance for mainstream users without emptying your wallets.

And here is some data to back it up…

Based on field usage statistics reported by Crucial, average memory consumption on a typical Windows 10/11 computer is just 6.9GB.

So 16GB leaves ample breathing room for dozens of Chrome tabs even during spikes in usage across everyday applications.

Typical memory consumption across common activities

And looking ahead over the next 3-4 years, I expect 16GB to easily meet 50-tab Chrome sessions and smooth 1080p gameplay for new titles releasing through 2025 at least.

So don‘t over-spend on unnecessary 64GB excess capacity upfront based on fear of future requirements.

Also, remember than you can always add more RAM later on once you actually need it as 16GB starts to feel limiting for your actual usage down the road. Upgrading memory is convenient and straightforward.

Evaluating Your True Needs

Rather than blindly deciding on RAM capacity based on random recommendations, I strongly suggesting monitoring and evaluating your actual system memory usage over a period of days/weeks first.

Use the task manager on Windows 11 to check both current RAM consumption and peak usage statistics across your everyday workflow before deciding capacity upgrades.

If total or active memory usage never goes over 8-12GB while you have dozens of Edge tabs, Steam, MS Office, Photoshop etc. open concurrently today, then you will likely be more than satisfied with 16GB RAM even for next few years down the line. No need for premature overkill capacity.

But if you are seeing memory bottlenecks, performance slowdowns or app crashes due to hitting ceilings of your current RAM allotment – then purposefully stepping up to 32GB or even 64GB makes complete sense.

It all comes down to your actual needs and usage scenario – ignore generic recommendations and choose RAM capacity based on your unique workloads for the best experience.

And remember you can always add more later! So start reasonable, not overzealous.

Final Recommendations

Here is a quick summary of my 2023 RAM suggestions for different users:

Mainstream Gamers & General Users: 16GB DDR4 Ideal Sweet Spot

Cutting Edge 4K Gaming Rigs: 32GB – 64GB Recommended

Creative Professionals (Video, 3D etc) – 32GB+ DDR4 or 64GB DDR5

Evaluate your current memory usage and upgrade reasonably from there for your actual needs.

Prioritize faster RAM speeds and lower latencies for better real-world performance beyond just increasing overall capacity alone.

That‘s my in-depth analysis if 64 gigs of RAM is overdoing it for today and 2023! Let me know your thoughts or any questions down below!