Johnw1104 on 13 December 2016
RAM is the cheapest way to upgrade a computer, with more RAM than you could possibly need costing no more than a few hundred dollars. Just remember to make sure that the RAM type is compatible with your motherboard (newer RAM sticks are DDR4 these days).
I'd recommend starting by investing in a good motherboard. I'm not sure the total RAM stick count is too important as they do tend to have rather powerful RAM sticks (16gb per stick is fairly affordable right now).
You seem to know what you're talking about though, and since you plan to use Linux I don't feel comfortable offering advice as I just go with windows to make gaming less problematic, though I understand Steam has been trying to make gaming on a Linux easier.
