RAM is usually the first limit a server hits. Too little, and the system starts swapping to disk and slows down. Too much, and you pay for memory that sits idle. These rough numbers help you start in the right range.
Rough numbers to start with
| What you run | Start with | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| A website or small shop | 2–4 GB | Ryzen VPS |
| n8n or a few Docker containers | 4–8 GB | EPYC VPS |
| Minecraft with plugins or mods | 8–16 GB | Minecraft servers |
| Database with a large data set | Enough for the data you use daily | 64 GB or 128 GB |
| Proxmox with several VMs | Sum of all VMs plus 4 GB for the host | 128 GB and more |
| In-memory databases, large VM hosts | 256 GB and more | High memory |
These are starting points, not limits. A busy shop with many plugins needs more than a quiet blog, and every Minecraft mod pack is different.
Check what you use today
On Linux, free -h shows used and available memory, and htop shows which process uses how much. If "available" stays low for long and the server starts using swap, it is time for more RAM. On Windows, the Task Manager shows the same under Performance.
Does ECC memory matter?
ECC memory detects and corrects single bit errors. On a desktop that rarely matters, on a server that runs for months without a restart it does, especially with databases and many VMs. Our Ryzen servers in Vienna and Berlin use DDR5 ECC.
Start small, grow later
If you are unsure, start one size smaller and watch the numbers for a few weeks. A VPS moves to a bigger plan, and the RAM of our servers in Vienna and Berlin can go up to 256 GB.