How much vram is needed for ultra gaming @1080p?

T2 · May 28, 2014

I had a doubt between 3 graphic cards, one had 2gb VRAM the other 3 and the last 4
Lik to the post is hereHere

Are 3 and 4 GB VRAM really needed for gaming? which is the best when paires with an fx 8320 and ASRock 990FX extreme 3 motherboard?

i7Baby · May 28, 2014

Sometimes just a bit over 2gb is required. Get 3GB to be safe.

Any graphics cards will be OK with that cpu and motherboard.

neon neophyte · May 28, 2014

right now, 3gb.

textures can consume a lot of vram. heck, skyrim mods have been tearing through vram for quite awhile now

Danimal1q2w3 · May 28, 2014

Today on Wolfenstein I was using 2.8 gigs if VRAM, 1680x1050

Rationale · May 28, 2014

I haven't exceeded 2GB yet. Most of my games are 1-2 years old though. 3GB would be safer for the newest/future games.

Danimal1q2w3 · May 28, 2014

If I am using 2.8 today in a year I wonder will you be using more than 3? Just go for the 4 gig version my friend. It is not an unreasonable thing to do. I not sure if you do any ps2 emulating, but that has put me at 3.2 gigs in the past. Very glad I chose the 4 gig version of the card. Gtx 770

Rationale · May 28, 2014

Danimal1q2w3 :

About that... You weren't really using that much VRAM. It pretty much continually fills until the game hits a loading area. If it fills, it clears space. The only time VRAM is actually full to a point where it decrease performance is when the game needs to keep more loaded at once than can fit. So although monitoring hardware puts you at 2.8GB, it was really probably more like 1.5GB to 2GB.

Furthermore, the GTX 770 doesn't have the bandwidth to effectively handle more than 2GB of VRAM under load, so if you were passing much over 2GB in active use, your performance would have dropped sharply whether or not you had leftover VRAM.

T2 · May 28, 2014

The 4 GB R9 270X is cheaper than the 3GB MSI one which 1 should i get? that offers the best price to performance value

i7Baby · May 28, 2014

In the end, we provide info and advice and you choose.

T2 · May 28, 2014

i7Baby :

I mean that will the R9 270X really be able to utilise 4GB DDR5 VRAM 'coz i'm pretty tight on my budget now.

i7Baby · May 28, 2014

You don't want it to. we said - at least 3GB.

T2 · May 28, 2014

i7Baby :

Are you sayig that 3GB is a better choice than the 4GB?

i7Baby · May 28, 2014

Danimal1q2w3 · May 31, 2014

Just as a follow up, I used 3.8 gigs today in Wolfenstein at 1680x1050. Thought someone may find that interesting

Rationale · May 31, 2014

Danimal1q2w3 :

See my previous answer.

MyWay · Jun 9, 2014

Rationale :

while you keep saying this, i actually using GTX 770 4gb, then how you would explain Watch Dogs runs great on Ultra 45 fps on avg no stuttering
and 2 gb owners keep complaining about the stutter and unplayble game on Ultra, while mine playble and enjoyable. maybe you should reconsider what you are talking about, even NVIDIA shows the difference between between the 2gb and 4gb on their topic about that game while on 2gb they recomend HIGH textures and on 4gb ULTRA.

Suztera · Jun 9, 2014

MyWay :

A 4GB R 270X is not worth it due to being the gpu chip inside that is not fully capable of actually processing the 4GB Vram in time thus you will see no benefit whatsoever in most games. The GTX 770 2GB or 4gb is a much faster card than the R9 270X 2Gb or 4GB.

Watchdogs is considered as an exception due to being released unoptimized for both card especially for AMD gpus.

MyWay · Jun 9, 2014

Suztera :

While some say 1 gpu is more tha enough on 1080P, meanwhile 2gb card already struggling with some of the titles to keep it under 2gb vram (crysis 3, wolfenstein, watch dogs, and even smoded skyrim), so Im playing on 1080P it is reasonable that i would use 1 gpu, considering myself not a fanatic of mostrous GPU like gtx 780/ti but a really one step behind a gtx770 that should keep my games at 60fps on ultra but wont if its 2gb version because of that anoying Stutterig that points on VRAM issue, isnt it make sense to take a 4gb card considering what i said before?

Rationale · Jun 9, 2014

MyWay :

That's really not true. A 2GB card is more than enough for Crysis 3 at 1080p. Though my 660 doesn't maintain a very good framerate at ultra, it never runs out of VRAM or stutters. Modded Skyrim has broken memory handling, and it still doesn't touch 2GB of VRAM with complete 2K texture overhauls.

Not sure about Wolfenstein, as I haven't played it.

There are many Watchdogs players with 4GB cards who get just as much stutter as people with 2GB cards, if you check online. It's more of related to the CPU and HDD, and how Watchdogs handles LoD. Not VRAM unless you're using a lot of AA, which is pointless anyway.

It really sounds like you're just trying to justify your purchase of a 4GB card. But really, a 4GB 770 isn't meant for single monitors. The bandwidth can't effectively support that much VRAM being used by a game at once.

MyWay · Jun 9, 2014

Rationale :

MyWay :

That's really not true. A 2GB card is more than enough for Crysis 3 at 1080p. Though my 660 doesn't maintain a very good framerate at ultra, it never runs out of VRAM or stutters. Modded Skyrim has broken memory handling, and it still doesn't touch 2GB of VRAM with complete 2K texture overhauls.

Not sure about Wolfenstein, as I haven't played it.

There are many Watchdogs players with 4GB cards who get just as much stutter as people with 2GB cards, if you check online. It's more of related to the CPU and HDD, and how Watchdogs handles LoD. Not VRAM unless you're using a lot of AA, which is pointless anyway.

It really sounds like you're just trying to justify your purchase of a 4GB card. But really, a 4GB 770 isn't meant for single monitors. The bandwidth can't effectively support that much VRAM being used by a game at once.

Im not trying to justify, in fact i bought this card becaue i do notice a difference in aa change even on 1080P then you should probably check guru reviews for crysis, I assure you will stutter at the time youll raise msaa to 4x, 8x is gorgeous my gpu cant handle it though, but 4x it does on 40 fps for me its ok, then you should go to guru and see their vram results at this settings it really go above 2gb or near it == stutter at action scenes

PC_gamer5150 · Jun 9, 2014

Rationale :

very refreshing to see a guy who actually KNOWS about GPU's!
I agree with the above post totally
a game will use more Vram if it is available
case in point.
My 780 3g uses 2.8g tops on watch dogs but my friends gtx 770 4G uses more than that with the same settings. his vram usage is over 3G's

MyWay · Jun 9, 2014

PC_gamer5150 :

Rationale :

very refreshing to see a guy who actually KNOWS about GPU's!
I agree with the above post totally
a game will use more Vram if it is available
case in point.
My 780 3g uses 2.8g tops on watch dogs but my friends gtx 770 4G uses more than that with the same settings. his vram usage is over 3G's

so why that recommendation written by NVIDIA showing the difference in recommended settings depended on VRAM capacity, see the 2 different GTX 770 there in the bottom of the guide
also the developers intended to make the game with a 3 gb Vram requirement on ULTRA 1080P.

http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/guides/watch-dogs-graphics-performance-and-tweaking-guide

PC_gamer5150 · Jun 9, 2014

MyWay :

PC_gamer5150 :

so why that recommendation written by NVIDIA showing the difference in recommended settings depended on VRAM capacity, see the 2 different GTX 770 there in the bottom of the guide
also the developers intended to make the game with a 3 gb Vram requirement on ULTRA 1080P.

http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/guides/watch-dogs-graphics-performance-and-tweaking-guide

Not really sure what you are asking? but yes to use ultra textures you need a 3g or higher card,
any card under 3G will have the ultra option greyed out(locked).
if i were buying a 770 i would not even consider a 2g one even IF i mostly never needed more 2g's of vram
the price difference is not worth the loss of 2 extra g's IMHO.

How much vram is needed for ultra gaming @1080p?

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