Should I get a 6gig gtx 1060 rather than a 3 gig one for better future proofing

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cankur007

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Jul 29, 2016
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I was thinking if buying one out of these two cards for purely 1080 p gaming
But wanna get better overall performance( mainly gfx settings ) for more yrs
Yes I can down the settings a but I don't wanna do it soon ( 3yrs)
In total will the 6gig version pull fps upto 30 + for more than 4 yrs or maybe 5 at high to med settings
 
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Frag Maniac
Go 6GB, because there's more to it than just VRAM. The 6 GB models also have more CUDA Cores.

The VRAM itself though is a deal breaker on the 3GB if you ask me. I have a 7970 with 3GB, and there's an increasing number of games I cannot run at the highest texture setting because of it.

It doesn't cost much more to get the 6GB, you'll regret it if you don't. Currently, most games run only 5% less FPS on a 3GB, but it averages about 6-8% on recent titles. In 2, or especially 3 years time, the number of high VRAM usage games will change that considerably no doubt.

When games start using about 5GB VRAM, it cripples performance considerably having only 3GB VRAM. Since a lot of GPUs are equipped with 6 and 8GB VRAM now, devs will no doubt...
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Frag Maniac

Frag Maniac

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Go 6GB, because there's more to it than just VRAM. The 6 GB models also have more CUDA Cores.

The VRAM itself though is a deal breaker on the 3GB if you ask me. I have a 7970 with 3GB, and there's an increasing number of games I cannot run at the highest texture setting because of it.

It doesn't cost much more to get the 6GB, you'll regret it if you don't. Currently, most games run only 5% less FPS on a 3GB, but it averages about 6-8% on recent titles. In 2, or especially 3 years time, the number of high VRAM usage games will change that considerably no doubt.

When games start using about 5GB VRAM, it cripples performance considerably having only 3GB VRAM. Since a lot of GPUs are equipped with 6 and 8GB VRAM now, devs will no doubt start making higher VRAM usage games.

1440p Benches
[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYNigmB6sWY"][/video]

1080p Benches
[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9emI9RSxxY"][/video]
 
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Cubsfan15

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Aug 21, 2016
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No...they won't necessarily make 5 gb games lol. Most of gamers have a 1 or 2 gb card which won't change for a while, they want to make the most money from users aND won't alienate those with lower level cards. While you may not be able to play on the highest textures, most games should run 1080p 60 fps smooth for about 3 years on some level of detail. Check the tech deals 1060 6gb vs 3gb he explains it really well.
 
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Frag Maniac

Frag Maniac

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Actually, they're already starting to, Mirror's Edge Catalyst on Hyper, and with 8GB GPUs starting at only $240, there will be more within the 3 yrs he specified. Also, for some time, many games are now using over 3GB, and while some might claim a 3GB GPU still runs them fine, the reality is, it often affects either texture settings, or texture streaming. It can also cause hitching. I'd rather not have smoothness of gameplay or LOD affected by blurry textures and hitching to save a mere $50 over a period of 3 years system life. That's less than $17 a year, and less than $1.40 per month.


 
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Supernova1138

Supernova1138

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I'd have to agree that the 3GB of VRAM is concerning if you want to keep the card for 3-4 years. Most games are okay now with the 3GB so long as you turn off the ultra texture setting and don't try to run your games at 4K, but the big question is how long will that status quo last. In 2014 VRAM requirements skyrocketed and made the 1GB cards obsolete overnight with 2GB becoming the new minimum thanks to the new consoles and their much larger memory capacities for both system and graphics. Both the PS4 and Xbox One are seeing refreshes in the next year which may cause the VRAM requirement to increase even more.

If you only planned to keep the card for 12 to 18 months until you upgrade again, I'd say get the 3GB version and save a bit of cash as hopefully VRAM requirements won't skyrocket until you're due for your next upgrade. Since you want to keep the card for a long time and want to retain high quality settings for as long as possible, I'd say spend the extra $50 for the 6GB version or maybe even spring for a 1070 if you could afford it.
 
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Frag Maniac

Frag Maniac

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Yes on Xbox (Scorpio), not so much on PS (Neo). Sony are not giving Neo what it really needs to compete with Scorpio at 4k. Many are now saying Neo won't even be able to run games in 4k.

"The GPU will have to share this 5 GB meaning that, in practice, as little as 3.5 GB of VRAM is available to the GPU—with the PS4 Neo also set to feature an 8 GB pool of RAM, this is likely to carry over. This is yet another indication that the Neo isn’t going to run games at 4K—it will not have enough VRAM to load ultra-high res textures. The Xbox Scorpio, on the other hand, is likely to feature 12 GB pool of memory—with an additional 4 GB of memory that’s utilizable by the GPU, the Scorpio has enough space to hit 4K without running out of VRAM."

Source: http://gamingbolt.com/xbox-one-scorpio-vs-ps4-neo-spec-analysis-the-power-difference-is-real-but-does-it-matter

It's mostly due to Scorpio that games will be made more demanding, but that may end up being mostly games that are intended for Xbox and PC.
 
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