Hello Guys, I have been doing Unreal from past 3 months and it has been very great experience. I have bought my gaming laptop last year for game development but could not start game dev last year cuz of school. In these holidays I started learning and using UE4.
My Laptop is ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS S17(GX701LV)
with Intel i7 10750H, RTX 2060, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM.
This Laptop’s RAM is upgradable. It has 1 Empty Slot. The Official Asus Website says that it can be upgraded till 64GB.
On Crucial System Advisor it show 48GB Max( ig it is because no one sells a single 48gb ram stick).
So what should i choose upgrade my laptop to 48GB using 32GB RAM Stick or Should I upgrade to 32 GB using 16GB RAM Stick ??
How much RAM you need depends on what you want to do, some reading here:
If you want to cobble mobile games together, you may get away with 16GB. If you’re solo making an MMO, you’ll need more. If you want to take advantage of the UE5’s advanced features - well, check the link. 48GB may not be enough… But it’s Early Access, things may change.
48GB > 32GB obviously.
With a single stick, you’re running single channel. Lowkey irrelevant in certain scenarios, quite noticeable in others.
Intel platforms have Flex Memory Mode so running 1x16GB + 1x32GB should still give you some benefits of the dual channel (conditions surely apply here, though). Is that important to you?
I really don’t know much about hardware but would like to get max performance from my PC and also I want it to work flawlessly in future also. JUST CONFUSED WHETHER TO FOR 48GB RAM IN TOTAL OR 32 GB. I was feeling like more RAM more PERFORMANCE AND RESPONSIVENESS IN GAMES AND GAME DEV. But due to lack of knowledge in hardware I wanted to take suggestion. I did not understand what you said here -conditions surely apply here, though). Is that important to you
I just want better performance from my system and upgrade my laptop RAM so it works like beast(have improvements in speed, multitasking and without any future problems in UE).
It’s actually the other way round in games. If you run an average game on a machine with 16GB and then on a machine with 64GB, you may observe a very slight drop in performance here and there. Mostly unnoticeable, though. There’s just a few very demanding games that require more than 16GB RAM. That’s as of today, tomorrow we may need triple the RAM for Lumen & Nanite.
Game dev is different. If you can, absolutely do get 48GB… More is better here, regardless of memory clocks, timings, channels and whatnot.
I want it to work flawlessly in future also
Then you want something waaaay more beefy than the 2060 & i7 10750H, consider aiming at a minimum 3060 and an 8 core CPU - the availability is starting to look good again and the prices are dropping after the whole cryptomining drama.
Adding 32GB RAM will have tangible benefits but it will not transform your laptop into a beast. It’s capable, sure but not a future-proof monster.
thanks a lot bro. Now i am out of budget and cant really buy a new laptop but can upgrade my laptops RAM. maybe in 5 to 6 months i will buy and use an external gpu to improve performance. Do you think it is a good idea ?? this laptop has thunderbolt USB C port so i guess it should work well.
also how long do you think this laptop will work with unreal engine(graphics and quality like pontypant’s boxing game and dani’s games but not mobile game though) without any problems ??
I do not think so, no. If you check the prices of external enclosures, you’ll notice they may cost as much as some GPUs… And you’ll be losing performance anyway, you’ll not get 100% of the GPU you put in there.
This only makes sense if you have an ultraportable with no or an integrated GPU. Taking advantage of 2 discrete GPUs (one external) is not possible or iffy at best.
Most importantly: Are you currently running out of system RAM when you work with the engine?
If you are but you know you’ll be able to upgrade to another laptop in a year or so, get the extra 16GB of RAM only so you can work more comfortably for the time being. The excess cash goes into the piggy bank for when it is the time to spend big $$$.
Also, drink fewer lattes Apparently this is the way to repair one’s budget. Or so the rich folks say.
On Average on a simple level it consumes less than 1gb RAM, but on mid and complex levels it takes more than or almost 2GB. I use rider as my IDE for c++ and it consumes between 4 to 6 gb.
Common apps opened while using UE are Edge Browser(I have seen that chrome uses more RAM compared to edge so switched to edge, it was using 1gb with just 1 tab opened ) uses 300 to 600MB and File Explorer 60MB.
Almost more than 70% TO 75% of RAM is being used while I work UE-5/4 (C++). If using blueprints rider’s share would be gone so almost 4-6GB less RAM used.
Then I guess it is better to buy a new Laptop or PC instead of using a new eGPU.
I am just a 16 year old teen with his YouTube channel and a new laptop BOUGHT from my Dads money( $2400 USD ) after proving him my programming knowledge through the tutorials I published in YouTube and was ready to learn and make next FORTNITE or GTA. But alas I know an Indie Game Dev cant make such a game by himself or herself. So just want learn as much as I can with good progress.
I have also set a goal of buying my next pc/laptop using my own money earned from YouTube.
So, Finally after all the suggestions received from the great UE Community and especially @Everynone, I will upgrade my laptop’s RAM from 16GB to 48GB Total.
and later after 2 years and hopefully success of my YouTube channel, Will buy a beast PC/ Laptop(Mostly PC).
I guess my problem is solved are there any more suggestions ??
$2400 last year - not a bargain at all, does not sound like a good deal I believe OP fell victim to GPU shortages, the 30xx were missing so even the mobile 20xx prices were ridiculous…
This list represents a typical system used at Epic, providing a reasonable guideline
a Six-Core Xeon E5-2643 @ 3.4GHz
Which was an unreasonable choice back in 2016, imho, at least for an average user. And now will be obliterated by any modern chip for quarter of the price.
There’s also no reason to buy a 2080 Super today unless you get a wicked used price.
While the 64GB holds up, the rest of the “guide” is very much out of date.
There’s also no reason to buy a 2080 Super today unless you get a wicked used price.
That’s why I added “Or better” lol. I should clarify that I meant to say those recommendations are for UE5 with Nanite and Lumen enabled. A 3060 is a little bit better than a 2080 today and a lot cheaper. It’ll be fun to look back on this thread in another 5 years and laugh at how bad even a 4080 is Especially when I’m currently running a 1080.
Apparently this is the way to repair one’s budget. Or so the rich folks say.
I believe OP fell victim to GPU shortages, the 30xx were missing so even the mobile 20xx prices were ridiculous…
Especially when I’m currently running a 1080.