How much VRAM do I need ?

[Mrmegagamer]

Hey guys. Just wondering how much Video RAM (VRAM) do I need for my video card to play games on a 1920x1200p monitor ? Is the 2GB version enough ?

The graphics card that im aiming for is a nvidia GTX 770. I will mostly just do gaming on it. Will be playing modern high-end games like Battlefield 3/4 , Crysis 3 , Skyrim and all that on max graphic settings! Thanks!

Here is my hardware.

Monitor : http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?s=bsd&sku=320-2676
Graphics card : http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4629#ov

 

[Dayday831]

A single monitor 1 770 would be perfect for you. I have never seen a benchmark where a 4GB 770 outperformed a 2GB 770. Many people will tell you get the 4GB for futureproof, no evidence is shown. I have read from others that a 770 runs out of power before 2GB becomes an issue. The GB VRAM used is not the same as needed. It just stores the textures in there for use, it isn't a passthrough. You will be fine with that card.

 

[Mrmegagamer]

I will be running on a single monitor yes. But on a slightly higher resolution 1920x1200. I've heard people saying it will use more than 2GB while gaming with max settings and AA turned on. Hmm

 

[Dayday831]

HD 7970 has 3GB, GTX 770 has 2GB and will beat it in many games.
GTX 770 2GB SLI will destroy a 6GB Titan. Memory buffer isn't the end all, but it is important. By the way, that 770 SLI only benefits from 2GB not 2+2, so 2GB VRAM is beating 6GB VRAM.

 

[Memnarchon]

Hello.
You will not having any problem with 2GB with the gpus that we have today. All games will make our graphic cards reach their GPU limit long before they will reach their VRAM limit.
So 2GB of VRAM are enough

 

[Mrmegagamer]

Yeah 2 Gigs is just OK.
I personally use a GTX 770 ASUS DCII OC version with a i7 3770k and works like a charm while running Crysis 3 @ 1920 X 1080 on my 23" Dell monitor.
The game uses 1.8 gb of my VRAM maximum while playing at VeryHigh with SMAA 4X. FPS given is like -40.
With FXAA(I generally prefer this while playing Crysis 3) i GET LIKE 48 to 55 FPS(Avg) and min 35 and max 80.
You should be getting FPS like this too so I just wanted to tell you before hand.

Hey man. Thanks for responding. I will be running on a single monitor. Yes. But on a slightly higher resolution 1920x1200p. Is 2GB really enough? As you stated the game uses almost 2Gb of VRAM while gaming Crysis with maximum settings even on a 1920x1080p resolution.

 

[Dayday831]

Hello.
You will not having any problem with 2GB with the gpus that we have today. All games will make our graphic cards reach their GPU limit long before they will reach their VRAM limit.
So 2GB of VRAM are enough

+1 Exactly. It has been widely thrown around that 4GB is a must for future games, but no benchmarks have ever shown that. I have looked high and low.
I have saw them benchmarked against each other, and they were exactly the same. 4GB is just a selling point it seems, and it works. LOL

 

[Mrmegagamer]

HD 7970 has 3GB, GTX 770 has 2GB and will beat it in many games.
GTX 770 2GB SLI will destroy a 6GB Titan. Memory buffer isn't the end all, but it is important. By the way, that 770 SLI only benefits from 2GB not 2+2, so 2GB VRAM is beating 6GB VRAM.

Hey man, yeah the GTX 770 is an outstanding single GPU card. which is why im considering to buy it. But will a 2GB be enough for a 1920x1200p resolution? And how does it differ from the lower 1920x1080 resolution pixel?

 

[Dayday831]

HD 7970 has 3GB, GTX 770 has 2GB and will beat it in many games.
GTX 770 2GB SLI will destroy a 6GB Titan. Memory buffer isn't the end all, but it is important. By the way, that 770 SLI only benefits from 2GB not 2+2, so 2GB VRAM is beating 6GB VRAM.

Hey man, yeah the GTX 770 is an outstanding single GPU card. which is why im considering to buy it. But will a 2GB be enough for a 1920x1200p resolution? And how does it differ from the lower 1920x1080 resolution pixel?

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/2240/4/
The frame buffer used, does not mean you need that much. If you give it 3, maybe it will use 3 it doesn't mean it needs that much. HD 7950 is 3GB, and it isn't close to the 770 2GB in performance.

 

[Mrmegagamer]

The data i am giving now is current data after I ran Crysis 3 now to tell you.

According to ASUS GPU Monitor
My memory usage was constant at 1618.0 MB and it reached maximum of 1741.0 at a certain point which I don't know of
This was the DATA..Now according to this I still recommend you not to go for 4 GB version.
2 GB will be enough.

Was there any background applications running while the data was recorded? just asking because i've heard people saying you can't multitask when you have a 2GB card? because it will exceed the limit. and what exactly happens when it exceeds over 2GB of usage?

 

[Dayday831]

Best way I can explain it, is to picture a funnel. it doesn't matter past a certain point, how much of fluid you have on the other side of it, it is going to sit in the funnel until it can go through it. A bigger funnel, with the same size opening can only move the same amount, it will hold more fluid. You are restricted by the bandwidth.

 

[Mrmegagamer]

Thanks a lot for the responses guys! I think i'll just go with the 2GB variant.. Being paranoid is the last thing i wanna do. Hahaha .. Peace!

 

[Memnarchon]

Metro Last Light VGA Graphics Benchmark performance test - Graphics memory
Crysis 3 VGA Graphics Benchmark performance test - Graphics memory
Far Cry 3 VGA Graphics Benchmark performance test - Graphics memory

As you can see there was only 1 time that VRAM need for 1080p was more than 2GB and in that case the game will not be playble at all running at 30fps avg and 24min on GTX670!!!

So don't worry about having more than 2GB VRAM when gaming at 1080p.

 

[Mrmegagamer]

Metro Last Light VGA Graphics Benchmark performance test - Graphics memory
Crysis 3 VGA Graphics Benchmark performance test - Graphics memory
Far Cry 3 VGA Graphics Benchmark performance test - Graphics memory

As you can see there was only 1 time that VRAM need for 1080p was more than 2GB and in that case the game will not be playble at all running at 30fps avg and 24min on GTX670!!!

So don't worry about having more than 2GB VRAM when gaming at 1080p.

Yeah bro. So its gonna be the same when gaming at 1200p right ? Heh .. :/

 

[Memnarchon]

Yeah bro. So its gonna be the same when gaming at 1200p right ? Heh .. :/

If you will have 30fps at 1920x1080 at 8xMSAA imagine how low it will go at 1920x1200... (maybe like 28fps)
The thing is that the more you push the resolution or the sttings, the more GPU power you will need. In order to run 8xMSAA at 1080p you need the horsepower of a Titan or more... There is no point in needing more memory if there isn't enough GPU power to make the game run smoothly in these settings.

Its like having an onld Pentium4 and asking about 8GB RAM for it, or a GTX8800 having 4GB VRAM. There is no point...

 

[Dayday831]

Look at the differences in a GTX 680, none really.

 

[Memnarchon]

I manage to find an 1920x1200 Crysis 3 benchmark result at 1920x1200:

As you can see there is no problem with VRAM at these settings (hell at these settings there will be no probem even at 2560x1600) and if you push the settings more you will running the game below 40fps average.

 

[Dayday831]

really fighting for 1 FPS is like begging for .5 marks in an Exam from the teacher.

Exactly, and if you look closely the 2GB card is faster anyway.