16GB vs 32GB RAM for video editing: 32GB won't speed up renders but saves your sanity in the edit

Render times in Premiere Pro are driven by CPU and GPU, not RAM — so 32GB won’t make renders finish faster. Where it matters is everything before the render button: complex 4K timelines, multiple streams, and effects will choke on 16GB, causing stuttering and lag. For light 1080p work, 16GB is fine; for anything heavier, get 32GB for a smoother editing flow, not render speed.