Summary
- Microsoft called 16GB a practical baseline, 32GB the ‘no worries’ upgrade for gaming PCs
- Gamers balked – many mocked, advising spending hundreds more on RAM.
- Microsoft removed the article after backlash; no Wayback snapshot preserved.
How much RAM does a gaming PC need? I would say it’s a ‘how long is a piece of string question, but there really is a limit on the minimum amount of RAM you can use when gaming. It’s just that you’ll likely get different answers depending on who you ask and their tolerance for performance issues.
Microsoft made its own stance clear: that it believed that 16GB was the starting point, and that 32GB was the sweet spot. However, it seems the company struck a bad chord with the gaming community, as it has since deleted the article in which it made those claims.
Microsoft backs down from its 32GB ‘no worries’ advice
Who has 32GB RAM money, anyway?
As spotted by Windows Latest, Microsoft used to have an article recommending gamers on how much RAM their PC should have. In it, it made a pretty bold claim as to how much RAM should be in your gaming rig:
For most players, 16GB RAM is a practical starting point. Moving to 32GB RAM helps if you run Discord, browsers, or streaming tools alongside your games. That extra memory also gives newer titles more breathing room as memory demands continue to rise.
Microsoft then concluded that “16GB RAM is the baseline; 32GB is the ‘no worries’ upgrade.” And the article sat dormant for a little while, until Windows Latest spotted it and brought it to people’s attention. Gamers chimed in with their opinions on the stance; some agreed, some disagreed, but whatever their opinion, everyone came to the conclusion that asking people to drop a few hundred dollars on RAM isn’t a good look. And Microsoft has seemingly agreed, as it scrubbed the article off its site, without a Wayback Machine snapshot to preserve it.
