So is the 10 gb vram on rtx 3080 still enough?

[phanbuey]

At stock game settings you should be fine, if you go nuts with texture packs and mods then you could run out. In the future you will run out but by then you will have a new card anyways.

 

[Chrispy_]

I'm saying there is plenty of room (for most titles) to have an increase while still slotting in under 10GB at 4K/Ultra (and again, you can lower some to high and not use copious amount of AA).

My take on this is that game devs won't target 10GB the same way they didn't target the oddball 11GB in a 2080Ti.

They'll target 8GB, and 16GB, perhaps 12GB depending on sales of 12GB cards, but I'm even dubious of that. Every extra VRAM size they target is extra effort in packaging, testing and configuration. Sure, it's effortless to make content for a specific VRAM size, but there's more work to be done making sure that a scene (from any point in the game map) doesn't overstretch its budget - be that through manual level segmentation or dynamic geometry/view culling.

With 10GB being so close to the mainstream 8GB config, I would bet they don't bother even if by some miracle the 3080 sells to 100x more people than expected. 25% more VRAM isn't enough to make any significant quality difference and that's why even if 12GB cards become popular, I'm not sure it's enough to make a visual quality jump that is worth devs' extra effort.

 

[EarthDog]

My take on this is that game devs won't target 10GB the same way they didn't target the oddball 11GB in a 2080Ti.
They'll target 8GB, and 16GB, perhaps 12GB depending on sales of 12GB cards, but I'm even dubious of that.

They won't target 16GB until both companies have cards out that support it. I can see AMD pushing this, but not Nvidia/TWIMTPB titles or the rest of gaming. Worth noting, these are flagships (3090 be damned, the crossover card)... where most people buy cards and play, they have less VRAM available (as they use less at a lower res).

Just like the core wars, we're seeing companies add more of something that isn't terribly useful today or in the next couple of years in most cases (of course there are some). I totally get it... there are uneducated users looking to buy constantly... and if I didn't know any better, looking on the box and seeing more vRAM versus less and not knowing what little difference it will make overall, I'd go with more too. This is marketing and, IMO, a bit of milking the consumer... just like dropping in 12c/24t+ to the mainstream platform is a joke (for most people).

 

[Vya Domus]

yeah AMD marketing was trying pretty hard there.

Remind me again what exactly were they trying ?

 

[Vayra86]

They won't target 16GB until both companies have cards out that support it.

To this one I can only agree... but I think its no longer safe to assume Nvidia gets to determine what the limit will be. There is a lot of chatter about higher VRAM cards for the whole stack.

And let's face it, its not like the market is flooded with 10GB cards right now.

 

[EarthDog]

To this one I can only agree... but I think its no longer safe to assume Nvidia gets to determine what the limit will be. There is a lot of chatter about higher VRAM cards for the whole stack.

And let's face it, its not like the market is flooded with 10GB cards right now.

Right... 10GB+ won't saturate the market for years. If we average those 10 titles (using the highest values I listed, note), vRAM use is just over 7GB at 4K/Ultra. I think we've got some time and headroom.

Worth noting, I find the 8GB 3070 more troubling than a 10GB 3080. The 3070 is plenty playable 4K/60 Ultra card. There are 3 titles that can eclipse that mark already. Most don't/won't.. but we're seeing that as a tipping point. The 3070 is better serving 1440/144+ IMO. While the 10GB on the 3080 is plenty for all titles at 4K/U/60 today and for an overwheming marjority of titles for years to come... and then you can always turn settings down a smidge if you have to on the titles few titles that go nuts. Or, get AMD and never worry (except for potential driver issues... or not using 25% of the RAM on it ever, lol).

 

[evernessince]

Look at any of the games reviewed at tpu. At 4k using ultra settings there is ONE title that uses more than 10GB. One. The rest are well under that, typicay a few GB. I'm not worried about that snowball getting much bigger (in this case, that title doesn't have any hitching issues its an allocation vs actual use thing).

From what I see, a majority are around 9.3GB. Like I said in my other comment, that's ok for a year.

You also avoided my other point, in that games cannot utilize VRAM they don't have. The failure of Nvidia to increase VRAM on it's cards is bound to lead to compromises in games. Hardware needs to have more VRAM first, not the other way around.

Saying "hey look guys devs aren't making games that brand new products can't handle" is a bad position to take. It's the same BS people while Intel was still dominant in the CPU market. No need for more than 4 cores as that's all Intel sells to gamers right? Again, people defending practices that hold the industry back. Look where that landed Intel, behind AMD and loosing server marketshare to ARM. If it hadn't been for AMD people would still be rocking 4 cores and paying a premium to do so.

 

[EarthDog]

From what I see, a majority are around 9.3GB.

You're not seeing that from my link (and the list I made from all of the games I linked). Where are you seeing 9.3 GB?

Compromises? Naa... sorry. I doubt that. There isn't a need, they have headroom.

 

[Mussels]

Can't agree with this. It's always better to have more RAM. Always.

Unless you have a budget. Or its slower and hurts FPS. Or the product doesnt exist yet.

I always upgrade VRAM with every GPU upgrade, which is why i went from 8GB to 10GB - i was never VRAM limited, only GPU limited.

4K gamers are the same, yeah sure you might get close to 8GB now.... but you're also barely managing 60FPS with DLSS or settings turned right down.

 

[lexluthermiester]

My feeling, knowing a few game devs in person, is that they work with the common hardware constraints.

True but they allow for the extreme users and future expansion. I know a couple devs too, and they are always looking forward..

That's right, 8GB has been at the mainstream, mass-market price point for HALF A DECADE.

Right? Kinda pathetic really...

Unless you have a budget.

If money was tight(and it once was), I'd rather save up for an extra month or two and spring for a better card. But I do see your point.

Or its slower and hurts FPS.

This hasn't bothered me in the past and still wouldn't now. I would be delighted with a 3080 with the same cores and speed but a 256bit memory bus and 16GB VRAM. Perfectly acceptable scenario, even if they called it a 3070ti(which they have done similar types of things in the past).

 

[evernessince]

You're not seeing that from my link (and the list I made from all of the games I linked). Where are you seeing 9.3 GB?

Compromises? Naa... sorry. I doubt that. There isn't a need, they have headroom.

Hardware Unboxed talks about it in this video:

The 8GB 3070 is already over it's VRAM amount at 1440p even with lowered texture settings as Steve and tim points out.

You honestly think the 3080, with a mere 2GB more, has VRAM headroom at higher settings and higher resolution? Very doubtful.

It's not even about just the current games on the market either. As I pointed out earlier, the lack of headroom leaves no room for devs to push their games to be bigger, better, and more immersive. Instead of spending resources on making content and improving the game, they have to worry about the crappy VRAM amount on Nvidia cards. Like I pointed out earlier, software follows hardware. VRAM amount has to increase in order for games to utilize more.

Heck my modded skyrim has been using around 10GB for years.

Brilliant move by Nvidia though, they managed to reduce the cost of their cards by reducing VRAM. Heck they even have people defending the reduction in VRAM. Now they'll sell you what they should have been at launch for $100 more (on top of the $60 or so AIB tax they charge over MSRP).

 

[Mussels]

At ultra settings.

You act like you cant turn one or two settings down and tank that VRAM usage.

 

[EarthDog]

The 8GB 3070 is already over it's VRAM amount at 1440p even with lowered texture settings as Steve and tim points out.

help me out...I don't have 41 mins to sit through that video...what games and settings are they 'averaging' 9.3 GB? This thread is about the 10GB 3080.. I made a passing mention of the 3070... what titles show over 8Gb of use at 1440p (nothing at TPU, note)? Come on now... the info was laid out for you, please don't make us work for it.....

Heck my modded skyrim has been using around 10GB for years.

Right... I mentioned modding it could be an issue...

the lack of headroom

there is headroom... in 9 of 10 titles at 4k UHD in TPU testing...... I can keep going.

Got any website reviews? really. not sitting through that long of a video...

EDIT: So I took the time to skip around... he mentioned ONE title (Watch Dogs legion) and that was with RT and HD texture packs at 1440p. Where again did you get an 'average' of 9.3 GB? Are we going to base our perspective on outliers? I don't get that line of thinking.

 

[nguyen]

HUB or Techspot would spin the data to make it looks like 8GB VRAM on the 3070 is a weak point, here is their Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark without RT nor DLSS at 1440p Ultra

Now here is 1440p Ultra with DLSS

Enabling DLSS in Cyberpunk 2077 will instantly lower VRAM allocation by 1GB, yet they claim 3070 is slower than 2080 Ti with RTX/DLSS on is because of VRAM limitation ? what kinda editorial logic is this ?
HUB really has an agenda of their own, they just played victims when confronted by Nvidia PR rep

All this discussion about VRAM size is like comparing mega-pixel on camera where uninformed buyers got duped into thinking higher mega-pixel means better camera .

 

[lexluthermiester]

All this discussion about VRAM size is like comparing mega-pixel on camera where uninformed buyers got duped into thinking higher mega-pixel means better camera .

That was as adorable as it was disturbed & flawed. I'm not a particular fan of Techspot but It's not at all ok to put a false spin on TechSpot's review like that. Tim is no ones fool and does his due diligence. Those conclusions are more or less spot on and very much in-line with what every other OBJECTIVE reviewer has found. Your comment above is little more that the same spin-doctoring you claim they're going. Kind of a d-bag move there and for what, so you can earn a few brownies points in a pointless debate? Classy, real classy.

Here's the deal folks, you want to live with less VRAM and thus potentially limit yourself in the near future? Hey live in the past, it's all good. Those of us who want the most out of our tech will buy the cards that will go the distance. The rest of you can limit yourselves and/or be forced to upgrade sooner rather than later. Yes, yes.

 

[nguyen]

That was as adorable as it was disturbed & flawed. I'm not a particular fan of Techspot but It's not at all ok to put a false spin on TechSpot's review like that. Tim is no ones fool and does his due diligence. Those conclusions are more or less spot on and very much in-line with what every other OBJECTIVE reviewer has found. Your comment above is little more that the same spin-doctoring you claim they're going. Kind of a d-bag move there and for what, so you can earn a few brownies points in a pointless debate? Classy, real classy.

Here's the deal folks, you want to live with less VRAM and thus potentially limit yourself in the near future? Hey live in the past, it's all good. Those of us who want the most out of our tech will buy the cards that will go the distance. The rest of you can limit yourselves and/or be forced to upgrade sooner rather than later. Yes, yes.

Funny that their own testing at 4K Ultra shows that 3070 is only 3% behind 2080 Ti.
So their conclusion about 3070 lacking VRAM in CP2077 doesn't add up.

TPU and Guru3d testing do not reflect that 3070 is lacking at 4K ultra in CP2077 either.

Here in TPU, W1zzard would surely look at these irregularity before coming up with some nonsense conclusion. These kind of queries would surely get buried before long in Techspot forum .

Oh so VRAM is the future and RTX/DLSS is the past, thumbs up to you sir. Since I'm pretty sure that Fidelity SR will reduce VRAM requirement, either 16GB VRAM or FSR will become pointless as they cancel each other benefits.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Funny that their own testing at 4K Ultra shows that 3070 is only 3% behind 2080 Ti.
So their conclusion about 3070 lacking VRAM in CP2077 doesn't add up.

TPU and Guru3d testing do not reflect that 3070 is lacking at 4K ultra in CP2077 either.

Are you on drugs? I ask because TechSpot's testing shows a 1 frame per second difference between the 3070 and 2080ti at 4k. TPU's testing, that you just referenced, shows what? Oh, right, 1 frame per second difference. And Guru3D(BTW you referenced the wrong page)?

Cyberpunk 2077: PC graphics perf benchmark review

It's probably the most hyped up title if the year, but the wait is finally over, Cyberpunk 2077 has made its way towards the PC. And yeah, what a game and what a feast for the eyes. We'll check it o... Game performance 3840x2160 (Ultra HD)

www.guru3d.com

Oh their tests showed the same frame rate.

All of them are within 2(TWO) frames per second of each other. Margin of error kind of thing.. Hmmm...

 

[nguyen]

Are you on drugs? I ask because TechSpot's testing shows a 1 frame per second difference between the 3070 and 2080ti at 4k. TPU's testing, that you just referenced, shows what? Oh, right, 1 frame per second difference. And Guru3D(BTW you referenced the wrong page)?

Cyberpunk 2077: PC graphics perf benchmark review

It's probably the most hyped up title if the year, but the wait is finally over, Cyberpunk 2077 has made its way towards the PC. And yeah, what a game and what a feast for the eyes. We'll check it o... Game performance 3840x2160 (Ultra HD)

www.guru3d.com

Oh their tests showed the same frame rate.

All of them are within 2(TWO) frames per second of each other. Margin of error kind of thing.. Hmmm...

Oh boy you don't understand what I'm pointing at are you, Techspot testing without RT/DLSS show that 3070 is on par with 2080 Ti, same as TPU and Guru3d

But in their RTX/DLSS article, 3070 is 9% slower than 2080 Ti with RTX OFF/DLSS ON and 2% with RT Ultra/DLSS ON

And this is their take on 3070's 8GB VRAM

If you want a 60 FPS experience using ray tracing at this resolution, you’ll need to have at least an RTX 2080 Ti in your setup to achieve that level of performance. The RTX 3080 and 3090 are strong performers, but the RTX 3070 isn’t as much. That’s because if you are using the Ultra preset, with ray tracing, 8GB of VRAM is right on the edge in this title and actually does limit performance to some extent.

Which make no sense whatsoever, their conclusion about 3070 lacking VRAM is totally baseless as their own testing contradict their conclusion.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Which make no sense whatsoever, their conclusion about 3070 lacking VRAM is totally baseless as their own testing contradict their conclusion.

Ok. Whatever. You need to take a closer look at those reviews you quoted. You're missing a few things.

 

[TumbleGeorge]

there is headroom... in 9 of 10 titles at 4k UHD in TPU testing...... I can keep going

Will good to make retesting in May 2021 with insert few new titles and modded pathes. Many players when ended original game then play mods. Must retest games with mods!

 

[EarthDog]

Will good to make retesting in May 2021 with insert few new titles and modded pathes. Many players when ended original game then play mods. Must retest games with mods!

lol... whenever. I already have a few posts bookmarked so we can look at this again in a 'year'...

I'm surprised that people can make statements like this (so absolute) when there is little evidence pointing in that direction.

Ok. Whatever. You need to take a closer look at those reviews you quoted. You're missing a few things.

Such as?

Have the conversation instead of leaving vague dismissal for him. I have to be honest, I see his point about the conclusion. It's possible I missed something too ... can you clarify what you're so passionately dismissive about? I'm not speaking for nguyen, but I've got an open mind...

 

[dirtyferret]

Will good to make retesting in May 2021 with insert few new titles and modded pathes. Many players when ended original game then play mods. Must retest games with mods!

Is your last name trump?

I can't believe that this thread is A) 13 pages long and B) people are discussing GPU ram like it's modular system RAM in your PC. RAM is only part of the video card and I'll take a more powerful video card over a weaker video card with more RAM (think RX 580 4GB over RX 570 8GB or Nvidia RTX 2060 6GB over GTX 1070 8GB). If the 10GB holds back the RTX 3080 compared to the competition than customers will let Nvidia know with their wallets.

 

[TumbleGeorge]

If the 10GB holds back the RTX 3080 compared to the competition than customers will let Nvidia know with their wallets.

Costumers are hungry for hardware bored of isolation because of covid-19 , scalpers exist, coin miners exist. What you say what Nvidia will learn from wallets? Market is not normal!

 

[thesmokingman]

At ultra settings.

You act like you cant turn one or two settings down and tank that VRAM usage.

Act like...? Anyone can do that. That's not the point is it? Limiting the vram on high end cards is a bit of an insult with the amount of monetization they've done with the vram.

 

[dirtyferret]

Costumers are hungry for hardware bored of isolation because of covid-19 , scalpers exist, coin miners exist. What you say what Nvidia will learn from wallets? Market is not normal!

Goblin Sharks exist!
Croc shoes exist!
Disco existed, went away, and now exists again!

All have just as much impact on the RTX 3080's performance.