Your next Windows PC may need at least 16GB of RAM

[harlan4096]

How much RAM do you need to work without any drawbacks on Windows PCs? The answer depends on what the PC is used for. Several tasks, including gaming and video editing, benefit from as much RAM as you can squeeze onto the motherboard.

Each Windows version comes with a set of minimum and recommended system requirements. Right now, Microsoft suggests 4GB of RAM as the minimum system requirement for Windows 11. While you may be able to install the operating system on systems with less memory, you may experience slowdowns and performance issues as data may need to be cached on a hard drive.

Microsoft's next version of Windows, which may be called Windows 12, focuses on AI. A new rumor suggests that the minimum RAM requirement of these AI PCs may be set to 16GB. In other words,  a quadrupling of the requirement from one generation to the next.

The information comes from research firm Trendforce. The company has the following to say about the RAM requirement in a press release on its website:

"Microsoft has set the baseline for DRAM in AI PCs at 16 GB. In the long term, TrendForce projects that AI PCs will catalyze an increase in annual demand for PC DRAM bits, with consumer upgrade trends further boosting this demand."
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