4gb or 8gb VRAM for non 4k gaming

[asztika1983]

Hi guys!

I'm looking to buy a new GPU. I'm wondering if it is enough to buy a 4 gb card if I want to play only in 1980 x 1080 resolution? What do you think?

Thank you.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

4GB is plenty, even for 2560x1440.

 

[Proofy]

4GB is plenty, even for 2560x1440.

erm, try to play crysis 3 all on ultra on 2k with 4GB vram.. I don't think so.. new games like to eat more vram therefore I'd go with 8gb imo.. That's why I always recomment R9 390 over GTX 970, even tho they are similar in performance R9 390 is more futureproof

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

I play Crysis 3 at 1440p and high settings on a GTX 770 4GB, and it runs just fine. Crysis 3 isn't a VRAM-intensive game.

http://www.digitalstorm.com/unlocked/video-memory-usage-at-4k-uhd-resolutions-idnum146/

VRAM usage is entirely dependent on the individual game. Typically, open world games such as Far Cry 4 and GTA 5 are VRAM-intensive as the entire world has to be rendered with no loading screens. A game like Metro 2033: Redux, which is considered a graphical powerhouse, uses very little VRAM as only small sections of the game are rendered at a time.

We don't know that the OP is considering the GTX 970 and R9 390, but there's a good chance they are. Performance between the two is very similar at 1080p and 1440p and the advantage comes down to the individual game.

 

[fabiodrm]

even gtx on ultra/max settings need more than 4gb running at 1080p

 

[Proofy]

I play Crysis 3 at 1440p and high settings on a GTX 770 4GB, and it runs just fine. Crysis 3 isn't a VRAM-intensive game.

http://www.digitalstorm.com/unlocked/video-memory-usage-at-4k-uhd-resolutions-idnum146/

VRAM usage is entirely dependent on the individual game. Typically, open world games such as Far Cry 4 and GTA 5 are VRAM-intensive as the entire world has to be rendered with no loading screens. A game like Metro 2033: Redux, which is considered a graphical powerhouse, uses very little VRAM as only small sections of the game are rendered at a time.

We don't know that the OP is considering the GTX 970 and R9 390, but there's a good chance they are. Performance between the two is very similar at 1080p and 1440p and the advantage comes down to the individual game.

Well shadow of mordor uses 4gb vram on 1080p when AO is enabled.. Future games will consume less vram? I don't know about that.. I like far cry, crysis, gta, som and those games so that's why I always recommend more vram 😀

 

[azzazel_99]

First off shadows of mordor on ultra only uses more than 3gb vram and thats because of the specific texture packs they used. Its rare for that type of thing to happen. At 1080p REGARDLESS of what the others are saying its a proven fact from fps tests that 4gb is PLENTY. yes at 4k if the 8gb gpu has the processing power it can utilize its extra vram but thats at higher resolutions. 4gb is more than enough. Hell my 3gb 780ti's still play every game without issues. My wifes 970 on division, bf4, bioshock etc runs everything at ultra settings without issues at 1080p 60fps so the proof is in the pudding. If you plan to play at 1440p or higher then yes the 390 does come out a little ahead of the 970 but for 1080p? 8gb is all but useless. However right now the XFX DD 390 is $304 and the cheapest 970 is $319. However the nvidia cards do support physX which amd does not. There arent alot of games that use physX but there are some that due and its pretty cool. Fallout4 does, borderlands does, batman does and im sure there are some more out there at the moment. Right now it comes down to which is cheaper because even tomshardware very own review they did for best gpu's of 2016 at 1080p the 970 came out above the 390. At 1440p the 390 came out above the 970 so it depends on what you play and at what resolution.

 

[wh3resmycar]

well if you're one of those who uses 8x AA on 1080p, the 3.5gb will surely run out. but who the hell uses 8x AA on 1080p on a demanding title? what's the point? to be honest, having been here for the last decade, i see no point in using AA levels beyond 4xAA. the performance hit vs the visual improvement (if there's any noticeable difference at 5 feet) is negligible.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

Shadow of Mordor is an exception and even then, a lack of VRAM doesn't impact performance. I ran the game on a 2GB GPU and apparently exceeded my VRAM usage, but the game still ran just fine; no hitching or texture pop-in at all.

The only reason why you'd need 8GB of VRAM at 1080p is if you've installed a bunch of texture mods for a game like Skyrim.

 

[azzazel_99]

I run all my games maxed out full settings and play above 60fps on just 1 780ti. Crysis3 is also an exception but it runs like crap on all machines. At 1080p still to this day 3gb vram is more than enough. I play bf4 with 125% resolution scale and all other settings completely maxxed on 1 of my 780ti's and get over 75fps minimum. Hell shadows of mordor on 1 gpu runs perfect on max settings at 1080p on high (because ultra runs like shit unless you have 6gb) and thats already bee proven because of all the extra texture packs they use. Ignore anyone that says 4gb or the 3.5gb vram the 970 uses isnt enough. Bottom line in pretty much any benchmark you look at for 1080p its plenty enough vram. As i said buy whichever is cheaper but dont buy into the 4gb not being enough vram garbage. You cannot future proof any computer part especially gpu's. You can buy a brand new model this year to play ultra, next year ultra/high, year after high, year after high medium and then medium/low. Then at that point after you are 2 generations behind the new stuff is generally when you want to upgrade. Just do not get caught up in the 4gb not being enough for 1080p. Anything above 1080p i'd agree the extra vram for textures and loading big open world games comes in handy but even then isn't absolutely needed. The 970's play games at 1440p soundly with a little tweaking but it will max everything just like the 390 will at 1080p.

 

[asztika1983]

Thank u guyz. All your answers was great, even though I picked the first reply as solution, because that time that was the only answer. Since then many answers came, and I already bought the asus r9 380 4gb. Now I need a new psu, bec the old one only have 6 pin connection, and i need an 8 pin one. Thanks again.

 

[azzazel_99]

Should do you good for medium with some high settings.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

The R9 380 is arguably the best GPU in its price bracket; good choice.