• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

GeForce GTX 970 Design Flaw Caps Video Memory Usage to 3.3 GB: Report

Joined
Dec 22, 2011
Messages
3,890 (0.86/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Motherboard MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK
Cooling AMD Wraith Prism
Memory Team Group Dark Pro 8Pack Edition 3600Mhz CL16
Video Card(s) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 FE
Storage Kingston A2000 1TB + Seagate HDD workhorse
Display(s) Samsung 50" QN94A Neo QLED
Case Antec 1200
Power Supply Seasonic Focus GX-850
Mouse Razer Deathadder Chroma
Keyboard Logitech UltraX
Software Windows 11
And Guru3d didn't tell people how to correctly use this tool :banghead: so we're sure to find more mis-reports. Well, I'll be watching eBay, picking up a used 970 for $200 shouldn't be hard if shit hits the fan :D

Let me know too, I'd love a second one. :D
 

AnnCore

Staff
Joined
Apr 23, 2005
Messages
309 (0.04/day)
Location
Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Processor AMD FX-8350 "Vishera"
Motherboard Asus M5A99X EVO
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory G.Skill DDR3 2133MHz 16GB
Video Card(s) CrossfireX Asus 5850
Storage Crucial C300 128GB
Display(s) Samsung SA950
Case Coolermaster Storm Sniper
Power Supply Corsair AX850
Software Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
And Guru3d didn't tell people how to correctly use this tool :banghead: so we're sure to find more mis-reports. Well, I'll be watching eBay, picking up a used 970 for $200 shouldn't be hard if shit hits the fan :D

I have recently bought the Asus Strix version. To use the tool you just need to run the test with the monitor disconnected correct? If that is the case, then I can verify that my card has the so called vram performance issue.
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
4,355 (0.94/day)
Location
Mexico
System Name Dell-y Driver
Processor Core i5-10400
Motherboard Asrock H410M-HVS
Cooling Intel 95w stock cooler
Memory 2x8 A-DATA 2999Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) UHD 630
Storage 1TB WD Green M.2 - 4TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s) Asus PA248 1920x1200 IPS
Case Dell Vostro 270S case
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Dell 220w
Software Windows 10 64bit
I have recently bought the Asus Strix version. To use the tool you just need to run the test with the monitor disconnected correct? If that is the case, then I can verify that my card has the so called vram performance issue.

Nope, you must use another GPU for display (iGPU for example) otherwise windows compositing will reserve some portion of VRAM and alter the results.

A better way to test would be to use a game with a high res texture mod or something as to not overload the pixelfillrate. Most users are just cranking up DSR to get over 3.5GB and then think that the fps drop is due to the memory partition. Nai's benchmark is a CUDA program and the driver could be handling those different than a game.
 
Last edited:

AnnCore

Staff
Joined
Apr 23, 2005
Messages
309 (0.04/day)
Location
Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Processor AMD FX-8350 "Vishera"
Motherboard Asus M5A99X EVO
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory G.Skill DDR3 2133MHz 16GB
Video Card(s) CrossfireX Asus 5850
Storage Crucial C300 128GB
Display(s) Samsung SA950
Case Coolermaster Storm Sniper
Power Supply Corsair AX850
Software Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Nope, you must use another GPU for display (iGPU for example) otherwise windows compositing will reserve some portion of VRAM and alter the results.

A better way to test would be to use a game with a high res texture mod or something as to not overload the pixelfillrate. Most users are just cranking up DSR to get over 3.5GB and then think that the fps drop is due to the memory partition. Nai's benchmark is a CUDA program and the driver could be handling those different than a game.

I'm not huge into games but I am curious to see if my card is affected or not. A question of principle if you will. I have Skyrim still installed. Would that do the trick you think?
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
13,791 (1.93/day)
A user on YouTube, well i might as well copy and paste theoneandonlymrk's childish post, he sounded like he is 8 too, but you didn't call him out on it:

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/t...e-to-3-3-gb-report.209205/page-5#post-3227622

I was playing Shadow of Mordor and cranked it as high as i could, and had soo much fun killing Orcs I forgot I was supposed to be having a terrible experience!

And now you're acting like an 8 year old. No one said anything, people just state observations and they get very little factual explanations in return. If it was that easy to answer, NVIDIA would explain it in detail. And yet tehy just made some half ass excuse in my opinion. If you're not having problems now, that doesn't mean all will be fine half a year in the future when games become more demanding. But since you're apparently on a NVIDIA's payrole, you don't mind it at all. The rest who paid big bucks for the card however do care.
 
Joined
Dec 22, 2011
Messages
3,890 (0.86/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Motherboard MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK
Cooling AMD Wraith Prism
Memory Team Group Dark Pro 8Pack Edition 3600Mhz CL16
Video Card(s) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 FE
Storage Kingston A2000 1TB + Seagate HDD workhorse
Display(s) Samsung 50" QN94A Neo QLED
Case Antec 1200
Power Supply Seasonic Focus GX-850
Mouse Razer Deathadder Chroma
Keyboard Logitech UltraX
Software Windows 11
And now you're acting like an 8 year old. No one said anything, people just state observations and they get very little factual explanations in return. If it was that easy to answer, NVIDIA would explain it in detail. And yet tehy just made some half ass excuse in my opinion. If you're not having problems now, that doesn't mean all will be fine half a year in the future when games become more demanding. But since you're apparently on a NVIDIA's payrole, you don't mind it at all. The rest who paid big bucks for the card however do care.

Here we go... I'm on Nvidia's payroll now? It's a waste of time discussing anything here frankly.
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2011
Messages
2,785 (0.60/day)
Location
New Zealand
System Name MoneySink
Processor 2600K @ 4.8
Motherboard P8Z77-V
Cooling AC NexXxos XT45 360, RayStorm, D5T+XSPC tank, Tygon R-3603, Bitspower
Memory 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1600C8
Video Card(s) GTX 780 SLI (EVGA SC ACX + Giga GHz Ed.)
Storage Kingston HyperX SSD (128) OS, WD RE4 (1TB), RE2 (1TB), Cav. Black (2 x 500GB), Red (4TB)
Display(s) Achieva Shimian QH270-IPSMS (2560x1440) S-IPS
Case NZXT Switch 810
Audio Device(s) onboard Realtek yawn edition
Power Supply Seasonic X-1050
Software Win8.1 Pro
Benchmark Scores 3.5 litres of Pale Ale in 18 minutes.
I think people are too easy to jump on this bandwagon, evidence or none, and start bashing or spouting shit lol
It's the echo chamber.

Note that not a single actual further fact has surfaced since this story broke, yet the thread is moving as if its a constantly updating situation, when in fact it is just the same shit being regurgitated ad nauseam.
Three things seem certain:
1. Testing for this issue is not straightforward for the most part, and requires some effort and particular parameters to be met to be measurable - which goes some way to explain why many owners of the card seem fine with it - if you don't personally encounter a problem, it becomes more academic interest ( the prevailing attitude of owners of Evergreen series of cards during the GSoD phenomena - excepting the vociferous Apple owners of course (see point #3))
2. Most of the hysteria is coming from people who don't own, and would never consider owning the card, or any Nvidia card for that matter
3. Internet culture: Big business + conspiracy theory + overblown sense of entitlement + armchair activism. All that's missing is a trite naming convention alluding to Benghazi or ending in "-gate" (You know its coming).
 

the54thvoid

Intoxicated Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
12,460 (2.38/day)
Location
Glasgow - home of formal profanity
Processor Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard MSI MAG Mortar B650 (wifi)
Cooling be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory 32GB Kingston Fury
Video Card(s) Gainward RTX4070ti
Storage Seagate FireCuda 530 M.2 1TB / Samsumg 960 Pro M.2 512Gb
Display(s) LG 32" 165Hz 1440p GSYNC
Case Asus Prime AP201
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply be quiet! Pure POwer M12 850w Gold (ATX3.0)
Software W10
Why don't all the people trying to make some form of observational comment based on experience they have themselves just leave so that all the bloody idiots starting fights over shit they know little about can just listen to their own verbal crap.
Frankly it boils down to this:
Does the 970 have an issue above 3.5Gb in real world use? Likely answer is probable but not always. Does this mean Nvidia sold a small lie? Yes it absolutely does. Nvidia owners can't defend that. If it doesn't affect the 980 but does affect the 970, then they (NV) have been 'evasive' and deserve some form of backlash.
If you have a 970 and don't feel any effects of this PR 'lie' then feel free to comment - your contribution adds balance to real world usage.
If you're here trolling like a few are because you're anti NV, state facts, not opinions or at least, keep opinions civil and smart. Don't be retarded asswipes spouting shite.
The way I see a lot of posts here are NV owners saying it's not an issue. NV 'loyalists' blindly defending their brand choice and then their is the AMD crowd baying for blood.
And their are logical people saying yes it's quite bad NV have done this but is it affecting people in real life?

Some people need a cyber punch.
 
Joined
Feb 8, 2012
Messages
3,013 (0.68/day)
Location
Zagreb, Croatia
System Name Windows 10 64-bit Core i7 6700
Processor Intel Core i7 6700
Motherboard Asus Z170M-PLUS
Cooling Corsair AIO
Memory 2 x 8 GB Kingston DDR4 2666
Video Card(s) Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB, Seagate Baracuda 1 TB
Display(s) Dell P2414H
Case Corsair Carbide Air 540
Audio Device(s) Realtek HD Audio
Power Supply Corsair TX v2 650W
Mouse Steelseries Sensei
Keyboard CM Storm Quickfire Pro, Cherry MX Reds
Software MS Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
I wonder why other Maxwell and Kepler GPUs (like GTX980M, GTX970M or GTX660) with their asymmetric memory configurations aren't affected?
 

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
40,435 (6.58/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
this is pretty bad
 
Joined
Apr 30, 2012
Messages
3,881 (0.89/day)
I wonder why other Maxwell and Kepler GPUs (like GTX980M, GTX970M or GTX660) with their asymmetric memory configurations aren't affected?

It might have to do with the prioritizing of the segmented memory. Nvidia has stated that so unless its force or pushed to recognize the remaining segment it will likely be restricted (Software or Hardwire) to the 3.5GB segment. Then it becomes a question as to how and why for those interested.
 
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Messages
4,180 (1.15/day)
Location
Texas
System Name SnowFire / The Reinforcer
Processor i7 10700K 5.1ghz (24/7) / 2x Xeon E52650v2
Motherboard Asus Strix Z490 / Dell Dual Socket (R720)
Cooling RX 360mm + 140mm Custom Loop / Dell Stock
Memory Corsair RGB 16gb DDR4 3000 CL 16 / DDR3 128gb 16 x 8gb
Video Card(s) GTX Titan XP (2025mhz) / Asus GTX 950 (No Power Connector)
Storage Samsung 970 1tb NVME and 2tb HDD x4 RAID 5 / 300gb x8 RAID 5
Display(s) Acer XG270HU, Samsung G7 Odyssey (1440p 240hz)
Case Thermaltake Cube / Dell Poweredge R720 Rack Mount Case
Audio Device(s) Realtec ALC1150 (On board)
Power Supply Rosewill Lightning 1300Watt / Dell Stock 750 / Brick
Mouse Logitech G5
Keyboard Logitech G19S
Software Windows 11 Pro / Windows Server 2016
The problem is the people who paid for the card expecting 4gb to be easily useable just like you would get. Especially considering the way they are handling it on the card seems to be more foolish then just cutting that last 500mb of ram and calling it a day. I am pretty sure people would not be disappointed with the card just buying a 3.5gb card but it would help people be more in the loop on what they are buying especially depending on the scenarios people are expecting with this card. Frankly there are people that were expecting a decent budget option for 4K and for 1440p 60+ FPS or the likes which could get hurt with this problem. Imagine someone who purchased 3 of these and a 4K monitor expecting this to be great and ended up with this problem in some games (Maybe many more down the line) as I would be pretty mad. Its not so much that 500gb is a big deal as most people here probably would not ever use that to its full extent anyway (The 4gb) but the fact that people were advertised as such and now they are in a situation that has very limited options for them to make this right.

It is not something people should just ignore or else things like this become the norm.
 

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
40,435 (6.58/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
ones trying to defend such a screw up are just like the democratic party of the united states, ass backwards
 
Joined
Apr 30, 2012
Messages
3,881 (0.89/day)
ones trying to defend such a screw up are just like the democratic party of the united states, ass backwards

Its not a screw up if it was intentional. They just told you the convenient details. So its just like the government. :(

If it was a non-issue. It would have been disproven long ago with the million or so of the 9xx series sold users disproving it. There would be no reason for Nvidia to release a statement after having meetings about it.

I do find it curious as to how few of them are in various forums given the owners clubs. I'm starting to think the majority just buy to showcase then return them with-in the return policy window. I was expecting way more test results being posted. Probably the same for both sides.
 

AlienIsGOD

Vanguard Beta Tester
Joined
Aug 9, 2008
Messages
5,111 (0.89/day)
Location
Kingston, Ontario Canada
System Name Aliens Ryzen Rig | 2nd Hand Omen
Processor Ryzen R5 5600 | Ryzen R5 3600
Motherboard Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite (F61 BIOS) | B450 matx
Cooling DeepCool Castle EX V2 240mm AIO| stock for now
Memory 8GB X 2 DDR4 3000mhz Team Group Vulcan | 16GB DDR4
Video Card(s) Sapphire Pulse RX 5700 8GB | GTX 1650 4GB
Storage Adata XPG 8200 PRO 512GB SSD OS / 240 SSD + 2TB M.2 SSD Games / 1000 GB Data | SSD + HDD
Display(s) Acer ED273 27" VA 144hz Freesync |TCL 32" 1080P w/ HDR
Case NZXT H500 Black | HP Omen Obelisk
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek | Onboard Realtek
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650w 80+ Gold | 500w
Mouse Steelseries Rival 500 15 button mouse w/ Razor Goliathus Chroma XL mousemat | Logitech G502
Keyboard Logitech G910 Orion Spark RGB w/ Romer G tactile keys | Logitech G513 Carbon w/ Romer G tactile keys
Software Windows 10 Pro | Windows 10 Pro
Joined
Mar 7, 2010
Messages
955 (0.18/day)
Location
Michigan
System Name Daves
Processor AMD Ryzen 3900x
Motherboard AsRock X570 Taichi
Cooling Enermax LIQMAX III 360
Memory 32 GiG Team Group B Die 3600
Video Card(s) Powercolor 5700 xt Red Devil
Storage Crucial MX 500 SSD and Intel P660 NVME 2TB for games
Display(s) Acer 144htz 27in. 2560x1440
Case Phanteks P600S
Audio Device(s) N/A
Power Supply Corsair RM 750
Mouse EVGA
Keyboard Corsair Strafe
Software Windows 10 Pro
ones trying to defend such a screw up are just like the democratic party of the united states, ass backwards

I think you mean the NAZI/republican party!
 
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Messages
2,693 (0.44/day)
System Name panda
Processor 6700k
Motherboard sabertooth s
Cooling raystorm block<black ice stealth 240 rad<ek dcc 18w 140 xres
Memory 32gb ripjaw v
Video Card(s) 290x gamer<ntzx g10<antec 920
Storage 950 pro 250gb boot 850 evo pr0n
Display(s) QX2710LED@110hz lg 27ud68p
Case 540 Air
Audio Device(s) nope
Power Supply 750w superflower
Mouse g502
Keyboard shine 3 with grey, black and red caps
Software win 10
Benchmark Scores http://hwbot.org/user/marsey99/
It's a waste of time discussing anything here frankly.

it is with some yes, head buried deep in the sand.

so is this christened 4gb-gate yet or what?

:rofl:

this may be of help

that is the same thing copy pasted on another site dude.

this thread has made my weekend, the buttsore fanbois on one side and the stockholm syndrome on the other...priceless
 

AlienIsGOD

Vanguard Beta Tester
Joined
Aug 9, 2008
Messages
5,111 (0.89/day)
Location
Kingston, Ontario Canada
System Name Aliens Ryzen Rig | 2nd Hand Omen
Processor Ryzen R5 5600 | Ryzen R5 3600
Motherboard Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite (F61 BIOS) | B450 matx
Cooling DeepCool Castle EX V2 240mm AIO| stock for now
Memory 8GB X 2 DDR4 3000mhz Team Group Vulcan | 16GB DDR4
Video Card(s) Sapphire Pulse RX 5700 8GB | GTX 1650 4GB
Storage Adata XPG 8200 PRO 512GB SSD OS / 240 SSD + 2TB M.2 SSD Games / 1000 GB Data | SSD + HDD
Display(s) Acer ED273 27" VA 144hz Freesync |TCL 32" 1080P w/ HDR
Case NZXT H500 Black | HP Omen Obelisk
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek | Onboard Realtek
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650w 80+ Gold | 500w
Mouse Steelseries Rival 500 15 button mouse w/ Razor Goliathus Chroma XL mousemat | Logitech G502
Keyboard Logitech G910 Orion Spark RGB w/ Romer G tactile keys | Logitech G513 Carbon w/ Romer G tactile keys
Software Windows 10 Pro | Windows 10 Pro
that is the same thing copy pasted on another site dude.

this thread has made my weekend, the buttsore fanbois on one side and the stockholm syndrome on the other...priceless
im not a fanboi, nor do i own a 970, i was just posting something that was relevant.....
 
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Messages
2,693 (0.44/day)
System Name panda
Processor 6700k
Motherboard sabertooth s
Cooling raystorm block<black ice stealth 240 rad<ek dcc 18w 140 xres
Memory 32gb ripjaw v
Video Card(s) 290x gamer<ntzx g10<antec 920
Storage 950 pro 250gb boot 850 evo pr0n
Display(s) QX2710LED@110hz lg 27ud68p
Case 540 Air
Audio Device(s) nope
Power Supply 750w superflower
Mouse g502
Keyboard shine 3 with grey, black and red caps
Software win 10
Benchmark Scores http://hwbot.org/user/marsey99/
sorry dude that was not aimed at anyone in particular, just a generalization of the thread on the whole you know.
 
Joined
Dec 22, 2011
Messages
3,890 (0.86/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Motherboard MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK
Cooling AMD Wraith Prism
Memory Team Group Dark Pro 8Pack Edition 3600Mhz CL16
Video Card(s) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 FE
Storage Kingston A2000 1TB + Seagate HDD workhorse
Display(s) Samsung 50" QN94A Neo QLED
Case Antec 1200
Power Supply Seasonic Focus GX-850
Mouse Razer Deathadder Chroma
Keyboard Logitech UltraX
Software Windows 11
it is with some yes, head buried deep in the sand.

so is this christened 4gb-gate yet or what?

:rofl:

Hey I guess Nvidia are ruthless and AMD are inept, one is successful the other just can't seem to make any money.

If your implying Nv should give me a free upgrade to a 980, I agree.... I agree with you all!
 

AsRock

TPU addict
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
18,875 (3.07/day)
Location
UK\USA
Processor AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling D15
Memory Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s) eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s) Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores Meh benchmarks.
Joined
Dec 16, 2014
Messages
421 (0.12/day)
Perhaps this is lord`s way of equalizing the market share with AMD. What if Nvidia has to refund every GeForce 970?
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
4,355 (0.94/day)
Location
Mexico
System Name Dell-y Driver
Processor Core i5-10400
Motherboard Asrock H410M-HVS
Cooling Intel 95w stock cooler
Memory 2x8 A-DATA 2999Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) UHD 630
Storage 1TB WD Green M.2 - 4TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s) Asus PA248 1920x1200 IPS
Case Dell Vostro 270S case
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Dell 220w
Software Windows 10 64bit
Perhaps this is lord`s way of equalizing the market share with AMD. What if Nvidia has to refund every GeForce 970?

It won't come to that. At worst they'd get hit with a class action suit or something and even that's a stretch.

This isn't as bad as the bumpgate and nothing serious came out of that (they paid 200mill to settle but that's it). Plus they can always force the card to just use 3.5GB by drivers (which I suppose it already does).
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 30, 2012
Messages
3,881 (0.89/day)
It won't come to that. At worst they'd get hit with a class action suit or something and even that's a stretch.

This isn't as bad as the bumpgate and nothing serious came out of that (they paid 200mill to settle but that's it). Plus they can always force the card to just use 3.5GB by drivers (which I suppose it already does).

Microsoft had to settle a CALS about usable memory/storage on the Surface. Apple has been fighting off the same thing with there iPhones/iPads/iPods for awhile. They recently got one dismissed and just got hit with another one this month. Both of them MS & Apple make it clear that storage varies.

If anything the marketing will be what hurts Nvidia the most by reputation or financially.

They should have taken a page out of AMDs PowerTune and used "up to" 4GB of memory or kept with the GPU Boost theme and called it "3.5GB base mem with 0.5GB boost"
 
Last edited:
Top