Im new to game design, and i know that i should have 16 gb of ram, i have only enough money in a new build to get 8 gb of ram, should i use 8 gb of my old ram, reallocate my budget, etc.?
I wouldn’t worry about it, 8GB should be OK to start with and move from there if you end up hitting the limit.
I just test the editor on epic settings, it required 7GB-ish of RAM. I suspect 1333mhz/8GB would be fine.
Testing the editor required 7GB of RAM? That is insane, I only use 1-2GB on a smallish level.
8GB should be ok. In my PC I use some old RAM sticks with 8GB and the engine runs perfectly 
While 8GB might be sufficient to runt he editor itself, it might not be enough for the workflows of game development.
Usually you will not only have the editor open, but also applications like 3DSmax, Photoshop, etc.
It would turn out very frustrating to close the editor, just because you want to tweak a model in .
You would be more opening and closing application than working with them…
I have 32GB and this sufficient to run the editor and most other external programs at the same time…
It’s unlikely that would be an issue. The biggest issue will be if you have a very large project, or if you build lighting. You don’t want to do stuff while building lighting anyways though.
Mine was on a huge landscape with lots of foliage, dynamic lights, particles, multiple materials, blends, post-pro etc.
If you plan to do anything open world, or really large landscapes you’ll have a lot of hassle with only 8GB of ram. I talk from personal experience.
It is possible, yes, but you’ll spend a lot of time staring at your screen watching that 5x5km terrain load and the occasional crashs.