Is 8gb vram the minimum target for 2023 gaming?

[Hyderz]

How much do you think is the minimum amount of vram for gaming in 2023 and onwards?

 

[Sithaer]

Depends on the games played and resolution ofc.
Not everyone wants to play the new AAA titles or only play them with maxed out settings.

That being said if I wanted to buy a new GPU right now I would seriously consider a 12 GB card even tho I'm only using a FHD Ultrawide '2560x1080' resolution with no plans of going higher anytime soon.
For now I'm good with 8 GB on my 3060 Ti at my resolution, going onwards I will simply use settings accordingly and I also don't mind DLSS on Quality which lowers the Vram usage too. 'in some games I actually prefer to have it enabled cause to me it looks better than native TAA'

When I bought my 3060 Ti in 2022 September I had the option to pick up a 6700 XT for the same price but my curiosity about DLSS and RT got the better of me, only time will tell if I will regret that decision but I'm not only playing the most demanding games and like I said tweaking settings is always an option. 'part of being a PC gamer imo'
Sure there will be some badly optimized games as usual but I don't really base all my opinions/views on those while most of the other games work much better anyway.

So ye I think 8 is the minimum for 1080p/Ultrawide 1080p but anything higher I think 12 or higher is a good/wise idea for longer term and AAA gaming.

 

[dirtyferret]

Depends on the games played and resolution ofc.
Not everyone wants to play the new AAA titles or only play them with maxed out settings.

this, the minimum is what a person needs for the minimum performance they want

also, hasn't this been posted countless times before

 

[tommesfps]

The reality is that the major hardware testing outlets advertise ultra/highest graphics preset in gpu tests (since it is implemented) and that requires more than 8GB of VRam most of the time. So I guess we want atleast 12GB VRam which result in RX 67X0 XT / 3080 12GB / 4070 / 7800 XT (?).

 

[64K]

I wouldn't buy a card with 8 GB VRAM today even for 1080p but I usually upgrade every 4 or 5 years so I'm guessing 4 or 5 years into the future it won't be enough.

 

[Sithaer]

also, hasn't this been posted countless times before

Yeah I was thinking the same if I should repeat myself again but eh it doesn't hurt anyone I guess.
I'm very well aware that I'm one of the lower end users here with not too high requirements or use case so I simply share that point of view/posts.

 

[GerKNG]

we had 8GB Cards for 200 bucks almost 10 years ago.
i'd allow 8GB on a 1650. but not on anything new above 100-120€.

 

[Space Lynx]

Pretty happy I went with my 6800 XT, the 16gb of vram just feels like a nice cushion this day and age. Still considering selling it and going with a 7900 XTX, not sure yet.

I'd say yes though 8gb is pretty solid, just have to turn down some vram heavy settings for future games is all.

 

[dirtyferret]

I'm very well aware that I'm one of the lower end users here with not too high requirements or use case so I simply share that point of view/posts.

the users here are the vanguard of PC tech and are a niche audience, I think many people would be surprised by how many people game with i7-7700k type CPUs and GTX 1060 to 1660 6GB type video cards.

 

[Space Lynx]

the users here are the vanguard of PC tech and are a niche audience, I think many people would be surprised by how many people game with i7-7700k type CPUs and GTX 1060 to 1660 6GB type video cards.

we need to wear robes, and go to town squares, and let the masses know the joys of high refresh high resolution gaming, this will bring peace in our time.

speak loudly and the crowds will gather! they will learn! the truth! the light!

 

[Lei]

I think it's okey if you play 1080p.
You can enjoy the game.
I was absolutely feeling no lag with geforce 1070 with 2022 games (forza, mortal combat, resident evil, nfs heat, dirt, grid, snowrunner) at highest settings.

 

[64K]

How much do you think is the minimum amount of vram for gaming in 2023 and onwards?

I'm curious why you are asking? Your specs say you have a RTX 3090 and so you already have 24 GB VRAM.

 

[dirtyferret]

we need to wear robes, and go to town squares, and let the masses know the joys of high refresh high resolution gaming, this will bring peace in our time.

speak loudly and the crowds will gather! they will learn! the truth! the light!

back when I rode people would ask what kind of bike do you recommend to ride (cruiser, sport bike, naked bike, cafe racer, harley, etc., etc.,) answer is always whichever one puts a smile on your face when you ride it

same goes for PC gaming, someone playing Heartstone on their laptop at 720p can be having as much fun (or more) as someone playing a AAA title with their RTX4090 at 4k (then again that person could be tossing a hissy fit because of their FPS). High refresh high resolution performance is a quantitative thing. Enjoying the actual game is a qualitative thing. PC gaming is a wide spectrum of games, gamers, and hardware. The more the merrier, the Glorious PC Gaming Master Race was joke and too many people take it to heart as a fact.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Issue is the bus speed changes plus 8gb is really not enough for newer games so yeah 16gb vmem is a better minimum and for the next few years to be good.

6 important GeForce RTX 40-series details you might have missed

From AV1 encoding to DLSS 3 exclusivity to two RTX 4080 GPUs with very different specs, here's what Nvidia didn't say during its GeForce RTX 40-series reveal.

www.pcworld.com

 

[Space Lynx]

back when I rode people would ask what kind of bike do you recommend to ride (cruiser, sport bike, naked bike, cafe racer, harley, etc., etc.,) answer is always whichever one puts a smile on your face when you ride it

same goes for PC gaming, someone playing Heartstone on their laptop at 720p can be having as much fun (or more) as someone playing a AAA title with their RTX4090 at 4k (then again that person could be tossing a hissy fit because of their FPS). High refresh high resolution performance is a quantitative thing. Enjoying the actual game is a qualitative thing. PC gaming is a wide spectrum of games, gamers, and hardware. The more the merrier, the Glorious PC Gaming Master Race was joke and too many people take it to heart as a fact.

that's all well and good, but I find my games to be more immersive and enjoyable when I have the smoothness and clarity of 1440p 27" 165hz at 160 fps in games.

 

[dirtyferret]

Issue is the bus speed changes

RAM speed changes
RAM type changes
GPU chip changes

limiting the "minimum" to just RAM as opposed to overall performance is a bad way to compare GPUs. After all the RX 480 8GB is as different as the GTX 1070 is as different as the RTX 4060ti

but I find my games to be more immersive and enjoyable when I have the smoothness and clarity of 1440p 27" 165hz at 160 fps in games.

which is

all well and good

it doesn't mean one is more enjoyable than the other, it simply means all can be equally enjoyable

 

[Space Lynx]

RAM speed changes
RAM type changes
GPU chip changes

limiting the "minimum" to just RAM as opposed to overall performance is a bad way to compare GPUs. After all the RX 480 8GB is as different as the GTX 1070 is as different as the RTX 4060ti


which is


it doesn't mean one is more enjoyable than the other, it simply means all can be equally enjoyable

true, my steam deck is only 60 fps, and I really am enjoying it more than I expected. I do wish it had freesync though to increase the smoothness effect.

 

[gffermari]

4/6GB x30
8GB x50
10/12GB x60
12GB x70
16GB x80
24GB x90

 

[chrcoluk]

One size doesnt fit all, so I will answer the question from my own use case which is a no.

Firefox sadly has broken vsync now without GPU acceleration, and turning it on consumes almost 1.5 gig VRAM. Yes I keep a browser open when I game as many people do. So taking account of general VRAM use in windows + browser I basically have a 8 gig card not a 10 gig card. However I only enable gpu acceleration in firefox when watching shows or sports streams, the vsync issue seems to be on 60fps videos only. Not 30fps videos or general browsing (tried to find a way to only enable gpu for videos on firefox, but it seems to be an all or nothing choice).

I might be doing a PC overhaul next year when I will be coming into some money, probably the entire system and will make sure the GPU is at least 16 gigs. My 3080 is also struggling with encodes, lots of frame drops when I watch the recorded videos, something I didnt get when x86 encoding.

 

[Kapone33]

I am going to test some Games Games with my 6500XT at 1080P. I have Forspoken and a few other Games that love VRAM.

 

[Space Lynx]

I just watched a video of a 6gb vram rtx 4060 laptop 1080p, and the reviewer was showing how blurry the bricks looked in Hogwarts Legacy, even if you set it to ultra settings, the vram is just capped regardless of what settings you pick, and it did look quite terrible.

That is probably the future, so yeah, 12gb should probably be the min for a new purchase.

 

[dirtyferret]

I am going to test some Games Games with my 6500XT at 1080P. I have Forspoken and a few other Games that love VRAM.

but than test it out at different settings as well, someone with a the 6500XT at 1080p most likely will be playing at high rathern than ultra or very high settings.

 

[R0H1T]

As always depends on the game & settings you play at, but if you're looking to keep a card for a few years then buy an 8GB one.

 

[chrcoluk]

I just watched a video of a 6gb vram rtx 4060 laptop 1080p, and the reviewer was showing how blurry the bricks looked in Hogwarts Legacy, even if you set it to ultra settings, the vram is just capped regardless of what settings you pick, and it did look quite terrible.

That is probably the future, so yeah, 12gb should probably be the min for a new purchase.

Yep many games dynamically adjust quality now, something of which many reviewers dont pick up on. (instead they just test framerate and consider it all good if performance doesnt drop).

 

[Kapone33]

but than test it out at different settings as well, someone with a the 6500XT at 1080p most likely will be playing at high rathern than ultra or very high settings.

I will be using it with Feesync on a 4K 144Hz monitor that I will set to 1080P in Windows. I will run it native first (to see what the Game decides) and then adjust accordingly. I am even going to put the 6500XT in a 5.0 x4 slot to imitate 3.0x16 in terms of bandwidth because I have no intention in removing my 7900XT from my Rig though ( I sold my HTPC). I laugh at the comments that compare this to the 6800XT.