The 2GB vs 4GB VRAM GPU debate

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antianomaly

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Feb 20, 2013
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Hi all

I got a GTX 770 (2GB) lately I fell into investigating the 2GB vs 4GB VRAM debate. I'm not a wizard in GPUs so bear with me. What I understand is that when a game exceeds the VRAM threshold it will draw upon the system memory and cause FPS drops.

I then found an article where a 770 was compared in its 2GB and 4GB versions. Interestingly the results show that there's only very little difference when doubling the VRAM on the GPU. I know that Crysis 3 definitely should be able to utilize more than 2GB VRAM, yet the FPS increase on the 4GB card is negligible. Same goes for graphics-hog Metro Last Light.

So to my question: Is the advantage of having a lot of system overblown? I'm not trying to justify my 2GB, just merely trying to understand if these 4GB cards are worth the higher price tag. If there's anything I've missed, educate me. Thanks!
 
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R
That is not a very well done article.

Vram is a buffer for data for the most part. When the gpu pulls data from vram, its very fast. When the gpu has to pull data and its not in the vram, it has to pull it from other sources such as ram or haven forbid the HD. When this happens, you get a sudden drop in FPS, but the avg is only slightly effected. The article you posted was not measuring the min frames. Look at a TH benchmark, and they include min frames. A card can output 60fps and another card can out put 59fps. If the 60 fps card puts out 120 frames for 1 second, and 0 for the next it has 60fps. A card that puts out 59fps every 1 sec beats the 60fps avg card.

Look at other reviews where vram was not enough, and you will...
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lithuan1an

lithuan1an

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Aug 19, 2013
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Hi.
I think that it is for SLI because then VRAM is usable only from 1 card. So for very powerful machine like 770 SLI 2GB is too less.
4GB VRAM is better for future too, because upcoming games MAYBE will use more than 2GB. Till now no game uses more than 2GB at 1080p.
 
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chugot9218

chugot9218

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May 8, 2012
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Crysis 3 is most likely not hitting 2gb VRAM at 1080p, and it does not draw on system memory, it has access to the onboard alone as a discreet card. VRAM is utilized most when using higher resolutions, I can run even run Metro at 5060x1080p and hit about 1900-2000kb of VRAM.
 
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ShaBaz Khan

ShaBaz Khan

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Jul 4, 2013
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in simple words..for now 2GB is more then enough for gaming @ 1080p..incase you are planning to game @ 4K..u need to have mi 2 GB of VRAM(for high ended games).. also the VRAM portion of the card does not determine how powerful the card is.. so you are fine with your GPU...chill ;)
GTX 770 2GB is a great card..dont worry
 
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realibrad

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That is not a very well done article.

Vram is a buffer for data for the most part. When the gpu pulls data from vram, its very fast. When the gpu has to pull data and its not in the vram, it has to pull it from other sources such as ram or haven forbid the HD. When this happens, you get a sudden drop in FPS, but the avg is only slightly effected. The article you posted was not measuring the min frames. Look at a TH benchmark, and they include min frames. A card can output 60fps and another card can out put 59fps. If the 60 fps card puts out 120 frames for 1 second, and 0 for the next it has 60fps. A card that puts out 59fps every 1 sec beats the 60fps avg card.

Look at other reviews where vram was not enough, and you will see this very thing happen. 1 second will be say 120fps and the next it will be 20, then back up to 120. Then, they take the same card, but with more vram, and that drop goes from 20 to 80. Vram in this case makes the gameplay much smoother.

Think of it like this. If you have a super slow cpu, and 16gigs of ram, and you try to convert a large video file, the ram does next to nothing because the cpu is too slow. If you have a super fast cpu, and 1gig of ram, and try to convert a large video file, the ram cant hold all the data, and the cpu has to pull the data from the HD. There is a balance between amount of vram, and gpu chip speed. If the gpu is not capable of processing what is going on because its slow or old, vram wont do much.
 
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chugot9218

chugot9218

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TBH, personally I would grab the 4GB as the price difference isn't that great. Then in the future you can simply SLI another 770 to increase your performance and you won't have to worry at all about the VRAM. I imagine it will be quite some time before games and the resolution setups would be maxing out 4GB VRAM.
 
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xXAdmiralXx

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but for how long?

 
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ShaBaz Khan

ShaBaz Khan

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it is very difficult to give the accurate answer for "how long" but i can say it will be fine for games coming in 2014-15(assumption)
.. for best FPS play @ 1080p
 
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