Hi,
I am not sure if I need to upgrade my Win8 as its on 8GB and seems to be ok. Is 16GB the next stage, or can you upgrade midway to 12?
This is totally dependent on the computer and or motherboard. I think you said a ways back you had a Dell? Whatever it is you need to go to the Manufactures web set, look up your model and look at the RAM configuration specs. It will also depend on what you have in the machine RAM wise presently. But RAM is pretty cheap these days and adding 8 GB over 4 more should not break the bank. Also realize that many PC’s need RAM install in increments of 2 sticks for best results. So it might really be advisable to upgrade to 16 GB total.
On your pops and crackles my guess is that RAM may help as more is always a good thing. But I will be surprised if it cures the issue. As someone else said it comes down to in most cases the buffer size and drivers. I cannot help you on Steinberg’s interfaces as I have never used one.
LB