Should I be worried about the 3.5 vram on the gtx 970?

Adjustable · Jan 11, 2016

Im buying the components for my gaming rig very soon and was going for the gtx 960 g1 gaming but saw the 970 g1 gaming "SOC" so I decided to go for it since its more powerful for 1080p max settings but heard about the 3.5 vram it has and how it kinda bottlenecks it so if anyone knows if I should be worried about this issue please reply asap. Thanks in advance.

PS: I dont want someone to recommend AMD's 390x cause im not really that into AMD.

Dunlop0078 · Jan 11, 2016

Well I would recommend the 390 in the 300 dollar price range in my opinion its the better buy. But if your sure, no it doesn't really matter unless your playing a game that uses more than 3.5gb of vram which will likely only happen at resolutions higher than 1080p at max settings in some games. At 1080p it shouldn't be an issue at all.

lucas_7_94 · Jan 11, 2016

It comes with 4GB. The last 0.5GB is accessed slower than the first 3.5GB.

The truth is, is a good card, faster, also, like a lot of buyers of hardware, want a little 'future-proof'. Thats is your choice.

btw, what is your system?

Regards.

-Arke- · Jan 11, 2016

The "3,5G problem" should not cause you any issue in 1080, although some horrible ports are demanding more VRam to run in high quality. That said, the R9 290 is the better price/value right now (close to the 290-970 bracket, and 100-150€ cheaper). If you're not into AMD, the 970 wil always beat the 960, even the 4G 960, as it's not powerful enough to approach those 4G.

Adjustable · Jan 11, 2016

Dunlop0078 :

Its actually more expensive in my country (the 390) so im sticking with the 970. I dont intend to run multi-monitor setting or 4k gaming just 1080p, im pretty convinced by your reply but still need some more ppl to share their experiences with the 970 cause that piece of technology isnt anywhere near a bang for the buck so it better be good for my hard earned money

Adjustable · Jan 11, 2016

lucas_7_94, sorry still new dont know how to reply to posts. System specs : I5-4690k, Asrock z97 Extreme6, didnt make my mind about the ram yet maybe when I go buy the stuff and the 970 g1 gaming super overclock windforce edition.

If you're asking about the whole thing im getting the Corsair Series VS550M PSU and about the case Corsair Carbide spec-01 if you need any additional stuff just reply ^-^

Dunlop0078 · Jan 11, 2016

Adjustable :

Well if your deciding between the 960 4gb vs the 970 the 970 will destroy it at any resolution in any game regardless of the slow 0.5gb of VRAM. That is not an opinion its a fact I could look up some benchmarks for you if you want.

dudeman509 · Jan 11, 2016

I have played tons of games around max settings @ 1080p with my 970 and have never run into the RAM cap. Great card.

jerdle · Jan 11, 2016

Adjustable :

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

Your decision to get a card that is in no way future resistant much less future proof is one thing. You're anti-AMD, so it's understandable that you want the 970.

BUT

Buying a VS power supply to run a computer with a graphics card that enters enthusiast territory is a far worse thing.

-Arke- · Jan 11, 2016

jerdle :

Totally agree. The VS is somehow a popular PSu, although it's a Tier4, which means not the worse, but close enough.
Here you can check some quality PSUs. I'd say you to go tier 3 or above.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

assassin445522 · Jan 11, 2016

the gtx 970 can run games max settings in 1080p 60 fps no problem as long as your CPU is good the vram will not even be used unless your using high res textures, 4 gb (3.5 or whatever) is fine for even heavy modification of textures like skyrim 2k-4k textures

lucas_7_94 · Jan 11, 2016

@Adjustable: Sorry, i can't reply you. (The button is in the right down to quote, but doesn't work).

Well, your system is fine, but not agreed with the PSU, go for XFX, SeaSonic, EVGA, you have a lot of options here. About RAM, well, 8gb or 16gb will be fine.
(My own recommendation is a XFX, works like a charm)

Don't worry, your system will be fine with the 970 for a long time and you dont need to worry with the 4gb issue.

Adjustable · Jan 11, 2016

Dunlop0078 :

Adjustable :

Well if your deciding between the 960 4gb vs the 970 the 970 will destroy it at any resolution in any game regardless of the slow 0.5gb of VRAM. That is not an opinion its a fact I could look up some benchmarks for you if you want.

Would be epic if you did mate

Adjustable · Jan 11, 2016

Well the guy above which is saying NO NO you can atleast recommend a decent psu rather than plainly saying NO

jerdle · Jan 11, 2016

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

stl522013 · Jan 11, 2016

Get the r9 390. It has 8 GB of VRAM so you won't have a VRAM issue, and it performs better in most games. It is the same price.

jerdle · Jan 11, 2016

^ while it's good advice, OP wants a GeForce, not the better card.

Dunlop0078 · Jan 12, 2016

I would be willing to be bet no games at 1080p use 3.5gb of VRAM in the next few years, so I fail to see how how having 3.5gb of fast ram will hurt the 970s lifespan. Maybe at 1440p but even then the power of the gpu core itself will likely be whats holding you back not the VRAM. And just too clear up some misconception the 970 does have a full 4gb of VRAM its just 500mb of it is not as fast as the rest. That said I would still rather have a 390, but having only 3.5gb of vram is perfectly fine for 1080p for the foreseeable future.

stl522013 · Jan 12, 2016

EVGA has some good PSUs. Some good ones without spending a ton of money are the GS and G2.

renz496 · Jan 12, 2016

Well when it comes to this issue.....it was hit and miss? In most cases 970 will running out of grunt first before filling all the VRAM. Tried Fallout 4 with DSR 4k; frame rate already dip below down to 30s range VRAM usage not even close to 3.5GB. There are few crazy titles that super VRAM hog. For example Shadow of mordor with everthing max out plus ultra texture; VRAM easily shoot up to 4GB even on 1080p but still able to maintain 60fps with frame rate dips in some heavy scene (suspect cpu bottleneck here) but no stutter at all. Advance warfare. No stutter when VRAM is well over 3.5GB and easily maintain 60FPS. Arkham Knight also play just fine though the game itself was plague with other issue. So far the only game that i feel affected by the vram probably assassin creed unity. There is stutter from time to time though i did not test it in more complex scene because i already done with the story when i got my 970. Suspect the stutter might coming from VRAM issue because there is no single stutter when i play the game using my 960 despite VRAM usage easily exceed 2GB.

Should I be worried about the 3.5 vram on the gtx 970?

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