Question Half of GTX 1070 RAM unused?

[Akeden]

So I bought a GTX 1070 over half a year ago to replace my old R9 380. Has been running great ever since and FPS skyrocketed in all games when I first replaced the GPU despite it not being an insanely massive upgrade. However, having started playing Mordhau just now, I noticed something strange in MSI afterburner and later just in general: GPU ram was maxed at 4 GB instead of the regular 8 GB that in theory, comes with my EVGA GTX 1070 SC. The game crashed and my computer basically had a seizure when the memory usage reached around 4 GB, and I've run dxdiag and it also says that the card only has ~3600 MB of RAM (as opposed to and as it should be, north of 7000 MB).



In short: I've bought a GTX 1070 some time ago and I've noticed now that for some reason half (4/8 GB) of its ram is unused and seems non-existent. What should I do?

https://imgur.com/GPgiNo5

View: https://imgur.com/GPgiNo5




Any and all replies are greatly appreciated

 

[henry.j.kautz]

Do you have the latest drivers?

 

[Akeden]

Do you have the latest drivers?

Yes

 

[Deleted member 2731765]

In short: I've bought a GTX 1070 some time ago and I've noticed now that for some reason half (4/8 GB) of its ram is unused and seems non-existent. What should I do?

NO. I think there is no problem here. The GPU-Z screen is showing the CORRECT VRAM which is 8GB GDDR5. Do not check or compare the memory on the DXDIAG page. That's not accurate. Sometimes the system "shared memory is also listed, and DXDIAG tool is not the correct method to identify VRAM.

Always use GPU-Z. Period. Sometimes the info posted on DXDIAG is buggy as well. But GPU-Z will never show incorrect info about the GPU.

 

[david_the_guy]

Yes, Metal messiah is absolutely correct here. I would also use GPU-z to get any info about my video card. Not some dxdiag report.

Thanks for helping so many forum members here tho, MM.

 

[Akeden]

NO. I think there is no problem here. The GPU-Z screen is showing the CORRECT VRAM which is 8GB GDDR5. Do not check or compare the memory on the DXDIAG page. That's not accurate. Sometimes the system "shared memory is also listed, and DXDIAG tool is not the correct method to identify VRAM.

Always use GPU-Z. Period. Sometimes the info posted on DXDIAG is buggy as well. But GPU-Z will never show incorrect info about the GPU.

Thanks for the reply, I checked on GPU-Z and it did say the correct amount. It is still weird the way the memory was functioning when I tried it in different games: MORDHAU crashed and temporarily fuzzed my computer out after it was at about 4000 MB, saying there's not enough memory. However since then I've also tried RB6 which I remember uses a lot of VRAM, and it was doing just fine at more than 5000.

https://imgur.com/zprOE3I

View: https://imgur.com/zprOE3I


I think the problem is indeed with the game (MORDHAU) and not the GPU itself

 

[logainofhades]

That game might only be capable of using up to 4GB of vram.

 

[Deleted member 2731765]

MORDHAU crashed and temporarily fuzzed my computer out after it was at about 4000 MB, saying there's not enough memory. However since then I've also tried RB6 which I remember uses a lot of VRAM, and it was doing just fine at more than 5000.

The VRAM usage solely depends on the game being played. Some games like SHADOW of MORDOR eat up a lot of VRAM, whereas others are light on the GPU. The game might have crashed due to some other reason as well, due to the game engine itself.

BTW, what are the settings for the VIrtual Memory/PAGE FILE on your OS ? How much amount is allocated ?

 

[mdd1963]

GPUs are not going to max out VRAM unless running at pretty high res (4k) and high details (high/ultra quality)....(varies by newer games vs. older ones with less details, of course...)

 

[Deleted member 2731765]

I find this article useful though:

https://graphicscardhub.com/how-much-vram-for-gaming/

Also, the resolution is the main factor to consider. This is what you should generally go by:

• 720p – 2GB
• 1080p – 4GB
• 1440p – 6-8GB
• 2160p – 8-12GB

Of course, this is assuming that you want to run the latest games with relatively high settings. In truth, you can manage even 4K with just 4GB of VRAM, but keep in mind: what’s “just enough” today will definitely not be enough tomorrow, so plan for the future.