GTX 970 and Grand Theft Auto 5 - The VRAM/RAM Issue

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Arkahm

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Jul 13, 2010
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Hi everyone. You guys have been a lot of help so here I am again!

I have an EVGA GTX 970
FX 8350
Currently 8GB of RAM.



I am aware of the "issue" with the GTX 970 (3.5 + .512) VRAM partitioning and how accessing the remaining .5 can slow performance down (but is still faster than paging?)

During game play online, I find that my RAM (not vram) continues to go up and up, reaching 7.5/8 of my total system. I should be topping out around 6gb or less and it only does this with GTA, no other game so I don't believe it's me or a virus, etc. I do regular cleans as well.



My questions is, running the 970 at around 3GB - 3.2GB of VRAM usage in the graphics settings, I should be running smooth at 60fps constantly, correct?


Is the memory leak that is effecting my RAM (which I am upgrading to 16GB) the reason for my lack of performance, as I am not breaching the 3.5k limit before performance loss?

Or is there something else that is effecting the VRAM and making it push past the 3.5 although my graphics settings say it will only use 3k?


Will my new 16GB of RAM help solve this issue for me? I hear a lot of people saying they play GTA 5 maxed on ultra with their 970 and they don't have an issue. I realize turning down my advanced graphics may help (long shadows, high resolution shadows, etc).

I'm just wondering if this is really the limit of this card and if I should return it and spend the extra $300 on a 980...


I do not game in 4k. My resolution is actually 1366 (or 1360 or something I forget) x 768.. im actually not too sure on how resolutions work, to be honest, or if 4k even is.. or.. etc.



 
Solution
A
Well, after playing surgery all night:

I installed my new 16gb Corsair RAM.
I installed my new Master Cooler EVO (what a pain in the ass that was).
I have my new SSD.
I have my GTX970.

I spent quite a few hours trying to rectify a major issue where my PC was BSOD on boot and looping. Disabled my auto reboot and found the PC wasn't detecting my SSD. After freaking out I changed cables and turns out it was just a faulty wire.

My EVO is too big for my case! Lmfao but thats ok its doing the job. I just have to crack the side panel open until I get a new tower.

Anyway, I played GTA online shortly and did not notice an increase in RAM usage. In fact there was much less than before. Whether or not the issue will arise again I won't know...
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Sergeant_Sneaky

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Mar 25, 2015
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GTA 5 uses more VRAM than it states it will in the menu, mine says around 2.3GB? Maybe 3.3GB (I'll have to check) and I have hit 3.95GB before. Use something like MSI afterburner to check the REAL VRAM usage, if it is at 3.5GB, you may want to lower your settings. You should turn down/off the Advanced settings before anything else, and turn MSAA to 4x or 2x. I'm at 900p with a 980 and cannot MAX everything (like MSAA 8x and all advanced settings maxed)
 
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blasc

blasc

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Nov 21, 2014
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I had a similar problem as you but playing Star Citizen. I also have 8 GB RAM and a gtx 970 and it has nothing to do with both.

I will assume you have an SSD and therefore you disabled the paging file to maintain its health. You dun f*cked it up :)

My solution: enable paging file again. some 4GB will be enough (enable some 8GB for the safe side)

And if you bought 16GB of RAM now, i don't know if it will solve the prob or not, but I assume it will. (although enabling paging is cheaper lol)

Finally, please put here your system specs please.
 
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Arkahm

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Jul 13, 2010
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I did look into my paging file earlier this week. I'm not sure what the settings should be, but it is enabled. I'll take a screen shot when I get home from work.

I had a feeling GTA5 uses more VRAM than it displayed. I have both MSI Afterburner, which I use to make a custom fan curve for my 970, as well as Speccy. I'll see if I can get screens of the VRAM usage on both. My RAM should be coming in today. If that fixes the issue, or alleviates some of the frustration, I'll also include that in my response.

I've also got my hyper cooler coming in today :).

I was worried for a while that my 970 was just faulty. I did take the time to educate myself on the 512mb partition and the issue the card has with high end gaming VRAM (4k, etc).

I'll try these adjustments and report back tonight!
 
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rcald2000

rcald2000

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Nov 3, 2009
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What precisely is the problem? Are you experiencing low FPS? Or are you simply concerned that your RAM usage is high?

At your resolution, 1366 x 768, you are using almost half of the pixels of 1920 x 1080 (HD). Therefore I would have assumed that you could easily achieve 60 FPS.

VRAM: It's extremely unlikely that you're exceeding 3.5 GB of VRAM in GTA 5 @ 1366 x 768.

RAM: Your RAM shouldn't be exceeding 8 GB. What OS are you running? You can check task manager and to see what is using your RAM. You can also using the windows msconfig config application to disable things in your Windows startup. Let me know if you need instructions.
 
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Arkahm

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Jul 13, 2010
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I have used Task Manager to check and it is GTA 5 that is taking up a grand majority of the usage. I'll see if I can get another shot. I'm aware, apparently, GTA5 has a severe memory leak for many people online. It's apparently a very common issue where RAM slowly builds up usage. Nothing else is using anything close to GTA 5 and this issue ONLY occurs while playing that particular game.

The issue is, as the total RAM usage increases my performance begins to suffer. Micro-stuttering ensues, and every now and again I do experience random crashes. I'll look into the page filing again but hopefully the new corsair ram will alleviate the issue.. though I have heard of people getting 16gb and still experience very high ram usage (8 +gb).

I wish I could play in full 1080P. I'll have to get a new monitor. Currently I'm using a 36" TV, it's not really even a PC orientated monitor but it still looks decent. Unfortunately I am unable to upload to youtube in 108060fps.. but can do 72060fps:

Examples of my resolution

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOG2bZjnCAo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWOTtInRE_I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOInw4dU074


As long as it isn't my GPU being faulty.
 
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rcald2000

rcald2000

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Nov 3, 2009
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I wasn't aware of the GTA memory leak.

If you want to be fairly certain that your machine isn't infected, then run the following:

ADWcleaner
Combofix

Both applications will reboot your computer, so save your work and browser tabs before running them. You can get them both from Bleeping computer's website.
 
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A

Arkahm

Distinguished
Jul 13, 2010
96
1
18,645
Well, after playing surgery all night:

I installed my new 16gb Corsair RAM.
I installed my new Master Cooler EVO (what a pain in the ass that was).
I have my new SSD.
I have my GTX970.

I spent quite a few hours trying to rectify a major issue where my PC was BSOD on boot and looping. Disabled my auto reboot and found the PC wasn't detecting my SSD. After freaking out I changed cables and turns out it was just a faulty wire.

My EVO is too big for my case! Lmfao but thats ok its doing the job. I just have to crack the side panel open until I get a new tower.

Anyway, I played GTA online shortly and did not notice an increase in RAM usage. In fact there was much less than before. Whether or not the issue will arise again I won't know until tomorrow.

Everything else is running optimal :). I will post back after I play more GTA5 tomorrow and see if the issue persists. If it does not perhaps this can help me get an idea of what is causing this memory leak for other people.
 
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Solution
blasc

blasc

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Nov 21, 2014
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Like i told you before:

I have 8GB of RAM and had the paging file disabled. I ran Star Citizen. The RAM usage just peaked to full 8GB, game crashed.

I then enabled paging file (so virtually, more RAM available). After that, the game runs good, and only uses ~3Gb of RAM.... lol

So basically yes, you went for the REAL 16GB memory, but you could have only enabled paging file :) glad your problem is solved.
 
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Arkahm

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Jul 13, 2010
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haven't had a problem since.

I'm running GTA5/Skyrim both on DSRx4 now, no RAM issues anymore, replaced my PSU (Which was the real problem btw, not the RAM). My PSU was dying the whole time.
 
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