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

How much VRAM do I need?

Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
1,221 (0.25/day)
Location
Canada
System Name Brutus
Processor i5 4690k @4.7Ghz (Watercooled)
Motherboard z97 MSI Gaming 5
Cooling NZXT Kraken x61 AIO watercooler
Memory Gskill Ripjaws 8gb (2x4gb) 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card(s) MSI Gaming GTX 980ti x2 (sli)
Storage 1 SSD 64GB (OS) + 2x500GB WesternDigital RAID 0
Display(s) YAMAKASI Catleap q270 SE 27inch Glossy 2560x1440
Case NZXT Phantom
Audio Device(s) ASUS Xonar DX
Power Supply Antec TPQ 1200w
Software Windows 7 (64 bit)
How much VRAM do I need "presently"...
and how much VRAM would I need in the next 5 years ???

I'm asking cause I'm about to buy a new video card...

Look @ my specs... I game on a 24inch monitor, 1920x1080... I like everything to be maxed @ 60FPS with ALL eye candy "ON"

So how much VRAM do games use today with that type of monitor/resolution and how much do you think is going to be used in the next 5 years ?
 
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,585 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
I like everything to be maxed @ 60FPS

Then you need one of the two top cards currently on the market. Check here for reviews on the GTX680 and HD 7970. Even then, I'm sure you will run into a game or two that will not reach 60fps. The reviews should tell you.
 

cadaveca

My name is Dave
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
17,232 (2.63/day)
Then you need one of the two top cards currently on the market. Check here for reviews on the GTX680 and HD 7970. Even then, I'm sure you will run into a game or two that will not reach 60fps. The reviews should tell you.

BS, he needs 4 GB or 6 GB, and probably two.


:rockout:
 
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
9,762 (1.91/day)
Location
Jakarta, Indonesia
System Name micropage7
Processor Intel Xeon X3470
Motherboard Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. P55A-UD3R (Socket 1156)
Cooling Enermax ETS-T40F
Memory Samsung 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Video Card(s) NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800
Storage V-GEN03AS18EU120GB, Seagate 2 x 1TB and Seagate 4TB
Display(s) Samsung 21 inch LCD Wide Screen
Case Icute Super 18
Audio Device(s) Auzentech X-Fi Forte
Power Supply Silverstone 600 Watt
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Sades Excalibur + Taihao keycaps
Software Win 7 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Classified
next 5 years? you cant rely on vram only
for current 2 gb is fine but more is better to handle big resolution or texture
 

Albuquerque

New Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2012
Messages
55 (0.01/day)
System Name The Desktop
Processor i7-3930k C2 @ 4.5Ghz (125bclk)
Motherboard Intel DX79Si FW430
Cooling Zalman CNPS9900 Max
Memory 8 x 4Gb Mushkin Redline 1600Mhz 8-9-8-24 1T
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon 7970 @ 1200/1575
Storage 6 x OCZ Agility 3 240GB RAID0 using HighPoint 2720SGL
Display(s) Dell U2711 Rev.08
Case ThermalTake Armor+
Power Supply Kingwin Lazer 1KW Platinum
Software Windows 7 64-bit Professional EFI
I can personally demonstrate more than 2GB of VRAM usage in Skyrim without any mods except for uGridsToShow=7 and the Bethesda-provided high rez texture pack. Settings were 4xMSAA and FXAA and all settings Ultra (or high, where Ultra was not applicable.)
 

the54thvoid

Intoxicated Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
12,378 (2.37/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
Well, BF3 at 2560x1440 on ultra is definitely >2GB usage. And again, it's not just Vram. In 5 years? All our cards will be dust.
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
1,221 (0.25/day)
Location
Canada
System Name Brutus
Processor i5 4690k @4.7Ghz (Watercooled)
Motherboard z97 MSI Gaming 5
Cooling NZXT Kraken x61 AIO watercooler
Memory Gskill Ripjaws 8gb (2x4gb) 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card(s) MSI Gaming GTX 980ti x2 (sli)
Storage 1 SSD 64GB (OS) + 2x500GB WesternDigital RAID 0
Display(s) YAMAKASI Catleap q270 SE 27inch Glossy 2560x1440
Case NZXT Phantom
Audio Device(s) ASUS Xonar DX
Power Supply Antec TPQ 1200w
Software Windows 7 (64 bit)
Thx for the tips...

But even though there will be new cards around in say 4 or 5 years... would it matter if I have 2gb of vram (in crossfire btw) or do I need 3gb?

for my specs (1 monitor @ 1920x1080)

And yes, I know it's not all just about VRAM, I'm just tryin to figure out what to choose between two setups...
 
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
49 (0.01/day)
System Name Angel'S RGB Glow
Processor Intel I5 3570K
Motherboard ASRock Extreme 4
Cooling ASUS Triton II
Memory 16 GB Gskill
Video Card(s) GeForce GTX660 Ti
Storage WD 1TB WD 2TB
Display(s) Samsung 32 HDTV
Case Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS
Power Supply Silencer 850W
Mouse Razer Diamondback RGB
Keyboard Saitek Eclipse II
Software Win 7 Ultimate 64
with technology ever increasing being created may have all together new mobo and gpu standards in 5 years. that is if we dont all die on 12 21 2012
 

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
15,436 (2.43/day)
Location
Mid-Atlantic
System Name Desktop
Processor i5 13600KF
Motherboard AsRock B760M Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling Noctua NH-U9S
Memory 4x 16 Gb Gskill S5 DDR5 @6000
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Gaming OC 6750 XT 12GB
Storage WD_BLACK 4TB SN850x
Display(s) Gigabye M32U
Case Corsair Carbide 400C
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 650 P2
Mouse MX Master 3s
Keyboard Logitech G915 Wireless Clicky
Software The Matrix
just buy the most powerful card out there. also, it is a good rule of thumb :slap:
 
Joined
Oct 29, 2010
Messages
2,972 (0.61/day)
System Name Old Fart / Young Dude
Processor 2500K / 6600K
Motherboard ASRock P67Extreme4 / Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3
Cooling CM Hyper TX3 / CM Hyper 212 EVO
Memory 16 GB Kingston HyperX / 16 GB G.Skill Ripjaws X
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti / INNO3D RTX 2060
Storage SSD, some WD and lots of Samsungs
Display(s) BenQ GW2470 / LG UHD 43" TV
Case Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced / Thermaltake Core v31
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar D1/Denon PMA500AE/Wharfedale D 10.1/ FiiO D03K/ JBL LSR 305
Power Supply Corsair TX650 / Corsair TX650M
Mouse Steelseries Rival 100 / Rival 110
Keyboard Sidewinder/ Steelseries Apex 150
Software Windows 10 / Windows 10 Pro
Your crossfire setup is still as powerful as the top single cards available or at least very close. 2GB VRAM should be enough at your resolution. When you'll get a higher resolution monitor you'll think again what card to get. With your setup I'd skip this generation.
 
Joined
May 15, 2007
Messages
773 (0.13/day)
System Name Daedalus | O'Neill | ZPM Hive |
Processor M3 Pro (11/14) | Epyc 7402p | i5 12400F |
Motherboard Apple M3 Pro | SM H11SSL-i | TUF B660M-E D4 |
Cooling Pure Silence | Noctua NH-U12S TR4 | Noctua NH-D14 |
Memory 18GB Unified | 128GB DDR4 | 16GB DDR4 |
Video Card(s) M3 Pro | RTX 4070FE (VM) | ARC A750 LE |
Storage 512GB NVME | ALOT of SSD's | 1TB NVME |
Display(s) 14" 3024x1964 | IPMI | 1440p UW |
Case Macbook Pro 14" | NZXT H510 Flow| BC1 Test Bench |
Audio Device(s) Onboard | None | Onboard |
Power Supply ~ 77w Magsafe | EVGA 750w G3 | HX1000i |
Mouse Razer Basilisk
Keyboard Logitech G915 TKL
Software MacOS Sonoma | Proxmox 8 | Win 11 x64 |
Well, BF3 at 2560x1440 on ultra is definitely >2GB usage. And again, it's not just Vram. In 5 years? All our cards will be dust.

BF3 should not be used to determine how VRAM is required as it will scale with how much is available to it:

In my own Eyefinity / Surround testing I have monitored the following:

At 3620x1920, Ultra settings (no AA):

HD7970 - 2.2-2.4GB
GTX680 - 1.4-1.6GB

At 3620x1920, Ultra settings (2xAA):

HD7970 - 2.4-2.6GB
GTX680 - 1.6-1.8GB

At 3620x1920, Ultra settings (4xAA):

HD7970 - 2.4-2.8GB
GTX680 - 2GB+ (out of memory error).

What we can conclude from this is two things:

1) Yes it is technically possible for BF3 to require more than 2GB of VRAM but the settings that actually require it are well beyond 1080p levels (and are certainly beyond the level that a single card can achieve - 30FPS average is not really playable in BF3).

2) VRAM usage under normal scenarios is not accurate as there is alot of caching going on.

I completely agree with your second point, there is no point in asking the question whether the current generation of cards will be any good for 60+ FPS average in 5 years time. Regardless of VRAM requirement they will be too slow.

To answer the original question: to attain 60fps constant at maximum settings in every current game (+ oodles of AA) you will need either GTX680 SLI or HD7970 CF minimum, even at 1080p. Now this is just ridiculous overkill for the most part as dropping a couple of pointless settings (Uber sampling in Witcher 2 for example) will allow for nigh on 60fps average with just a single GTX680 or HD7970.
 

timma

New Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Messages
86 (0.01/day)
above 2GB,and the 3GB is good choice.
so buy 7950/7970 OC;)
 

the54thvoid

Intoxicated Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
12,378 (2.37/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
To answer the original question: to attain 60fps constant at maximum settings in every current game (+ oodles of AA) you will need either GTX680 SLI or HD7970 CF minimum, even at 1080p. Now this is just ridiculous overkill for the most part as dropping a couple of pointless settings (Uber sampling in Witcher 2 for example) will allow for nigh on 60fps average with just a single GTX680 or HD7970.

^^Pretty much this.

Dropping from 8xAA to 4xAA or even 2xAA often isn't noticeable, unless you spend your time in game paused or sniping.
Likewise, many post effects can be toned down to almost no visually graphical detriment.

However, on an unlimited budget, it would always be prudent to buy the most powerful and stable options out there when your current set up is past it's prime.
 

Phusius

New Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
1,316 (0.30/day)
Processor i5-2500k @ 4.5
Motherboard Asus Z68 Deluxe
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB DDR3 1600
Video Card(s) Sapphire 7950 @ 1200/1475 @ 1175v
Display(s) Dell 23" 2ms
Case Carbide 500r
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar DG
I have seen Shogun 2 use more than 2200mb of vram and that wasn't maxed out. So you can count on any future total war games to use just as much.
 

babash*t

New Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2012
Messages
74 (0.02/day)
Location
Nairobi, Kenya
System Name Baba
Processor AMD FX 8120 @4.2Ghz
Motherboard MSi 990FX GD65
Cooling Thermaltake Frio
Memory 2x4gb Corsair Vengeance LP
Video Card(s) Sapphire HD 7870 2gb
Storage 500GB WD blue + 2x2TB WD green
Display(s) 2x AOC i2353Fh IPS LED Monitors
Case Generic
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply CoolerMaster GX650 Bronze
Software Win 7 Ultimate 64bit / Win 8 64bit Release Preview
@1080p 1gb should do...anything more is just to make your penis look bIGGEr
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Messages
377 (0.09/day)
Location
Rizal, Philippines
System Name Poor Man's Build
Processor Intel i7 3960X 4.9Ghz Sandy Bridge E
Motherboard MSi X79A-GD65 8D
Cooling XSPC 240mm and 360MM (External) Rad
Memory 64Gb Corsair Dominator Platinum
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX770 SC ACX SLI (non water cooled yet)
Storage Intel 520 240GB SSD x2 /x2 WD Caviar Black 3TB 7200RPM 64MB Cache
Display(s) ASUS 27" 2560X1440 x3
Case Corsair 900D (upgraded from my lvl 10 gt and 600T)
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar Essence STX
Power Supply Corsair AX1200i 80PLUS Platinum
Software Windows 7 Ultimate (FPP)
wait for 4gb gtx680 from msi with their twin frozer stuff and go buy 3 or 4 of them and put them in tri or quad sli, i'm sure in the next 5 years you won't be having problems unless game developers smoke some used briefs and make game requirements in 2013 = 4gb vram, 6 cores 5.5ghz speed. 40gb ram.

well in our case the bigger the manhood the better ^_^. bragging rights and other stuff.
 
Top