Why 32GB RAM Is The New Standard For Gaming In 2024

Step into 2024. Gone are the days when you’d contemplate sticking with 8GB or 16GB RAM in order to save a considerable amount of money on your gaming PC.

Courtesy of voluminous production scales, both DDR4 & DDR5 RAM have seen steep drops in pricing across the line, making the step-up to 32GB RAM all the easier for the newbies and seasoned veterans alike. 

Why Did It Take This Long?

In the past decade, 8GB of DDR3 RAM was the universal standard for general multitasking and moderate gaming, with 16GB RAM representing the top end of the power user spectrum. 

There are a couple of reasons for that, first and foremost being the price points. Gamers used to be extorted for a measly 8 gigs of RAM, let alone upgrading to 32GB. 

32GB RAM It Is

Fast forward to today, DDR4 RAM is on its way out, now only seen in budget laptops and PCs, even though I believe it still offers amazing bang for the buck now that it’s being sold at heavily discounted prices, so you shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it, especially considering the fact that 32GB of DDR4 RAM wouldn’t put a dent in your wallet these days. 

DDR5 RAM is here. It feels like it just came out yesterday, but that would be an insult to its launch in 2019, even though it didn’t go mainstream towards the end of 2021 or in 2022 and 2023 when it really took off. 

Thanks to the relative maturity of DDR4 RAM & DDR5 RAM going mainstream, you’ll be able to grab yourself some reasonably priced 32GB Kits for both memory standards with no issues.

Less Optimization = More RAM

First off, developers nowadays are less focused on RAM optimization in contrast to yesteryears, like it or not. Gamers had to make do with 8GB or 16GB RAM in the past, but now, newbies and veterans alike won’t even blink twice at seeing 64GB or 128GB RAM in someone’s gaming PC.

What that means for both the average and enthusiast gamer is that titles in the future will be expected to take up more RAM than before. Games like ARK: Survival Evolved, Star Citizen, Galactic Civilizations 3, and even Microsoft Flight Simulator are just some of the titles that will definitely need the extra headroom that 32 gigs of RAM would offer you to smoothly run the game at medium to high graphical settings. 

Still Not Convinced You Need 32GB RAM?

Forget gaming for a second (I know, everyone’s probably going to propel homing launchers at me for saying this). But hold your horses, guys. If you’re one of those who think 16GB RAM is enough for your gaming needs, let me tell you why you’re very wrong. 

I personally run a MacBook Pro 15″ with 16GB of dual-channel DDR3 RAM for both my work and gaming (yikes, I can literally visualize the amount of hate I’m going to get in the comments). I run Windows 10 Pro via Bootcamp for all my gaming needs, but hey, like I said, forget gaming. 

Why? I routinely struggle to keep all of my 50-60 tabs open in Safari, along with a few other apps running in the background, like Spotify, Slack, Notes, and Pages.

Granted, it’s not a light workload by any means, but even Windows enthusiasts acknowledge the fact that macOS is renowned for its memory optimization, so the fact that I sometimes struggle to juggle my day-to-day multitasking usage should be enough to persuade you to go for 32GB RAM if you want to run the latest and greatest titles at graphical settings that won’t require you to squint with your eyes.

32GB RAM Prices In 2024

Maybe some of you are puzzled as to why I’m pushing for 32GB RAM, even if you don’t need it, and if so, just for the sake of future-proofing. It’s because the years of being overcharged and financially blackmailed for sizeable RAM Kits are long gone.

32GB DDR4 RAM Kits are easily available for $60-80 while mainstream 32GB DDR5 RAM is also up for sale at the $100 price point, so it really doesn’t make sense to cheap out on 16GB RAM just to save a few measly bucks unless you’re really strapped for cash, in which case, I’d suggest upgrading to 32GB down the line as soon as possible.

Conclusion 

32GB RAM is the new Gaming Memory King. That’s the bottom line. It’s seriously a no-brainer. Price, Performance, Future-proofing, what more do you want? Close your eyes and go for the upgrade. You can thank me later.