Can I boost my video card memory using my PCs RAM?

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RZSparks92

RZSparks92

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Apr 8, 2015
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Bear with me because I'm new to all this. I recently upgraded my video card from a Zotac GTX570 to an MSi GTX 960. I've been playing the new Batman: Arkham Knight game and was stunned at how great this game looked. The game began to get choppy, and I went into the graphics settings and noticed it said I needed to turn down the texture settings because it required at least 3GB of memory from the video card. (My new one only has 2GB) After turning down the settings I was really disappointed at how much blander and less detailed it looked. I realize that its still a great game, but I'd like to crank it back up if possible. Someone had mentioned to me that I could dedicate some of my PCs RAM to supplement the GPU? My setup currently has a 2.8GHz Xeon processor, and 12GB of DDR3 RAM (If that matters at all). I would really appreciate any help anyone could provide. Thanks for your time.
 
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soldier5637
hey there, well i guess i have a couple things to say. First off, just dont do anything yet. Go to steam and look at the new batmans rating. 70% negative because its so horribly optimized, even people with GTX 980s are getting extreme stutters and more. Wait for them to patch it. But beyond that, I may be wrong but I believe your GPU does that automatically, use the system RAM when theres none of its own left I mean. However, yes this will make the game very choppy because its several times slower than the 2 gigs the rest of it is on on your GPU. If its at all an option, I'd recommend you return that and get a GTX 970, the 960 will e showing its age a lot sooner than you'd like with all the new games coming out requiring 2 gigs as the...
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soldier5637

soldier5637

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hey there, well i guess i have a couple things to say. First off, just dont do anything yet. Go to steam and look at the new batmans rating. 70% negative because its so horribly optimized, even people with GTX 980s are getting extreme stutters and more. Wait for them to patch it. But beyond that, I may be wrong but I believe your GPU does that automatically, use the system RAM when theres none of its own left I mean. However, yes this will make the game very choppy because its several times slower than the 2 gigs the rest of it is on on your GPU. If its at all an option, I'd recommend you return that and get a GTX 970, the 960 will e showing its age a lot sooner than you'd like with all the new games coming out requiring 2 gigs as the bare minimum, nevermind if you want it to look good, then you're looking at 3-4 GBs.
 
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TechyInAZ

TechyInAZ

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Reviewers say otherwise, the advanced compression of Maxwell's new architecture allows way more efficiency in the 128-bit bus. Allowing the GTX 960 (unlike the 760) to use ALL of the 4GB of vram.

However, back to the topic. If he can afford a gtx 970 then that will be way better.
 
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soldier5637

soldier5637

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Hmm, I'd be a bit skeptical of that myself. I know maxwell has good compression, but 4 gigs through that small of a bus, im really not sure about that.

And yes, agreed, far better, and it will last him much farther into the future.
 
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RZSparks92

RZSparks92

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Thanks you guys. I guess I should've done more research before running out and getting a new one. At least I know where I stand. I guess I'll return this one and get something else. I just didn't want to drop $400 on a card right now. I'll do some shopping and figure it out from there. At least I got a free game out of it! Thanks again
 
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Dustybin80

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It seems that on selected games it can make a difference but generally it makes very little, especially if you're playing @1080. The interesting thing in those benchmarks is it has some impact on the lowest frames. It's those dips in performance that can be most annoying when playing. However if you look at Far Cry 3 it never drops below 30 with the extra ram so it's a bonus but probably not worth the premium. For my money the 4gb version of the 960 takes it too close to the cost of a 970 to be worth considering.

http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/1888-evga-supersc-4gb-960-benchmark-vs-2gb/Page-2
 
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RZSparks92

RZSparks92

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I've never really even considered buying a Radeon card. I guess I'm just so used to NVidia that I dont even look. Its what the people who've taught me use... I guess I always looked at AMD as second rate or knock off type. I dont know why though. Thanks I'll look into this.




 
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soldier5637

soldier5637

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Dont worry I am coming out of my Nvidia shell as well. You have to realize that AMD is sometimes the better option. Yes they have stumbled a bit behind Nvidias cards like the 970 and above, but they are capable cards. You'd be smart to look at one over a 960 I think. Bigger bus and twice and vRam and that will make all the difference in the world for textures and resolutions. As well, you should note that you're often better off with an AMD card for games like Crysis 3 & Battlefield 4 which support the AMD exclusive Mantle API.
 
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RZSparks92

RZSparks92

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Apr 8, 2015
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I'm reading a little more about it. I can see if you're wanting a top of the line card, NVIDIA is the way to go, but AMD seems to have some good middle of the pack, but solid cards for cheaper. I just wasn't sure of the quality I guess. I'm going to return this 960 tomorrow and get that one. They have it at the Microcenter right by my house for $40 more then I paid for the NVIDIA card. Thanks for the help.




 
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