hey im going to do a build, i have a pretty beffy gpu (a 770) and wanted to know if 8gb of ram is still good, and if the gpu compensates it in any way
The kind of GPU you have doesn't really matter.
8GB is fine for gaming and light productivity. 1GB for gaming and pretty regular productivity, video editing and the like.
Depends on what you're using your computer for. 8GB of system RAM is still plenty for gaming. If you're heavily editing videos or photos, you may want more. The GPU has its own pool of memory it uses called VRAM. VRAM and RAM act independently of each other, with the exception of integrated GPUs.
8GB ram is plenty general computing and gaming. You wont see a benefit from getting more unless you are doing video editing/photoshop/after effects or similar productivity focused applications. Im not sure what you mean by the GPU compensating for the ram? The GPU has its own onboard ram so it does not use the system's ram.
Dude 1GB is uber high performance.
16GB*
8 is fine for gaming and regular use. If you want to multitask, edit videos, use CAD or Graphic Design software; then you will want more. (Multitask as in internet+music+game+software, as I do occasionally. Or multiple VM's)
GPU vram and system RAM are two very different things OP. 8gb system RAM is more than enough for most pc's (even gaming rigs). Once your os see's that you are running out of memory it starts dumping shit to the page file - if on a ssd then data transfer from that will be lightning quick. Not as fast as ram but bloody fast none the less.
The gpu vram amount will come into effect with the up and coming titles, higher res screens etc <=3gb may end up being a hindrance (if not ported correctly), hence latest cards are all >=4gb.
I think you may have been confused with the whole amd APU thing, of which the cpu and gpu (on the same die) share the same memory, therefor the usefulness of uber high speed RAM in those instances.
As the others have said, 8gb is plenty for most applications including gaming. Just grab a 2x4gb kit so that if you decide you need more in the future, you can toss in another 2x4gb kit and have 16gb (assuming your mb has 4 ram slots).