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How much RAM does a game server need?Guideline values for all thirteen games at a glance

Memory is the figure that decides a game server plan - and the requirements differ between games by a factor of ten. This guide puts guideline values for all thirteen games side by side, explains the drivers behind them and shows how to tell that memory really is the bottleneck.

All thirteen gamesVanilla vs. moddedWhen RAM does not help

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Guideline values compared

Values from experience for a stable server with a small to medium group. They are not a minimum to get started, but what makes it run comfortably:

GameVanillaWith mods / large
Terraria1-2 GB2-4 GB (tModLoader)
Garry's Mod2-4 GB6-8 GB (DarkRP, large addon list)
Minecraft2-4 GB8-12 GB (large modpack)
Counter-Strike 22-4 GB4-6 GB (with plugins)
Valheim4-6 GB8-12 GB (grown world, BepInEx)
Hytale4-6 GB10-16 GB (high view distance, mods)
Project Zomboid4-6 GB8 GB+ (many mods)
FiveM6-8 GB12-16 GB (ESX/QBCore, many scripts)
7 Days to Die6-8 GB10 GB+ (overhauls)
DayZ6-8 GB10 GB+ (Expansion)
Rust8-10 GB12 GB+ (large map, plugins)
ARK: Survival Evolved8-12 GB16-24 GB (DLC maps, Workshop mods)
Palworld8-16 GB16 GB (developer recommendation)

The gap is remarkable: between a Terraria server and a well-developed ARK server lies a good factor of ten. This is exactly why the prices differ so clearly - see How much does a game server cost?.

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What drives the requirement

The drivers, across all games:

  • Mods and plugins - the biggest lever. Every extension brings content that stays in memory permanently.
  • World size - a large Rust map or a widely explored 7 Days world costs memory permanently, regardless of the number of players.
  • Distribution of players - players far apart keep more map sections active at the same time. With Hytale, view distance comes on top: Hypixel names it the biggest driver of memory use and recommends at most 12 chunks (384 blocks).
  • Grown builds - bases, farms and traps cost computing time and memory in every tick. With ARK, tamed creatures come on top: a tribe with hundreds of dinos puts a permanent load on the server.
  • Scripts and resources - the real driver with FiveM: framework, jobs, MLOs and vehicle packs sit in memory, regardless of how many people are driving around.

The number of players is deliberately not at the top. It has an indirect effect via the number of active world areas - and with us, it is not a price barrier anyway, see Slots explained.

How do I recognize a memory bottleneck?

These signs point to too little RAM:

  • Crashes with messages such as OutOfMemoryError in the log - unambiguous.
  • Regular, short freezes every few seconds instead of an even slowdown.
  • The server becomes sluggish over hours and runs smoothly again after a restart.

The last point applies especially to Palworld, whose dedicated server has a known memory leak - there, scheduled restarts are a fixed part of operation.

When more RAM does not help

The most important caveat: almost all game servers are single-thread limited. The world is essentially computed in one thread. If that core is maxed out, additional memory does not change the tick rate.

Typical cases in which memory is not to blame:

  • An evenly low tick rate without freezes - usually on the CPU side, see Lag and TPS.
  • Lag exactly during the blood moon night in 7 Days to Die - a question of the number of enemies.
  • Stuttering for only one player - then it is down to their client or connection.

This is why we rely on processors with high performance per core rather than as many cores as possible - for game servers, that is exactly the decisive factor. For Minecraft, the detailed sizing by server type and modpack is in How much RAM does a Minecraft server need?.

Frequently asked questions

That depends heavily on the game. Terraria gets by with 1-2 GB, Garry's Mod and Minecraft with 2-4 GB, Valheim and Hytale with 4-6 GB, FiveM with 6-8 GB; Rust needs 8-10 GB, ARK 8-12 GB and Palworld, according to the developer's recommendation, up to 16 GB. Mods, modpacks and large script collections multiply the requirement.

ARK, Palworld and Rust are at the top. ARK grows with every tamed creature and every structure and quickly ends up at 16 to 24 GB with DLC maps and Workshop mods. For Palworld, the developer recommends 16 GB for larger groups, and Rust with a large map and plugins also needs double digits.

Then memory was not the bottleneck. Look at the pattern: regular short freezes point to too little RAM, whereas an evenly low tick rate points to the CPU - and that cannot be compensated with memory.

By crashes with OutOfMemory messages in the log, by regular short freezes instead of an even slowdown and by the server running smoothly again after a restart.

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