Should I get 8 GB or 16GB computer science?
8GB RAM is enough for many people, if you want some headroom, get 16GB. 16GB RAM is enough for almost everyone, people who need more than that are very rare. I'm a gamer myself & I can comfortably say that 16GB is enough to play games even with other apps like Chrome running in the background.
If your computer science emphasis is big data analytics, then having 16 GB RAM would help the speed of processing data since there would be 8 GB more memory for the CPU to use. But that is not essential – you can still use 8 GB RAM to process data.
16GB of RAM is best, but 8GB is fine. We recommend at least 512GB of hard disk space, preferably an SSD, if possible.
RAM. Minimum 8GB of RAM. 16GB is highly preferred.
Most users need about 8 GB of RAM, but to use several apps at once, you might need 16 GB or more. If you don't have enough RAM, your computer will run slowly and apps will lag. VRAM is located on your graphics card and stores temporary graphical data from apps and games.
I feel 16GB is a good amount to have and 32GB is better. At any point in time, a developer is bound to have anywhere from 10–15 browser tabs open, 2–3 terminal windows, a couple of instances of an IDE, maybe a music player, a text editor with a few tabs, sticky notes etc.
For data science applications and workflows, 16GB of RAM is recommended. If you're looking to train large complex models locally, HP offers configurations of up to 128GB of blazing-fast DDR5 RAM.
For anyone looking for the bare computing essentials, 4GB of laptop RAM should be sufficient. If you want your PC to be able to flawlessly accomplish more demanding tasks at once, such as gaming, graphic design, and programming, you should have at least 8GB of laptop RAM.
While it is certainly possible to do programming work on machines with 8GB or less RAM, many people find that they need at least 16GB to 20GB of memory to be productive. This is because modern programming languages typically take up a lot of memory.
Hardware: Intel CPU: Quad core 2GHZ or Higher. AMD CPU: Quad core 3GHZ or Higher. 8 GB RAM minimum recommended.
Is 32GB RAM overkill computer science?
32GB of RAM is considered high and is generally overkill for most users. For most everyday use and basic tasks such as web browsing, email, and basic office work, 8GB of RAM is more than enough. Even for gaming or video editing, 16GB is typically sufficient.
16GB of RAM is the amount of memory we recommend for intermediate users looking for extra speed and smooth functioning. This may be especially beneficial if you tend to have several programs open and running, simultaneously. This is also a good level of RAM for casual gamers and standard business professionals.

For typical light PC use - web browsing, office apps, etc - yes, massively overkill. 8GB of RAM or less is more than sufficient for that sort of thing.
16GB is the recommended amount of RAM for playing most games and will provide a noticeable increase in performance from 8GB. You will also be able to run applications in the background without affecting gameplay.
Conclusion. Dual-channel memory is better than single-channel memory. Two 8GB RAM is better than one 16G RAM.
One of the most common questions we get asked is “how do I know if my computer needs more memory?” The answer is actually pretty simple. If you're using a PC that was released in the last five years or so, chances are it comes with 8GB of RAM – which is more than enough for most people.
Go for 8GB of RAM
As a programmer, you don't really need to spend hundreds of dollars more on a 32GB of RAM capacity unless you are often multi-task by running multiple software simultaneously. So the answer is most programmers will not need more than 16GB of RAM for major programming and development work.
16GB is the recommended amount of RAM for playing most games and will provide a noticeable increase in performance from 8GB. You will also be able to run applications in the background without affecting gameplay.
A laptop with at least 8GB of RAM is ideal. The requirement goes even higher for game developers. Game development environments, level design need powerful systems to run. We recommend finding laptops with 16GB of RAM, or something lower but the ability to expand the memory to 16GB at a later point.
For the vast majority of gamers, 16GB is enough. However, if you plan on streaming or running multiple applications while your games are running — OBS Studio, a web browser, etc. — 32GB will give you a little more room.
How much RAM does Python need?
RAM. Any laptop for Python Programming should have at least 8 GB of RAM. But I recommend getting at least 16 GB of RAM if you can afford it. Because, the bigger the RAM, the faster the operations.
Random Access Memory or RAM is a crucial component of any modern computing device. In some cases, RAM may also be referred to as system memory. RAM performs the vital task of storing all the short-term data currently in use by your machine.
School: For most college students, 8GB of RAM is plenty. However, students who process a lot of data should consider at least 16GB of RAM. Work: 8GB of RAM is fine for daily productivity. If you do a lot of processing, consider upgrading to 16GB or more.
A 256GB SSD should be the baseline. If you have more money, a 512GB or 1TB SSD is better. If cost is a factor, opt for a smaller SSD, where your Operating System will live alongside your apps and frequently accessed documents (such as project files).
The amount of RAM just determines how many programs you can simultaneously run (multitask) not the actual speed within those programs. That is dependent on frequency and timings. While 8GB higher frequency RAM will be faster than 16GB low frequency RAM, it also limits the amount of programs you can simultaneously use.
If you're a creative professional, however, your needs are different. Those who are rendering large files or doing other memory intensive work, should consider going with 32GB or more. But outside of those kinds of use cases, most of us can get by just fine with 16GB.
If you're struggling with 8GB, upgrading to 16GB will boost performance. If your software places a heavy demand on 16GB RAM, an upgrade to 32GB should make your computing easy. With large amounts of RAM, you should notice improved reliability, especially if programs were freezing up when you used them.
On most systems, RAM is one of the worst limiting factors when running virtual machines. With 1TB of RAM, this is no longer a concern. That much RAM lets you spin up dozens of virtual systems without impacting overall system performance.
16GB with the unified memory architecture @ 200GB/s, coupled with 1TB, would make for a good starting computer, even with containerisation and virtualisation down the road.
Those who work with video or audio editing software also tend to need more than 8GB of RAM. And if you happen to work with large files or do a lot of multitasking, 32GB of RAM can help your computer keep up. Ultimately, whether or not 32GB of RAM is overkill for a computer depends on how you plan to use it.
Is 32gb RAM required for programming?
I would recommend at least 16 GB RAM to anyone who's working on data science and/or software engineering. That's basically a must-have to run all the stuff you need, like IDEs and VMs. Anything more is nice-to-have.
With 16 GB of RAM, you have enough memory to run as many programs as you want without slowing your computer down. This amount of memory is enough for hardcore gamers, video editors, gaming streamers, and anyone using AutoCAD or other demanding software.
Generally, the more RAM your computer has, the larger the digital countertop you have to work on and the faster your programs will run.
In terms of quantity, it's obviously twice as good (2 * 8 = 16). In terms of performance it's going to depend on what you're doing. Unless whatever app you're running is going to make use of that extra, you're not going to see much if any difference between 8GB and 16GB.
If you plan to run a lot of programs and need more space for temporary files, you'll need more memory. If you just need a place to store software, games, files, etc., you should focus more on storage.
2 Sticks of RAM are generally less expensive than 4 Sticks. It's easier to push higher memory speeds and lower CAS latencies with fewer sticks. Dual Channel support is a guarantee; Quad Channel support is not. You can add more Modules at a later date if you find you need higher RAM capacity (read this first)
It depends on the motherboard. If the motherboard only support dual channel the difference would be negligible, but if its a quad channel board then 4 sticks would be the fastest. Four sticks gives you the option to use them in quad-channel mode if you have a motherboard that supports it.
4x 8GB works best for a quad channel motherboard, for the usual PC build, 2x 16GB is preferred.
Generally, you could last around 8 to 12 years before needing an upgrade but that is only if you want to play the latest games without consuming too much memory.
YES, upgrading your RAM causes a significant performance boost in your PC. If you are a streamer, gamer, or power user, upgrading your RAM from 8GB to 16GB is worth it. Having more RAM will allow you to have more programs open simultaneously and run them faster.
Is 8GB RAM sufficient for Windows 11?
If you're a light user, browsing the web, emailing, and editing documents, then 4GB may suffice. But it will definitely feel laggy. Increasing this to 6 or 8GB of RAM will not only give you a much better experience, but also allow you to do more with your system.
Even with the 8GB RAM model, this should be sufficient. As I mentioned in my web development review, I was able to run some tests on the M1 MacBook Air with two Docket containers, Visual Studio, multiple chrome tabs, and a few complementary apps like Spotify.
8 to 16 GB of Random Access Memory (RAM) is ideal for data science on a computer. Data science requires relatively good computing power. 8 GB is sufficient for most data analysis work but 16 GB is more than sufficient for heavy use of machine learning models. However, cloud computing can be used when RAM is limited.
16GB of RAM is considered the 'sweet spot. ' It allows for solid game playing, high-intensity work with computer programs, and gives you a fair amount of memory. If you want to be a serious gamer, 16Gb might be your ideal setup.
4 GB RAM (8 GB preferred) 15 GB available hard disk space. Internet connection.
RAM for multitasking
The RAM of your laptop ensures that your laptop continues to work quickly, even if you do a lot at the same time. You can choose from 8GB, 16GB, or 24GB RAM. For all the tasks you do for school, 8GB is more than enough. Do you also edit videos in your spare time?
School: For most college students, 8GB of RAM is plenty. However, students who process a lot of data should consider at least 16GB of RAM. Work: 8GB of RAM is fine for daily productivity. If you do a lot of processing, consider upgrading to 16GB or more.
- ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10.
- ThinkPad T16 Intel.
- ThinkBook 15 Gen 4.
- Legion Pro 5 Gen 8 (16” AMD)
- Legion Slim 5i Gen 8 (16” Intel)
- Yoga 9i 14" 2-in-1 Laptop.
- Yoga 7 16" AMD 2-in-1 Laptop.
- IdeaPad Slim 3 (15″ AMD)
For anyone looking for the bare computing essentials, 4GB of laptop RAM should be sufficient. If you want your PC to be able to flawlessly accomplish more demanding tasks at once, such as gaming, graphic design, and programming, you should have at least 8GB of laptop RAM.
Unless you make a living working with something like 3D modeling, 16-32 GB of RAM should be plenty for the typical data scientist. Once past 16/32 GB of RAM, I'd prefer to use that money on an upgraded GPU or CPU since those components are more likely to improve your computing experience in more tangible ways.