Why Are Modern PC Games Using So Much VRAM?

[Indigox_]

PC Gaming is just digging its own grave now. Or, at least, the GPU manufacturers and the publishers are.

 

[Ruru]

Both camps are greedy. It's the nature of business. Nvidia is more greedy than AMD. True, but hey, those designer black leather jackets Huang wears aren't cheap.

At least my 6700 XT is better in the future as it has 50% more VRAM than 3060 Ti/3070/3070 Ti. I wouldn't be surprised if 3060 wipes the floor with those with its 12GB VRAM..

 

[oxrufiioxo]

This. Their business strategy is just so greedy that I can't personally allow it any more. Going with Radeon from now.

I'll still just continue to purchase whatever is best overall in my price range and why whenever I do buy a gpu I buy it for what it offers not what I think it might in two years.

 

[Indigox_]

I wonder why is nobody talking about easily upgradable VRAM
Manufacturers should consider that

 

[chrcoluk]

It can't be proprietary if they want it to be adopted. Game devs are not going to ship two game versions with two wildly different texture budget AND texture decompression cost which seems to be x3 compared to BC7 on the hardware they tested.
Pretty cool tech nonetheless.

Well Nvidia will be Nvidia.

 

[80-watt Hamster]

I wonder why is nobody talking about easily upgradable VRAM
Manufacturers should consider that

Upgradeable VRAM was a thing back in the '90s when DRAM was a larger proportion of BOM cost of a card than it is now. These days, by the time you need more RAM than your card shipped with, it's probably time for a new card.

 

[Ruru]

Upgradeable VRAM was a thing back in the '90s when DRAM was a larger proportion of BOM cost of a card than it is now. These days, by the time you need more RAM than your card shipped with, it's probably time for a new card.

I remember that. Saw few ATI and Matrox cards which had a SO-DIMM looking slot for putting some extra VRAM.

 

[Indigox_]

Upgradeable VRAM was a thing back in the '90s when DRAM was a larger proportion of BOM cost of a card than it is now.

:O cool

These days, by the time you need more RAM than your card shipped with, it's probably time for a new card.

Well, true, unless you have a card with too little VRAM for the chip itself. Totally not talking about Ampere