This is one of the most common questions which is asking by users very frequently is, 8GB RAM enough for gaming? Well, this is not an easy question because it also depends on many other factors to decide how much memory is enough for gaming as everyone has their own personal choices.
Like, we also need to consider what kind of games you want to play and what kind of hardware configuration you have on your laptop. So, let’s dive into this in more detail.
Wait! before we talk about this in detail first you should know about RAM.
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What Is RAM (Random Access Memory)?
RAM or Random Access Memory is a system’s short term memory where the data is stored temporarily which laptop currently using.
Actually, RAM is a volatile memory, it means it loses your data when you turn off your laptop or lose power supply.
But if you want to store your data in your laptop which can remain available even after you turned off your laptop then it will need memory which is non-volatile like a hard disk drive or solid-state drive which is also called as ROM.
However, the more RAM you have on your laptop the more applications you can be able to open and run at a time without lagging or slowing down. These days most of the gaming laptops come with at least 8GB of RAM while some high-end gaming machine comes along with 64GB or more RAM.
How Does RAM Work?
Now, you all know that RAM stores the data temporarily so that the laptop’s CPU can easily access that data very quickly. For example, when you open any application or file, the operating system stores that important data in to RAM so that the processor can access it faster compared to acess the data from the laptop’s storage drive such as HDD or SSD.
Still, if you can’t understand how does ram work then here I explain you simply. When you open any app or document file or anything then the CPU needs to follow that instructions and access that app or data and at that time first it checks the RAM whether it is already available in RAM or not.
If it is available then the CPU can access it much faster. But if its not available in RAM then CPU needs to access it from the hard drive and then the operating system loads that data into RAM.
How Important Is RAM For Gaming Laptop?
Well, when you are gaming on your laptop then the data of that game is stored in RAM. But in case, if your laptop doesn’t have enough RAM then it would need to continuously fetch the data from the hard drive which makes this process much slower as compared to accessing the data from the RAM.
Also Read: How To Choose The Right Gaming Laptop?
Sometimes, many laptops have more than the required RAM and in that case, they don’t face any kind of lagging or freezing issues when playing games.
How Much RAM Is The Minimum For Gaming?
According to the latest gaming titles, 8GB of RAM is the minimum for gaming. Actually, this is the least amount of RAM which laptop needs to handle the latest games, but still, you may face some lagging issues and give poor performance when you are playing some high graphics games.
So, if you want to play some high graphics games then the recommended RAM amount size is 16GB. Actually, this is enough RAM to handle almost all the latest gaming titles on medium, high graphics settings.
Wait, if you are a hardcore gamer and want to play extremely intensive games like Battlefield 5 or Destiny 2, then it is good to go with 32GB of RAM to be future proof and it can easily handle any high graphics games at ultra high settings.
Games That Require 8GB RAM
Well, 8GB of RAM is enough to handle most of the latest games without any issues. But for some games, you may need to play games at lower graphics settings. For this kind of game, you need to close down other apps so that these kinds of games can run smoothly.
1. PUBG:
PUBG or Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds is a multiplayer online Battle Royale game which is launched on 20th December 2017. To win this game you need to survive till the end whether you are alone or with your squad. This game can easily run on your laptop if you have 8GB of RAM and 2GB of a dedicated graphics card.
2. Fortnite:
Fortnite is another most popular online video game and this is also released in the year 2017. This game can be played in a laptop with 8GB RAM and 2GB of a dedicated graphics card. When it comes to the graphics of this game then it is not realistic but it is animated. In this game also players need to survive till the end to be a winner.
3. GTA V:
GTA V (Grand Theft Auto V) has got many record breaking awards and this is one of the most popular open world action adventure games. To run this game on a laptop with decent graphics and frames it requires at least 8GB of RAM.
4. Call of Duty Black Ops III:
Under the Call Of Duty franchise Call of Duty Black Ops III is also one of the most week known games for first person shooters. This is also one of the best games that you can play on your laptop with 8GB RAM. The Call of Duty Black Ops III was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision in the year 2015.
Is 8GB RAM Enough For Gaming Laptop?
Well, 8GB of RAM is enough to handle most of the latest gaming titles in 2023 but if you’ll do multitasking or running multiple apps simultaneously then it can’t be able to handle it very well.
So, if you want to run multiple apps or want to use some heavy software like Photoshop, Premier Pro then definitely you should go for 16GB RAM.
There is one of the best ways to know whether your laptop has enough RAM is you have to ask yourself a few questions:
How many apps you’ll run simultaneously?
Because if you’ll run more than one app at a time then you definitely need more than 8GB RAM. However, if you store high resolution images or videos then you’ll need more memory.
What kind of applications do you use on your laptop often?
If you are a designer or video/photo editor then you’ll use apps like Adobe Photoshop, Premier Pro, etc., and for that surely you’ll need 16GB of RAM which will allow you to use multiple apps at a time without any lagging issue.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Actually, effective gaming on a laptop requires a minimum 8GB of RAM. Because if you are going for less than 8GB RAM then you’ll face a lagging or freezing issue, etc. This is why it is good to spend your hard-earned money on at least 8GB of RAM.
No, 16GB is not overkill but the thing is that if you have 16GB of RAM then it can easily able to handle multiple applications at a time without any kind of performance issues. In simple terms, 16GB of RAM is just an additional space and it doesn’t make your laptop faster or give a performance boost that 8GB can’t be able to provide.
Well, if you are not a hardcore gamer and don’t want to play high graphics games then 8GB RAM is good for gaming. However, if you are a pro gamer who wants to play some demanding games then 8GB RAM is not enough and for that, you’ll need at least 16GB of RAM for smooth gaming.
Further, as a pro gamer, you can even go for 32GB of RAM but for that, you’ll also need a high end CPU and GPU too. Let’s take an example if your laptop has an intel core i5-10300H processor and GTX 1650 graphics card, then upgrading RAM from 8GB to 16GB is not worth it because performance wise there is no difference between both as it supports DDR4 memory which runs on same 2400MHz speed.
Final Verdict
Here in this article, we have already discussed how the amount of RAM a laptop has can affect the overall performance. But then what about games? So, the answer to this question is, 8GB of RAM is enough for most of casual gamers but not for pro gamers.
However, it mainly depends on the users like what kind of gamers they are and what kinds of games they want to play.
Still, does anyone have any kind of doubt or confusion, let me know by just commenting below I will help you out.
Hello! I am Robbin Simmond a senior editor & writer of this blog. By profession, I am a computer hardware engineer with a passion for gaming and technology. With a deep understanding of the intricate workings of computers, I have spent years researching and testing the latest advancements in gaming laptops.