Is 2gb enough vram?

[Wiskers]

Hello,

I've been tossing up between the 2gb and 4gb versions of the Asus gtx 670. Just wondering if 2gb will be enough for the immediate future (at least until Maxwell comes out ).

I've heard that modded skyrim and shogun 2 can draw over 4gb but I have no idea of the conditions of these claims (texture mods, 2560x1440 res, etc.). I'm a total war nut and would like to play Shogun 2 and Rome 2, when it comes out, with huge armies and max detail.

I plan to use a single BenQ XL2420T at 1080p.

Cheers,

Wiskers.

 

[ASHISH65]

No body can say about future games.nowdays 2gb is enough but if skyrim + mods then get 4gb vram.

 

[siddharthmukul007]

2gb of vram is enough for gaming at 1080p unless you start using advanced features like fsaa,msaa,ssaa etc.
if that is the case than you should in for the 4gb version

 

[blazorthon]

The 670 and 680 are incapable of playing any game with settings that can't be handled by 2GB of memory unless you have three or four of them in SLI and even then, you usually have to overclock for the 4GB models to show their worth. The 670 and 680 simply run out of memory bandwidth and even GPU performance before 2GB becomes a problem for single card systems and even dual card systems.

 

[J_E_D_70]

Mine ran like a champ on Skyrim with the HD pack at 1080p. Didn't log the frames but it was smooth.

 

[arnoldvsthegooch]

I actually ran into some VRAM issues with Skyrim the other day. I was getting sudden FPS drops (10-15 fps) causing massive stuttering. Finally diagnoased the problem - My VRAM was maxed out. I run (2) 6950's in crossfire. I'm a huge Elder Scrolls gamer and obssessed with mods. I thought I wouldn't have a problem with my setup so when given the choice of 1024 or 2048 textures - I always went with the higher. After installing the "lite" 1024 versions of the textures I was able to keep my VRAM under my 2gb threshold.

My guess is that modded texture packs for future games may cause VRAM problems, especially with the new consoles coming out allowing for high resolution. I heard the new Playstation may be capable of running 4k graphics. If that's the case, new games may have higher resolution options.

But in general, 2gb isn't a problem with most games. But if you like the "realistic" graphics some mod packs for Skyrim and Crysis can give, I would go for the higher VRAM alternative.

 

[axleh93]

At 1080p 2gb atm is more than enough as the speed of the card more often than not bottlenecks before you get anything out of 4gb (remember im talking about 1080p with a single monitor)

 

[Wiskers]

I actually ran into some VRAM issues with Skyrim the other day. I was getting sudden FPS drops (10-15 fps) causing massive stuttering. Finally diagnoased the problem - My VRAM was maxed out. I run (2) 6950's in crossfire. I'm a huge Elder Scrolls gamer and obssessed with mods. I thought I wouldn't have a problem with my setup so when given the choice of 1024 or 2048 textures - I always went with the higher. After installing the "lite" 1024 versions of the textures I was able to keep my VRAM under my 2gb threshold.

My guess is that modded texture packs for future games may cause VRAM problems, especially with the new consoles coming out allowing for high resolution. I heard the new Playstation may be capable of running 4k graphics. If that's the case, new games may have higher resolution options.

But in general, 2gb isn't a problem with most games. But if you like the "realistic" graphics some mod packs for Skyrim and Crysis can give, I would go for the higher VRAM alternative.

Haha . I suppose there is no point in speculating about next gen (I heard that both ps4 and xbox 720 would be running 2yo tech with only 1gb vram). I don't think i'll be doing much modding or multi monitor gaming for a while. I think i'll go for the 2gb and prepare myself to upgrade down road.

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[timnswede]

Woops didn't read latest post.

 

[jaguarskx]

You don't really need more than 1GB of VRAM until you go beyond 1920x1200 resolution.

 

[Naxirian]

The 670 and 680 are incapable of playing any game with settings that can't be handled by 2GB of memory unless you have three or four of them in SLI and even then, you usually have to overclock for the 4GB models to show their worth. The 670 and 680 simply run out of memory bandwidth and even GPU performance before 2GB becomes a problem for single card systems and even dual card systems.

I know this thread is old, but that's a load of rubbish. A pair of GTX 680's or GTX 670's in SLI are more powerful than a GTX Titan, placing a pair of them as being more powerful than any single GPU card in existence at this point in time. They can easily max out games that would require more than 2GB VRAM. 3 of them even moreso.