NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 2 GB vs 4 GB

[iAchilles]

Hi guys,

as u can see in gaming laptops, there are 2 version of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
2 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
and
4 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M

my question is does that additional 2 GB of VRAM really really make a different in gaming FPS in a laptop (considering it's about the 960M) ????

i know the desktop version does make a big difference but here we're dealing with mobile GPU which is really different from the desktop ones.


am i gonna witness more FPS in game with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 4 GB ????? even little bit ???

i'm looking for a actuall and practical answer in real world, NOT on paper ...


thx a lot in advance for ur answers
i would be grateful

 

[xBlaz3kx]

Basically you won't see much of a difference. The main factors are speed and bus width (example: 128 bit bus, the higher the value, the better) and VRAM and GPU frequency.

 

[Davinlevey]

Very likely it won't matter, especially at 1080p.

 

[iAchilles]

Basically you won't see much of a difference. The main factors are speed and bus width (example: 128 bit bus, the higher the value, the better) and VRAM and GPU frequency.

so u saying there gonna be a different but not much ???

i've heard that 960m is too weak to actually use that 4 gig of vram

 

[xBlaz3kx]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-myths,3694-5.html The answer's here.

 

[Gallarian]

Depends on what you intend to play. Games like GTA:V will definitely make use of the extra VRAM, and were seeing much more of a VRAM usage increase trend in modern games.

I would say that for the sake of future proofing, get the 4GB version, as 2GB is very quickly becoming obsolete it seems.

 

[Gallarian]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-myths,3694-5.html The answer's here.

The answer WAS there, in 2014.

Were two years on, and it tech terms, that is a long time. Modern games are eating through VRAM at a much greater rate than they were two years ago.

 

[xBlaz3kx]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-myths,3694-5.html The answer's here.

The answer WAS there, in 2014.

Were two years on, and it tech terms, that is a long time. Modern games are eating through VRAM at a much greater rate than they were two years ago.

Still doesn't have that much of a crucial role here. And yes, I'd take more VRAM too. More is better, except for latencies.

 

[Davinlevey]

Remember he is on a mobile chip, not a full fledged desktop 960. It will hardly make a difference, only because of the limited nature of that card. You won't be playing newer games Maxed out for other reasons, and as such will likely not need the extra ram. It would be like adding 10 horsepower to a go-kart that has a governor set at 5.

 

[Gallarian]

Still doesn't have that much of a crucial role here.

No, not crucial right now - but it might be in a years time, so better safe than sorry!

Remember he is on a mobile chip, not a full fledged desktop 960. It will hardly make a difference, only because of the limited nature of that card. You won't be playing newer games Maxed out for other reasons, and as such will likely not need the extra ram. It would be like adding 10 horsepower to a go-kart that has a governor set at 5.

As above, remember that getting a laptop is not like a PC - you cant just upgrade its graphics card next year. You have to look to the future, and 2GB is almost obsolete even at 1080p now, let alone in a years time.

 

[iAchilles]

Very likely it won't matter, especially at 1080p.

the laptop is y50-70 and the native resolution is 1080p, alothough there is 4k version of it but i read that playing in native 1080p is better than palying 1080p in 4k dispaly.

 

[xBlaz3kx]

Still doesn't have that much of a crucial role here.

No, not crucial right now - but it might be in a years time, so better safe than sorry!

True that, but its still a laptop, it will probably have problems running heavy games soon.

 

[Davinlevey]

Very likely it won't matter, especially at 1080p.

the laptop is y50-70 and the native resolution is 1080p, alothough there is 4k version of it but i read that playing in native 1080p is better than palying 1080p in 4k dispaly.

This is very true, however everything non-game related will look smashing on the 4k monitor. I am on a Lenovo y510p right now with sli 755m. Love this thing! (It has since become a work computer, but it can play the Witcher 3 at 30fps on high still! lol)

 

[xBlaz3kx]

Very likely it won't matter, especially at 1080p.

the laptop is y50-70 and the native resolution is 1080p, alothough there is 4k version of it but i read that playing in native 1080p is better than palying 1080p in 4k dispaly.

This is very true, however everything non-game related will look smashing on the 4k monitor. I am on a Lenovo y510p right now with sli 755m. Love this thing! (It has since become a work computer, but it can play the Witcher 3 at 30fps on high still! lol)

If he wants 4k, he'll need 4GB VRAM. The resolution will need more VRAM than at 1080p and it will definetly look better. You should take 4GB, it costs you extra 200$, but will last a bit longer.

 

[iAchilles]

Remember he is on a mobile chip, not a full fledged desktop 960. It will hardly make a difference, only because of the limited nature of that card. You won't be playing newer games Maxed out for other reasons, and as such will likely not need the extra ram. It would be like adding 10 horsepower to a go-kart that has a governor set at 5.

the reason i brought up such a topic is that based on what i read before, the 960M can not benefit that two extra vram in modern game since it's not that powerful in essence.

i dont know how much this is true. that is why i looking in specific answer

 

[xBlaz3kx]

Remember he is on a mobile chip, not a full fledged desktop 960. It will hardly make a difference, only because of the limited nature of that card. You won't be playing newer games Maxed out for other reasons, and as such will likely not need the extra ram. It would be like adding 10 horsepower to a go-kart that has a governor set at 5.

the reason i brought up such a topic is that based on what i read before, the 960M can not benefit that two extra vram in modern game since it's not that powerful in essence.

i dont know how much this is true. that is why i looking in specific answer

Still, you're not going to last more than 2-3 years with 2GB so you should take 4GB. Wont make much off a difference now, but if you choose to play newer games, which might need more VRAM, you should take 4GB.

 

[iAchilles]

Very likely it won't matter, especially at 1080p.

the laptop is y50-70 and the native resolution is 1080p, alothough there is 4k version of it but i read that playing in native 1080p is better than palying 1080p in 4k dispaly.

This is very true, however everything non-game related will look smashing on the 4k monitor. I am on a Lenovo y510p right now with sli 755m. Love this thing! (It has since become a work computer, but it can play the Witcher 3 at 30fps on high still! lol)

If he wants 4k, he'll need 4GB VRAM. The resolution will need more VRAM than at 1080p and it will definetly look better. You should take 4GB, it costs you extra 200$, but will last a bit longer.

ok that's totally true, playing @4K will definately look better, but the problem is that 960m can NOT handle 4K, so that leave us with playing @1080p. now is that 2 gb of additional VRAM make a difference playing at 1080p ????

 

[xBlaz3kx]

Very likely it won't matter, especially at 1080p.

the laptop is y50-70 and the native resolution is 1080p, alothough there is 4k version of it but i read that playing in native 1080p is better than palying 1080p in 4k dispaly.

This is very true, however everything non-game related will look smashing on the 4k monitor. I am on a Lenovo y510p right now with sli 755m. Love this thing! (It has since become a work computer, but it can play the Witcher 3 at 30fps on high still! lol)

If he wants 4k, he'll need 4GB VRAM. The resolution will need more VRAM than at 1080p and it will definetly look better. You should take 4GB, it costs you extra 200$, but will last a bit longer.

ok that's totally true, playing @4K will definately look better, but the problem is that 960m can NOT handle 4K, so that leave us with playing @1080p. now is that 2 gb of additional VRAM make a difference playing at 1080p ????

Not currently, but you should take it for the future games.

 

[Davinlevey]

To answer you directly OP, it's a small difference. You will only be playing games at medium settings at 1080p regardless of the ram. It MIGHT make a difference, but spending 20% more on 2gb of vram doesn't seem to make sense, as you can likely get a 970m laptop then.

 

[iAchilles]

To answer you directly OP, it's a small difference. You will only be playing games at medium settings at 1080p regardless of the ram. It MIGHT make a difference, but spending 20% more on 2gb of vram doesn't seem to make sense, as you can likely get a 970m laptop then.

thx man, u know as of today i can play watch dogs at HIGH setting @1080p quite alright but the gpu seems to have trouble handling the game at ULTRA setting so i started thinking what if i got a 960m 4 GB, does that 2 additional VRAM give me like 5+ or 10+ more fps and enable me to play ULTRA with better FPS ?

 

[Davinlevey]

Not in Watch Dogs. It COULD in GTA5, or a few other titles, but you're looking at maybe 5 or so more. Now that ALL of that has been said.. This machine is 1299 right now with a 6th gen i7 and a 970m 3gb...

http://www.microcenter.com/product/455704/ROG_G752VT-RH71_173_Gaming_Laptop_Computer_-_Copper_Silver