Hardware testing lab Puget Systems published a detailed benchmark analysis in June 2026 examining when RAM capacity meaningfully affects performance in creative workloads. Testing on a platform built around an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, ASUS ProArt X670-E motherboard, up to 64GB DDR5-5600, and an NVIDIA RTX 5080, the lab found that dropping from 32GB to 16GB causes a dramatic 45% score drop in Adobe Lightroom Classic — driven primarily by batch export and AI-assisted tasks — while Photoshop sees roughly a 20% penalty at 16GB. For Premiere Pro, After Effects, and DaVinci Resolve, differences between 32GB and 64GB were largely negligible, though complex timelines and high-resolution footage amplified the gap.
Puget Systems concluded that 32GB remains the recommended sweet spot for most creative professionals in 2026, with 64GB justified only for heavy 4K/8K video or scientific workflows. The report also noted a stark pricing backdrop: DDR5-5600 32GB sticks have surged from around $98 to $478 in the past year, driven by AI server demand soaking up DRAM supply — making strategic capacity planning more financially significant than ever. The lab advises monitoring real-world memory usage before upgrading rather than provisioning blindly.