How much VRAM do I need?
How much VRAM do I need?
hi everyone, i have an old gaming computer that started around six years ago. it has a decent processor (i3-8350k), lots of memory (32 gigs ddr4), and a graphics card (gtx 1060 with 6 gb). honestly, this setup is doing great for the games i play right now. However, lately, things are slowing down in some areas, so it's time to get upgraded. I don't need a super powerful PC just to last another six years, but at least it should handle pretty much any game without being overkill. For my question: is having 8 gigs of video memory on the graphics card okay for me staying up for that long period? Or do i actually NEED more RAM, maybe like 12 or 16 gigs? I'm wondering if the extra cost makes it worth it. thanks in advance for any tips you can give.
I have a six year old computer (an i3-8350K processor, 32 gigabytes of DDR4 memory, a GTX 1060 with 6 gigabytes of video RAM) and I am pretty happy how well it has stayed up for the games I play. Please list all the parts like this: CPU cooler, Motherboard, GPU, RAM, SSD or HDD, PSU: include the age of the power supply apart from its make and model number. Also add the BIOS version for your motherboard right now. 8 gigabytes is good enough for playing in 1080p... if you try to play at a higher resolution or if the games are heavy, then you might need more video RAM. What specific games do you run that stress the system out and how high is your resolution?
Thanks for getting back to me! It's mostly about whether I should throw away those 8gb graphics cards and pick better ones instead. I'm currently running with a 1440p monitor paired with my GTX 1060, and it works fine. But looking forward three years? The question is: what's the smart choice now or will that change things in the future? Some articles say 8gb VRAM is useless today because of how fast games get. Is this actually true when I move up to something like an RTX 4060 or higher, which should be a big jump from my current card?
You'd really want at least 8GB of video memory for anything lasting on a 1440p screen. If you play high-res games with lots of textures and other heavy settings, your graphics card might need up to 16GB. But if you mostly play old-style games before 2020, then 8GB is totally enough even at that resolution. I'd recommend grabbing a 12GB version just in case though. Some solid choices right now are the NVIDIA GTX 4060 or 5060 with 16GB, the RTX 5070 coming down to 12GB, the GTX 980X/9070 at 16GB, and the upcoming RX 9060 XT also at 16GB. You can still get a bunch of cards from last generation that have 12GB or more if they're reasonably priced.
thank you so much for your help, it really helps me out and makes sure I'm on the right path.
If you're using 1440p, having eight gigabytes of RAM is going to be your problem sooner than later no matter what. Your choice of motherboard matters here, so if you have one that can handle it, consider swapping in an i7 processor and getting a better cooling fan. If you also upgrade your graphics card with something like the 9060xt or 5060ti to get more memory, then you should be able to keep using this setup for another two years while saving money on other things.
VRAM lives in your graphics card and is now a big marketing thing. I think it's mostly about speed, not about missing data. A game needs most of its stuff in VRAM when it uses it often. It works a bit like real RAM. If the game asks for something not in VRAM, the computer gets it from memory or maybe even the hard drive. We don't know how much space is actually used by the cards. Probably most of what's there isn't needed after all. What we don't know is how fast the data moves back and forth. The graphics card driver and the game control VRAM. There might be differences between AMD and NVIDIA or even between different games. Here is an old test showing 2GB vs 4GB performance. Usually, video cards come in versions with more than one memory size. For example, the GeForce GTX 680 comes in both 2GB and 4GB forms. With computer parts, more is often better, but does doubling memory really help games run smoother... Spoiler... not much of an improvement. A newer test shows the same results: http://www.techspot.com/review/1114-vram...page5.html And... no game maker wants to limit their market by asking for huge amounts of VRAM. The amount you see on a card is just right for that specific chip.