5 Things to Know About RAM and Integrated Graphics

More RAM won’t fix integrated graphics performance Integrated graphics are bottlenecked by the GPU itself, not by RAM capacity. Adding more RAM won’t make games run faster if the GPU is the weak link.

Dual-channel memory helps a little Switching from single-channel 8GB to dual-channel 16GB can improve performance by 10-15% in some games. That’s due to increased memory bandwidth, not capacity.

Upgrading from dual-channel 8GB does nothing for gaming If you already have dual-channel 8GB, adding more RAM won’t boost frame rates. It will only let you run more background apps while gaming at the same low performance.

Spend money on a dedicated GPU instead Even a cheap used dedicated graphics card will outperform any RAM upgrade for gaming. Integrated graphics are fine for indie games and esports titles, but no amount of RAM turns them into a gaming chip.

This is not where you throw money RAM upgrades for integrated graphics are a poor investment. Save your money for a real GPU upgrade.