Is 16GB of RAM necessary for a build with an RTX 3060 and Ryzen 5 5600X?

Yes, 16GB is non-negotiable. 8GB is the bottleneck—games like Call of Duty, Cyberpunk 2077, or Starfield will stutter and drop frames. You’ll see a noticeable jump, often well over 10% in many modern titles, and 20–30% improvements in 1% lows in heavy open-world games. Don’t skimp on RAM for that setup.