Is 2GB enough for a single monitor at 2560x1440 resolution?

[C_Swagger]

I'm thinking about chucking a pair of MSI Twin Frozr GTX 770 2GB cards in my new gaming rig but was wondering if 2GB is enough to max out AAA games at 2560x1440 (single screen)? Should I be looking at the 4GB edition instead? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance

 

[13thmonkey]

personally I say no, 3GB for 1440p

 

[chugot9218]

Go for 4GB, I think BF4 recomends at least 2GB VRAM, and it will be more future proof. You would probably be okay with 1 770 to start if you wanted, and you could add the other later.

 

[SlaKer440]

Im sure you already know this but weather your crossfiring 2 cards or not the Memory does not stack. As for your actual question 2 gb of ram will not be enough to get a decent framerate. I'd say about 3gb minimum. You should probably go for the 4gb edition just so that you can get above 60 fps. Also I think a single card with 4gb would be fine in itself and you would save some money as well because that 4gb edition is expensive!

 

[C_Swagger]

Im sure you already know this but weather your crossfiring 2 cards or not the Memory does not stack. As for your actual question 2 gb of ram will not be enough to get a decent framerate. I'd say about 3gb minimum. You should probably go for the 4gb edition just so that you can get above 60 fps. Also I think a single card with 4gb would be fine in itself and you would save some money as well because that 4gb edition is expensive!

Thanks for your answer. Yes I know it won't stack. But do you think I can nail down 60 frames consistently in AAA games at 1440p with a single 770? I didn't think it was powerful enough which is why I was thinking SLI. What do you think?

 

[C_Swagger]

Go for 4GB, I think BF4 recomends at least 2GB VRAM, and it will be more future proof. You would probably be okay with 1 770 to start if you wanted, and you could add the other later.

I will probably go with the 4GB then. Thanks for the input.

 

[SlaKer440]

Im sure you already know this but weather your crossfiring 2 cards or not the Memory does not stack. As for your actual question 2 gb of ram will not be enough to get a decent framerate. I'd say about 3gb minimum. You should probably go for the 4gb edition just so that you can get above 60 fps. Also I think a single card with 4gb would be fine in itself and you would save some money as well because that 4gb edition is expensive!

Thanks for your answer. Yes I know it won't stack. But do you think I can nail down 60 frames consistently in AAA games at 1440p with a single 770? I didn't think it was powerful enough which is why I was thinking SLI. What do you think?

Yeh you'll be able to hold down 60fps with a single card. If you SLI you might experience maybe a few extra frames but due to the memory not stacking you would not experience FPS gain that would justifie the second card at that resolution. A single card should handel it well.

 

[chugot9218]

Here's a chart: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-770-gk104-review,3519-4.html

You would be slightly below it looks 60, with SLI you'd probably be pushing well over 60 (note that these are mostly "last gen" game benchmarks, BF4 was not recent enough). In fact, 2 770's pushed about 100 FPS in BF3.

You could maybe get away with 1 4GB 780 (if they have them) and then do another 780 down the line.

 

[C_Swagger]

Here's a chart: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-770-gk104-review,3519-4.html

You would be slightly below it looks 60, with SLI you'd probably be pushing well over 60 (note that these are mostly "last gen" game benchmarks, BF4 was not recent enough). In fact, 2 770's pushed about 100 FPS in BF3.

You could maybe get away with 1 4GB 780 (if they have them) and then do another 780 down the line.

Oh wow, great chart. Thanks for this. I'm pretty sure the 780 maxes out at 3GB, would that work going forward at my resolution? I'm mainly looking forward to future games like Star Citizen, Watchdogs, and Cyberpunk 2077...among others. I guess what I'm asking is what matters more? A 780 is more powerful/faster than a 770, but does the fact that it has 1GB less in physical memory mean that it wont last as long at my resolution than the less powerful 770 due to the increasing ram requirements of games going forward? I hope that made sense....lol

Sorry, I'm a bit noobish when it comes to how all the technology works, I just know how to build.

 

[chugot9218]

I look at it this way, because VRAM does not stack, you will never be able to upgrade your VRAM without going to completely new cards. However, if you are limited by the actual performance of the card, independent of VRAM, you can SLI another card to improve performance.

 

[C_Swagger]

I look at it this way, because VRAM does not stack, you will never be able to upgrade your VRAM without going to completely new cards. However, if you are limited by the actual performance of the card, independent of VRAM, you can SLI another card to improve performance.

Hmm....so then if you were in my position you would consider going with the 4GB 770 over the 3GB 780, and then just add another when you needed a performance upgrade down the line while keeping your relatively high VRAM? Makes sense, if I'm interpreting you correctly, plus $500 is a little steep for a single card in my opinion anyway so I probably won't go the 780 route.

 

[chugot9218]

Yes that is what I mean, basically whatever you get for VRAM is what your at unless you upgrade to a card with more, you can add more performance to your card with another of the same model, but you cannot improve the VRAM by adding another card, I have two 2gb 670's and at some point if I need more VRAM I will need to sell them and upgrade to the 4gb models, if I need more performance and am not running out of VRAM, I can just SLI in another 2gb 670 (although there are caveats to this approach, cooling, microstuttering, etc..).

 

[C_Swagger]

Yes that is what I mean, basically whatever you get for VRAM is what your at unless you upgrade to a card with more, you can add more performance to your card with another of the same model, but you cannot improve the VRAM by adding another card, I have two 2gb 670's and at some point if I need more VRAM I will need to sell them and upgrade to the 4gb models, if I need more performance and am not running out of VRAM, I can just SLI in another 2gb 670 (although there are caveats to this approach, cooling, microstuttering, etc..).

This is logical.....thank you my friend.....you've been a big help.

 

[chugot9218]

Not a problem glad to help, they are nice cards regardless of what you get, personally I recommend Gigabyte or Asus as those are two I have experience with and have had no troubles.