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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• RAM is a crucial component for a smooth PC experience.
• Linux doesn’t require as much RAM as Windows.
• More is always better, but too much is also a thing.

I’m not going to start with a “back in the day” — it’s too easy. What matters is the present, where the rules and expectations aren’t the same as they were 10, 20, or 30 years ago.

Modern Linux is powerful, flexible, stable, and secure. With the exception of some of the more lightweight Linux distributions, it’s also far more resource-dependent (just like all modern operating systems).

Also: I tested Fedora Miracle: Why Linux needs a ‘broken’ flag for orphaned spins

Consider this: The minimum system requirements for Ubuntu Desktop today include just 4GB of RAM. I’ve run Ubuntu on a virtual machine with only 3GB of RAM. Although those Ubuntu virtual machines are used only for testing purposes, the 3GB of RAM does pretty well. But I would never suggest you should get by with such a small amount.

Why is RAM so important?

Let’s first answer the question of why RAM is so important. RAM acts as a fast, temporary storage area for data that the computer is actively using. Essentially, your OS stores data in RAM because it’s much faster than your local storage.

RAM is crucial for speed and responsiveness, multitasking, better performance for demanding tasks, a smooth user experience, and future-proofing your computer. Without RAM, your computer would behave poorly (or not at all).

Doubling the minimum amount of RAM

But what happens if you double that minimum system requirement? Instead of 4GB of RAM, you add 8GB. Sounds like it should work, right? It would; however, you would soon run into trouble with Ubuntu (or any modern, non-lightweight Linux desktop). Those problems could include:

• Limited tabs available for your browser: Open 10+ tabs in any browser, and it could cause problems with only 8GB. Of course, that depends on the sites in the tabs, but as a general rule, the less RAM you have, the fewer tabs you can open.
• Gaming wouldn’t be an option.
• You wouldn’t be able to use a RAM drive for temporary files and thumbnails. A ramdrive helps reduce wear on SSDs.
• You wouldn’t be able to use virtual machines.
• You wouldn’t be able to develop with the machine (especially given how resource-intensive some IDEs are).
• Editing and rendering videos would be problematic.
• Editing and creating larger, more complex images in GIMP would cause a slowdown.

Also: I compared virtual RAM with real RAM on my Windows PC – here’s what the numbers told me

You see where I’m going with this? 8GB of RAM would be fine for limited usage. You could use your browser, as long as you don’t open too many tabs; you could use an office suite, email, terminal, and similar apps. Once you move away from such common, simple tasks, things get very tricky with 8GB of RAM.

Double the double

What if we move to 16GB of RAM, which has long been considered the sweet spot? Things are going to work much better. In fact, with 16GB of RAM, most of the problems with 8GB go away, except for one — the ramdrive. The good news is that most users (especially those new to Linux) aren’t going to bother with a ramdrive.

With 16GB of RAM, you can open far more tabs in your browser, do some gaming, use virtual machines, develop, and create video and images. I will say this, however: Rendering videos with 16GB of RAM will mean you won’t be able to do anything else until the process is complete.

How to assess your RAM needs

What if we go with 32GB of RAM? At this point, everything smooths out, you can play even more demanding games (especially if you have a dedicated GPU), render videos while multitasking, and have better luck with virtual machines. You could employ a RAM drive and add as much eye candy to the desktop as you like.

Also: My 10 favorite Linux distributions of all time, ranked

With all of that said, what is the ideal amount of RAM for Linux today? In my opinion, that depends on your task. Let me break it down.

• If you’re using Linux for web browsing (with limited tabs), writing and editing documents, reading and sending email, chatting, and have no interest in gaming, 8GB will be OK.
• If you tend to have a lot of browser tabs open, want to do the same tasks you’d do with 8GB of RAM, want to do some light development, and want to do a bit of gaming and virtual machines, I would suggest 16GB of RAM.
• If you want to do all of that, play more serious games, and develop larger projects, go with 32GB.
• If you really want to future-proof your system (meaning you won’t need to upgrade it for a long time), go with the maximum amount your system supports (which is often 64GB).

In the end, the more RAM the better. The way I decide on how much RAM I need is to figure out (from the above list) my minimum amount and then double it. 

My Linux RAM sweet spot 

For what I do on my Linux system (which is a ton of tabs, editing big images with GIMP, a lot of virtual machines, and the usual productivity work), I need at least 32GB of RAM. If you double the amount of RAM you think you’ll need, you’ll find your PC performs much better for a longer period of time.

Also: You can try Linux without ditching Windows first – here’s how

Although Linux can perform with a limited amount of RAM, you could easily get frustrated as the system slows under load. And with the way today’s websites are created, they place a higher demand on your system. You certainly don’t want to open one more tab, only to find it brings your computer to a halt.