16 or 32 GB of RAM: what you really need in 2026

There is a piece of advice that was right for years and that almost everyone still gives today: “Just take 32 GB straight away, it hardly costs more and then you are set.”

The sentence was true. In 2024 a 32 GB kit cost about 120 euros, and the extra cost compared to 16 GB was around 60 euros. Being set for 60 euros was an easy decision.

Today the same advice costs around 300 euros. And that is why it is worth doing the maths again.

What RAM costs today

As of August 2026, from German retailers:

• 32 GB DDR5-6000 is at €475 to €540
• 16 GB DDR5 you get for about €200
• 32 GB DDR4-3200, on the other hand, is available from €210

The reason is well known: data centres for artificial intelligence are buying up memory production. We have written about this in detail in our article on the memory crisis. What matters for this decision is only the result: the extra cost from 16 to 32 GB has gone from a side item to one of the most expensive single items in the whole PC.

For comparison: for that extra cost you get a considerably stronger graphics card. And you notice that in every single game.

What measurements actually show

We are not relying on gut feeling here, but on published test series from 2026 in which the same PCs were run through current games once with 16 and once with 32 GB.

Surprisingly little happens with average frame rates:

• Cyberpunk 2077 in Full HD: 128 frames with 16 GB, 129 with 32 GB
• Call of Duty Black Ops 7 in Full HD: 149 versus 156 frames, so under five percent
• Indiana Jones in WQHD: a single frame difference
• Fortnite, The Finals, Expedition 33: barely measurable, at any resolution
• In 4K, 16 GB was even slightly ahead in some titles

So if you think you get more frames per second with 32 GB, you are buying something you will not get.

Where 32 GB really helps

These cases exist. They are just somewhere other than most people think.

Consistency instead of peak values. The difference does not show in the average, but in the worst moments. In Cyberpunk 2077 and ARC Raiders, the so-called 1 percent lows were considerably higher with 32 GB. In other words: the frame rate drops briefly less often. That is not a big number, but exactly what you perceive as stutter.

Everything alongside the game. Discord, thirty browser tabs, Spotify, a recording program, plus perhaps a second screen with a video. Each of these programs takes up memory, and when Windows starts swapping, you notice immediately.

Streaming. If you stream on the side, you should not start at 16 GB.

Working with large files. Video editing, image editing with many layers, CAD, virtual machines, development. Here more memory is not a comfort but a requirement. In the test, a longer video export in DaVinci Resolve took 28 minutes and 14 seconds with 16 GB, and 27 minutes and 18 seconds with 32 GB. The difference is small, but it grows with bigger projects, and at some point the export simply aborts with too little memory.

Local AI models. If you want to generate images or text locally on your own PC, memory is quickly the first thing to run out. Here, however, we are talking about a different class of PC anyway.

What matters more than capacity

Two things are constantly underestimated.

Two modules instead of one. A single 16 GB module is considerably slower than two 8 GB modules, because the processor then only uses one channel instead of two. Depending on the game, that costs double-digit percentages. With a prebuilt PC, make sure there are two modules inside. That is rarely in the listing and is a popular way of cutting costs.

The upgrade path. It is worth looking at the motherboard here. With two slots and both filled, upgrading means: everything out, buy new. With four slots you could theoretically add more, but in practice different kits often do not get along because they run at different speeds. The honest advice is therefore: expect to replace the whole kit when upgrading, and rather plan it right from the start.

The point where it gets interesting: DDR4

Prices have triggered a shift that hardly anyone talks about. A 32 GB kit of DDR4 costs from 210 euros, the same capacity in DDR5 costs more than twice as much.

On an AM4 platform, for example with a Ryzen 5 5600, you get 32 GB for an extra cost that is reasonable again. This platform is no longer the newest, but it is mature, cheap and perfectly sufficient for gaming in Full HD and WQHD.

In other words: in 2026 the question is no longer just “16 or 32”, but also “DDR5 with 16 or DDR4 with 32”. For many, the second answer is the smarter one.

Our recommendation

You play, nothing more: 16 GB is enough. Put the money into the graphics card, you will see it in every game.

You play and always have everything open on the side, or you stream: 32 GB, but look at DDR4 before you buy DDR5.

You work with videos, images, CAD or development: 32 GB, and here the question is not the price, but whether 32 is even enough.

You want to run AI models locally: a different matter. There, the graphics card's memory decides first, not the RAM.

What we build ourselves

Our Entry and our Core have 16 GB of DDR4 in dual channel, the Pro has 32 GB of DDR5. That is no coincidence, but exactly this calculation: if you play in Full HD or WQHD, you lose nothing in everyday use with 16 GB, but have almost 300 euros more left for the graphics card. Anyone who takes the Pro usually also works with the PC, and there the memory is well spent.

If you are unsure, write to us what the PC is meant for. We will tell you honestly which level is enough, even if it is the cheaper one. We prefer that to a customer who realises in six months that they spent 300 euros on something they never needed.

Prices as of August 2026, German retailers. Measurements from published comparison tests from 2026 with identical hardware. Actual performance depends on the game, settings, resolution and background programs.