Covid-19 and the lockdown were stressful on all of us. For a lot of us finding a means for amusement was easier said than done. It almost felt like a vacation in the beginning but a few weeks in, it all faded away and boredom crept in. I was so bored I’d memorized all the Cox customer service phone numbers the cable company offered. Noticing my condition, a friend recommended online gaming and my life completely changed. Online gaming is a world within itself that comes with its own challenges, but they’re mostly really fun. 

Any good game needs a decent amount of RAM to run smoothly. This article will talk about its importance and relevance while gaming.

What Is RAM Anyway? 

RAM or Random Access Memory is one of the most important components of your computer. It’s responsible for loading your applications and remembering which tasks you’ve completed on each application. It’s the temporary memory your computer uses while running its programs. Memory is always being used by your computer. If you’re experiencing a lag or your system feels slow, you probably need a memory upgrade.

RAM operates a bit like your work table. The bigger your table, the more papers, and books you can keep open on it. Similarly, the more your RAM is, the smoother your computer is going to run. It’s always best to have a higher frequency RAM in your computer if you’re going to use it for gaming. The speed and performance of your computer directly correlate to its RAM. The recommended size of RAM needed for gaming is between 8Gb to 16Gb worth of memory for smooth gameplay.

Why Do Some Games Require More RAM? 

Once a game is launched on your computer it uses the RAM to load onto it. RAM is used to store the game data since it’s faster than a hard drive and can be used to store temporary data. Bigger and faster RAMs are more suited for gaming since it leads to faster loading time and a better gaming experience.

If you want to understand how RAM affects your gaming process, we have to get into the specifics. There are three categories to understanding how RAM functions during a game. Its capacity, frequency, and latency.

Capacity 

In order to make sure you have a smooth functioning gaming experience; your RAM needs to have a higher capacity. The recommended capacity for gaming is 16Gb for most games. You can go for a higher capacity but it depends on whether your PC can handle it or not. Most computers have a cap at 16Gb but some of the more advanced versions for gaming allow you to run RAM with a larger capacity.

Frequency 

Your RAMs frequency is concerned with how much data can be transferred to your memory at a time. The higher the frequency, the greater the performance. Just like the capacity, it’s better to have as high a frequency as your system allows but a larger frequency might not be supported by your computer. Usually, a 3000MHz RAM is sufficient enough for most games but if you’re into first-person shooting games that require a high refresh rate, a 4000MHz is your best bet. That is if your computer can support it.

Latency

It’s best to go for a RAM that supports low latencies. Usually, a 16 CAS latency is what works best for gaming. Unlike a RAM’s capacity and frequency, which needs to be in line with your computer’s specifications, all motherboards support all latencies. 

Allocating More RAM to a Game in Windows 10 

Many times, the game that you’re running on your computer may seem to lag or work slowly. It’s likely that the RAM currently being used for that particular program is insufficient. You can easily change the settings to command your computer to allocate more RAM to a particular program in your computer to better its performance.

Here’s a simple guide on how to allocate more RAM to a game in Windows 10

Press Ctrl, Shift, and Esc to open up the Task Manager on your computer. It’ll display all the running programs, including your game.

Select the Details tab at the top of your window.

Scroll down to find the game that you want to allocate more RAM to.

Right-click on the game and select the option that says set priority. This will give you a range to choose from between real-time and low. Select the option which says high.

To confirm and save your selection click on change priority.

The game will now have more RAM allocated to it.