While having a good graphics card is a no-brainer when it comes to top visuals, there’s another spec that a lot of potential PC buyers tend to miss out: the RAM. You see, RAM is important when it comes to the overall speed and performance of the game, especially with modern titles today.

Oh, and since you’re reading this, don’t forget to click here to check out the best RAM for PC Gaming.

Yes, you will need a nice GPU to display Cyberpunk 2077 in full display but will it have good clock speed to play the game in a buttery-smooth way? Let’s find out. We’ll discuss this in short, brief paragraphs.

How Much is Good Enough?

Gone are the days where you can play games at just 2GB RAM. Today, you will need at least 4GB of RAM to run the game at a relatively good pace. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing the game with graphics set to low, medium or high – what matters is how much RAM the game accumulates.

Usually, you’ll find games with a minimum requirement of RAM to get you to properly play the game. For example, Grand Theft Auto V needs at least 4GB RAM to get it running. But, just because it can run on 4GB doesn’t mean it will guarantee a smooth performance. Yes, the game will run properly, but there will be frequent times when the game needs time to buffer the world and textures, causing some jittering and even delayed response times.

To be certain, a lot of games recommend getting 8GB of RAM in order to feel little to no lag nor long buffering times on your gameplay.

8GB vs 16GB

While 8GB is the recommended RAM size, 16GB is the future. Not only does 16GB has more free RAM but it will also guarantee no delays in your gameplay.

Also, it can multitask more than your usual 8GB. In other words, you can minimize a heavy game like The Witcher 3 while looking at YouTube videos. Or, for a better example, you don’t have to worry about performance issues when you’re live streaming a game while other programs are running.

However, 16GB isn’t a requirement. In fact, it’s very expensive even to this day, but if you want a safer future, go for 16GB. But, if you just like to solely play games with good performance, you can always stick with 8GB.

But What About Overclocking?

You must have heard the term “Overclocking” a lot of times already, so we’ll give you a brief gist. Overclocking refers to make the component work above and beyond what the manufacturer intended it to be. You can do this on four separate hardware: CPU, GPU, Monitor, and RAM.

Quite frankly, overclocking is pretty dangerous to your PC’s health especially if you have no idea how to properly do it. But if you’re confident about it, then it’s worth giving it a try. But if you just want to be safe, don’t tamper it at all.

So, is overclocking good for RAM? In many cases, yes. But it’s only good if you have a DDR4 or DDR5 to see the drastic changes versus that of a DDR3.

But if the clock speed of your PC is to your satisfaction already, just let it be and don’t bother fiddling it.

Recap

To play modern games on its minimum settings, you need 4GB RAM for your PC. But, if you want the recommended RAM that’s enough to get you playing games without stutters, lags and delays, it’s always best to go for 8GB of RAM. And if you have the budget, settle with a 16GB RAM.

Overclocking isn’t required but if you know your way around it, then, by all means, do it. But above all else, just be mindful of your PC’s safety.