Microsoft now recommends 32 GB RAM for gaming PCs, designating 16 GB as the baseline, and urges the use of SSDs for optimal performance.
@[email protected]
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48h

I’ve got 128Gb in my 20c/40t system, and 256Gb in my 44c/88t system.

But then again, I don’t game. I do a lot of data crunching, and let other apps like BOINC do their own thing when I’m not actively working.

@[email protected]
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812h

Meanwhile i have a linux server that’s currently running individual LXC containers for hosting

Snipe-it, zammad, paperlessNGX, wiki.js, rustdesk server, firefly III, flare, among a few other things. And it’s barely using 6GB total. Less than windows sitting at desktop these days. It’s pathetic how bad windows has become.

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2017h

I can run a gba emulator, an llm, a full os and a browser all at the same time with 4gb, so I think Windows is the compromise

@[email protected]
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-1112h

I run a full os, a browser, and vintage story. It uses nearly 18 gigs of ram. I think linux is the problem.

Ram is ram, you have either be stupid or making a bad faith argument to say what is or isn’t a good amount of it.

The only correct amount of ram is the amount that covers your work load. Full stop. Yes windows could use less ideally. But we can’t keep pretending that 8 gigs of ram is remotely fucking acceptable for ever.

Just because you don’t use programs that consume larger amounts of ram doesn’t mean none of us do.

@[email protected]
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510h

That’s such a funny thing to say when like 90% of personal computers are basically used for browser and office, which both should be able to run perfectly fine on 8gb.

Windows has been actively going down a ram thirsty route for some time now.

You can easily have a fast and convinent system with 8gb of ram running most Linux distros with a browser of you choice and LibreOffice.

My laptop right now is running CacheyOS with KDE with 8 tabs on librewolf (one of which is a playing 1080p video) libreoffice writer and a system monitor, all of this on a 4k screen and everything is snappy. My ram usage? 6.5gb and no swap.

Windows 11 struggles to run smoothly on 8gb, let alone running multiple programs and videos playing.

So what the hell are you talking about?

@[email protected]
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511h

The only correct amount of ram is the amount that covers your work load. Full stop.

Incorrect, as you immediately point out in the second half of the sentence.

Yes windows could use less ideally.

The correct amount of RAM is the amount that covers your workload and the baseline overhead of supporting components, in this case, an OS.

As a general rule, windows uses significantly more RAM for baseline.

But we can’t keep pretending that 8 gigs of ram is remotely fucking acceptable for ever.

Agreed, but we can push back on them pretending that it has nothing to do with their (subjectively shitty) choices.

@[email protected]
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817h

Wow. Not too transparent are they? RAM prices go up worldwide. Microsoft - “We need you to buy more RAM to successfully run are mostly unnecessary, bloated crap”.

Kyden Fumofly
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1521h

Ofc if your OS needs just 6-7GB only for running itself and nothing else…

@[email protected]
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382d

They can fuck right off

@[email protected]
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662d

In the middle of a RAM pricing crisis? Fuck off microslop.

ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝
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211d

A RAM pricing crisis they created through OPENAI, no less.

Cevilia (they/she/…)
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332d

“640KB of memory ought to be enough for anybody.”

  • Bill Gates
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772d

I have 32 GB RAM in my linux box. Not because I need it (I use 5,7GB currently), but because it was kind of cheap when I build the box. 16 GB or 32 GB were just a few Euros apart.

But with the current RAM crisis? Holy crap, that is kind of a tone deaf statement

Nik282000
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162d

Im running Void on a 2013, dual core atom, netbook with 1800MB of ram, THAT is a compromise. No more than 4-5 tabs at a time, only one if I want to watch a video, but it works.

16GB being the minimum for a desktop OS is insane.

@[email protected]
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13h

Holy false equivalency, Batman

Nik282000
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11h

Void is a full featured desktop OS, it can run a browser, play games, watch videos, and run an office suite. All of those applications have their own hardware requirements but the OS is just the layer between the things you want to do and the hardware you are using. It should be as light as possible and Void shows that it is possible to be very light.

@[email protected]
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221h

God damn I brought an old atom back to life with the leanest distro I could run just a month ago. 1gb ram. It is an absolute paperweight.

The atom processors were garbage when they came out. I hate e waste as much as the next person but that’s a level of masochism I will not subject myself to. Pull the salvageables and refine the rest into a pawn shop puddle.

Nik282000
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118h

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42d

I suspect part of it is modern web browsers and everything being online. That and “web apps” and such that take up WAY to much resources for what they do. In the name of security and justifiably so, each tab typically has it’s own thread/task which means more memory. They will free up as needed, but don’t do well always. With so many people just keeping tabs open rather than bookmarking them, users have also changed how they use their computers. So 16GB being a minimum and 32GB being recommended seems reasonable for a NEW computer. Remember, software is just going to need more resources in the future.

Existing computers will be fine for a while longer, but will get to that “compromised” state eventually.

djdarren
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12d

My home server is a 2014 Mac mini with 8gb of soldered RAM. Even with that much, I can’t really use even LibreWolf if I want to stand any chance of the services I have installed having any RAM.

TrackinDaKraken
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42d

Same here, but I put in 64GB because it was cheap. The only app I used (I don’t anymore) that would make use of that much was Photoshop, back when I was still a graphic designer. Even then, I didn’t need it, but it was nice to have.

Th4tGuyII
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902d

Microsoft just straight up admitting that they’re not optimising their OS anymore

@[email protected]
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51d

Ever since Windows 7.

Nik282000
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51d

Since the NT kernel.

downvote_hunter
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212h

Since DOS 4

Sculptus Poe
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1402d

Why should the OS itself, which is just supposed to facilitate the running of programs, use so much memory?

@[email protected]
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1022d

TL;DR: to spy on you.

@[email protected]
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312d

I was kind of humbled to see how much less ressources Debian was using.
It needed one GB of memory after install in full memory.

Meanwhile Canonical
https://www.techpowerup.com/347967/ubuntu-26-04-lts-raises-recommended-memory-requirement-to-6-gb?cp=2

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121h

I run Debian on 6GBs. Before that, Windows 10 was close to unusable, but in all fairness I had it on an HDD while Debian is running off a by now two years old SSD.

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7
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2d

While Ubuntu recommends 6GB, it still uses much less than that even if you open Chrome lol

If you enable zswap, you could probably live with 4GB

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232d

Right?! I have a debian NAS running openmediavault, it has music streaming and samba network shares. it only has 256MB RAM and doesn’t even use all that.

rozodru
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102d

it shouldn’t. the problem really boils down to devs for stuff that aren’t optimizing anything.

For example I’m currently using a basic build Fedora 44 with Niri and a quickshell. I have 32gigs of ram on my current machine and at idle it uses just over 2gigs of memory. to me that’s too much. Niri uses about 160mb but quickshell/noctalia-shell uses about 400mb. too much. I need to stop using it.

I use Foot as my terminal and that AT MOST will use 14mb of ram. that’s it. I point to Foot and say “that’s how things should be”.

then adding something like a Browser and Discord into the mix and just forget about it. suddenly that 32gigs is being eaten alive. even today running a system on 16 is cutting it close because of the bullshit you need to run. I mean even a browser like Qutebrowser which SHOULD be light is going to eat ram because it’s running python and qtwebkit crap. And don’t get me started on Discord and ALL the various “we make discord better” apps that really don’t. vestkop, vencord, eqowhatever, doesn’t matter it’s all electron which treats your ram as an all you can eat buffet.

@[email protected]
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122d

Fuck Discord

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872d

32gb is the new standard they need to run poorly optimized start menus and telemetry in the background while they think no one is paying attention

Lvxferre [he/him]
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422d

With 32 GB system RAM, Microsoft believes that the games can have more “breathing room”.

There’s no such thing as “breathing room”, dammit. Once you set up 32 GB as standard, shitty / assumptive developers are going to say “well, we assooooome users have 32 GB. It would be a waste to design the game to use less than that lol lmao”. Specially devs doing the same as Microslop, and using AI shitty code to pump out code faster than humans can desloppify.

Sanctus
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932d

Not at these prices it ain’t. Back to 8 it is.

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352d

Why not Linux?

Sanctus
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432d

Linux at home yes. But corporate has insisted the price increases dont matter at my work as my bonus is engulfed.

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2d

In reality, if software used the native UI toolkits instead of Electron, even 12 GB could be reliably used for gaming, HEAVY gaming.

Bananskal
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112d

Indeed. Now we’re starting up a whole new OS sandbox for every damn app. It’s ridiculous.

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