AI Memory Crunch Pushes PC and GPU Buyers Toward 16GB Baseline

Dell brought back the XPS 13 two months ago as a lower-cost model in its premium laptop line, Engadget reports. The base model starts at $700 with 8GB of RAM, but an Engadget review of a midrange 16GB version found the extra memory makes a major difference. On boot, before any other apps were open, the 16GB test unit was using 56 percent of its memory. After a Windows Update and full restart, it still sat at around 40 percent, leaving a base model with roughly 1GB free before it would rely heavily on the system's page file.

Engadget's benchmark results showed the 16GB XPS 13 scored 6,904 on PCMark 10, compared with 5,319 for the 8GB base model, despite both using the same Intel Core 5 320 chip and 512GB SSD. That is a 30 percent increase. The 16GB model also lasted 17 hours and 40 minutes on PCMark 10's Modern Office battery test, more than an hour and a half longer than the base model's 15 hours and 56 minutes. Engadget attributed the gap to the base model's need to use the page file after running out of RAM. Average framerates in games such as Teamfight Tactics were routinely 5 to 10 percent higher or more on the 16GB model.

Engadget noted the XPS 13 lacks a 3.5mm audio jack and has a slightly mushy touchpad, especially along the bottom edge, but called those minor issues compared with the base model's 8GB of RAM. The problem applies to all Windows 11 PCs with 8GB of memory, not just Dell's lineup, according to the review. Upgrading the XPS 13 from 8GB to 16GB currently costs $200. Engadget said that is reasonable given that the cheapest 8GB RAM module from a reputable manufacturer on Newegg was around $175 and much slower at 4,800 MT/s versus the 7,467 MT/s memory Dell uses. The review said AI companies have absorbed memory supply, and while debloating Windows 11 can make 8GB more viable, buyers should not be assumed to have the expertise or time to do so.

Engadget also reported that graphics cards are caught in the same shortage. AI data centers are swallowing capacity that would otherwise become GDDR, and AMD is reportedly charging board partners $10 more for every 8GB of VRAM on a card. With VRAM prices projected to keep climbing, Engadget said buyers who can should get a new card now and aim for 16GB as the minimum to last the next five or so years.

Memory capacity directly affects performance when other specs are equal, Engadget reported. Nvidia sells the RTX 5060 Ti in 8GB and 16GB versions with the same chip, core count and clock speeds. Tom's Hardware tested both across 21 games and found the 8GB card 2.3 percent slower on average at 1080p medium settings, a gap that grew to 12 percent at the ultra preset. Minimum frame rates were 16 percent lower, and ray-traced games fell further behind. Hardware Unboxed found The Last of Us Part II ran at 67 frames per second on the 8GB card at 1080p very high, compared with 109 on the 16GB version. It also said Indiana Jones and the Great Circle crashed at 1080p on ultra settings with 8GB. When a game needs more memory than a card has, it begins swapping assets over the PCIe bus, causing stuttering, delayed or low-resolution textures and sometimes preventing a game from running at all.

Resolution is the main factor when choosing VRAM, according to Engadget. 8GB remains enough for most games at 1080p on medium and high settings, including esports titles and older releases. 12GB should suit 1440p gaming in most cases or provide more headroom for high settings at 1080p. 16GB is the minimum for 4K and the most future-proof option currently. PC Gamer tests cited by Engadget found 8GB cards managed decent frame rates at 1080p while 16GB versions were faster by a wider margin, with problems appearing when ultra texture settings and ray tracing were enabled.

Memory makers such as Samsung, SK hynix and Micron are making far more money selling high-bandwidth memory to AI data centers, leaving little incentive to sell GDDR6 and GDDR7 to graphics-card makers, Engadget reported. Micron killed its Crucial gaming brand late last year. Tom's Hardware said last December that AMD raised the price of GPU-and-memory kits by $10 for every 8GB, followed by additional percentage-based increases. VideoCardz reported that Nvidia cut production of the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5070 Ti to prioritize 8GB models for mainstream GeForce supply, a move Engadget said follows the same logic behind changes to Valve's Steam Deck lineup this year.

Engadget said current 8GB cards will handle most titles at 1080p for a little while, but games will continue to be made for a growing number of users with more VRAM, and the settings available to 8GB cards will shrink each year. The extra cost of 12GB or 16GB now should last at least the next five years, it said. The RTX 3060, released in 2021, is still the most common GPU on Steam at 3.76 percent of systems. Engadget said now may be the right time to buy, with prices expected to continue rising.