16GB is the sweet spot for a home server.

Yes, it’s a worthwhile upgrade. 8GB will run Plex and a few containers, but you’ll hit swap or OOM kills the moment you transcode a 4K stream or spin up a database container. 16GB gives you real breathing room.

The jump from 8 to 16GB is the most cost-effective upgrade you can make here. Plex loves RAM for transcoding, and containers eat memory silently (a few hundred MB each, plus overhead). At 16GB you can run Plex, a few services like Pi-hole, Home Assistant, and a database without stress. 32GB is overkill for typical home use unless you’re running VMs or heavy downloaders.

Also, DDR4 is cheap right now. If your motherboard supports it, it’s a no-brainer. Your server will feel snappier and you won’t wonder why Plex buffered mid-movie.

Future You will appreciate not having to troubleshoot OOM errors at 2 AM.