Research-based guide. Prices and specs are sourced and dated, not tested by us.

The short answer

For a new gaming PC in 2026, 32GB of RAM is the sensible target, and 16GB is the floor that still works for many players. Valve’s Steam survey now lists 32GB as the most common amount, and the price gap between the two is $168 at the lowest US DDR5-6000 prices tracked by Tom’s Hardware on 22 October 2026: $279 for 16GB and $447 for 32GB.

If your current PC already plays your games smoothly on 16GB, keep it, because the memory shortage makes buying RAM you do not need expensive. If you are building or buying a new system, plan for 32GB. Do not buy 8GB for gaming, and do not buy 64GB for gaming alone. The sections below explain why, and how to check your own PC in two minutes.

What Steam players are actually using

Valve’s Steam Hardware & Software Survey for September 2026 (all platforms combined) puts 32GB ahead of 16GB:

System RAM	Share of surveyed systems	Change from August
32GB	42.22%	+4.77 points
16GB	37.82%	-3.38 points
8GB	6.47%	-0.99 points
64GB	3.71%	-0.26 points
24GB	2.56%	+0.34 points

The survey is optional and anonymous, so it shows what is common, not what you need. Part of the swing may also reflect who took part: the share of Simplified Chinese-language users rose by 7.42 points to 31.39 percent in the same report.

What games actually use

TechSpot played more than 30 games for 20 minutes each on a Ryzen 7 7800X3D system with an RTX 4090 and 64GB of RAM, at 1440p and the highest quality preset, and recorded memory use. The system used 4.5GB at idle. The vast majority of the games still ran fine on 16GB, but many had very little headroom, and a handful of demanding titles pushed near or past 16GB. The most demanding was Hogwarts Legacy, where the whole system used 22GB. When TechSpot limited that game to 16GB it saw frame-time spikes and traversal stutter during longer play, and at 8GB the experience was bad.

The game is not the only thing in memory. TechSpot also measured Discord at roughly 400 to 500MB while gaming and a single 4K YouTube video in Chrome at roughly 1.2 to 1.5GB, about 2GB together. When memory runs short, Windows moves less critical data to the page file on your drive, which is why alt-tabbing can feel laggy.

What official game requirements say

• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: 16GB minimum and 32GB recommended on its Steam page, per NZXT.
• Cinder City (unreleased, no release date): its Steam page listed 32GB minimum and 64GB recommended. Publisher NC then said the 64GB figure was a mistake and that the game recommends 32GB, with final requirements still subject to change, according to TechSpot and Destructoid.
• 007 First Light: IO Interactive first listed 32GB, then clarified that it applied only to the 4K Ultra setting, per TechSpot.

Requirements are a publisher’s targets for particular settings, not measurements, and they can change before release. Read the entry for the exact games you play.

Does more RAM mean more FPS?

Usually not by much. When memory is not the limit, average frame rates barely move. Where extra RAM shows up is in smoother frame times, as in the Hogwarts Legacy test above. NoobFeed’s January 2026 test found Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Zombies at 1080p running at 149 fps on 16GB and 156 fps on 32GB, with steadier 1% lows on 32GB in some other games.

Two related points. First, build the memory as two matching modules, not one: that lets the processor use two memory channels, and South African retailer Evetech puts the difference against a single stick at 10 to 15 percent. Second, system RAM is not graphics memory. When a graphics card runs out of its own VRAM, assets spill into system RAM and can fill it faster, which TechSpot notes mainly affects cards with 8GB. More RAM gives that spill-over room, but lowering texture settings fixes the cause more directly.

What it costs right now

These are the lowest US retail prices in Tom’s Hardware’s RAM price tracker, last updated on 22 October 2026, in US dollars. Prices swing significantly from day to day.

Memory kit	16GB	32GB	64GB
DDR5-6000	$279	$447	$989
DDR5-5600	$249	$479	Not listed
DDR4-3200	$106	$199	$469

For context, Tom’s Hardware says a 32GB DDR5 kit sold for around $100 to $200 in October 2025. DDR4 is cheaper, but it only helps if your PC already uses it: the same page says building a new DDR4 system makes little sense because of processor and motherboard availability.

We explain the causes in why PC parts cost so much in 2026. For whether to build, buy a laptop or wait, see our decision guide, and for what to expect from the sales ahead, our Black Friday guide.

What we would do

• Building or buying a new desktop: aim for 32GB as two matching modules. If the budget is truly tight, 16GB will run most games today, but check whether the motherboard has free slots, and remember that adding memory later means paying later prices.
• Your 16GB PC runs your games well: keep it. Upgrading will not add frame rate if memory is not the limit.
• Your 16GB PC stutters in new games or with Discord and a browser open: going to 32GB is the most direct fix, after you have checked usage (see below).
• You have 8GB: this is the upgrade that matters most, and 16GB is the minimum worth buying.
• You stream, edit video or run creative apps next to your games: 32GB is the starting point, and more can make sense for heavy workloads.
• 64GB for gaming alone: TechSpot, testing demanding games, found no gaming example that needed anywhere near that amount. At $989 it is hard to justify.
• Laptops: check whether the RAM is soldered, because soldered memory cannot be increased later. Our gaming laptop buying guide covers the other specs worth reading.

Check your own PC in two minutes

1. Play your usual game with your usual background apps open, such as Discord and a browser.
2. Press Alt+Tab, then open Task Manager with Ctrl+Shift+Esc and choose Performance, then Memory.
3. Look at the In use figure. If it sits close to your total installed RAM while you play, memory is probably limiting you. If a few gigabytes stay free, more RAM will not help.
4. On the same screen, note the memory type (DDR4 or DDR5), the speed and how many slots are used. You need these before buying anything.

Last checked 26 October 2026. We update this guide when prices or requirements change. How we source our guides is explained on the About page.

Sources

• Valve: Steam Hardware & Software Survey, September 2026
• TechSpot: How much RAM do gamers need? (page labeled updated in 2026)
• Tom’s Hardware: RAM price tracker (updated 22 Oct 2026)
• TechSpot: Cinder City recommends 64GB of RAM (with the publisher’s correction) and Destructoid: the same story with NC’s statement (2 Jul 2026)
• NZXT: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 system requirements
• NoobFeed: 16GB vs 32GB RAM test (22 Jan 2026)
• Evetech: 16GB vs 32GB RAM for gaming (retailer guide, dual-channel claim)