[SOLVED] Should I look for a GPU with faster RAM bandwidth or with more RAM?

[teo.kostovski]

So I want to know what i should look for in a GPU, performance wise. And i've stumbled onto a problem. Multiple sites are telling me RAM bandwidth is important and that as long as the RAM is not anything below 4GB, then it's fine. Others are telling me that you should focus more on RAM and that having a GPU with 6gb to 8gb is important and that Ram bandwidth is negligible. For example, if we had a GPU with 288 gb/s ram bandwidth and 6 gb Ram vs a Gpu with 8 gb ram and 246 gb/ bandwidth.

Of course, i understand that this is much more complex than what i'm describing. So if you can't tell me a straight answer, could you explain the intricacies of those 2?

 

[siaan312]

The better card is better.

Don't worry about ram bandwidth, since usually the better card will have more of it.
yes, its important and hugely impacts performance, but a lower tier card wont have lower bandwidth.
(the new gddr6 1650 has faster bandwidth than the 1660 ti, but thats cheating since its technically a new card.)

As for capacity, the higher your resolution, the more you want.
for 1080p, 3 gigs would be enough, for 1440p 6 gigs would be enough and for 4k 8 gigs should be enough,
but dont think the rx 580 8gig is now a 4k ready card. it isnt fast enough to game at 4k, it just has enough ram to not be blocked by it.

(if you run out of vram, which rarely happens on any card with 6 gigs or more, your fps will tank.
meaning, using 5.5 gigs of a 6 gig card is totally fine and wont impact fps, but if you go over, and use all 6 gigs, your fps will tank tenfold.)

 

[teo.kostovski]

The better card is better.

Don't worry about ram bandwidth, since usually the better card will have more of it.
yes, its important and hugely impacts performance, but a lower tier card wont have lower bandwidth.
(the new gddr6 1650 has faster bandwidth than the 1660 ti, but thats cheating since its technically a new card.)

As for capacity, the higher your resolution, the more you want.
for 1080p, 3 gigs would be enough, for 1440p 6 gigs would be enough and for 4k 8 gigs should be enough,
but dont think the rx 580 8gig is now a 4k ready card. it isnt fast enough to game at 4k, it just has enough ram to not be blocked by it.

(if you run out of vram, which rarely happens on any card with 6 gigs or more, your fps will tank.
meaning, using 5.5 gigs of a 6 gig card is totally fine and wont impact fps, but if you go over, and use all 6 gigs, your fps will tank tenfold.)

Ah, thank you so much!
In the end i guess no matter what card i buy, i will have enough gigs for 1080p gaming. I'm not much into 4k gaming so i'm fine with 6 gigs (Since most of the newest line has that much).

On a related note, i'm guessing GPU clock is also the same deal as bandwidth? that the higher end it goes, the more hz it has? It seems that Ti's have a bit less clock speed than the non Ti models, but i'm guessing since they have a ton more CUDA cores it doesn't really matter.

 

[siaan312]

Ah, thank you so much!
In the end i guess no matter what card i buy, i will have enough gigs for 1080p gaming. I'm not much into 4k gaming so i'm fine with 6 gigs (Since most of the newest line has that much).

On a related note, i'm guessing GPU clock is also the same deal as bandwidth? that the higher end it goes, the more hz it has? It seems that Ti's have a bit less clock speed than the non Ti models, but i'm guessing since they have a ton more CUDA cores it doesn't really matter.

yes, more mhz is better when comparing same amounts of cuda cores.
but since higher tier cards have more cuda cores, the higher tier card is better.

(fyi, the gtx 1660 and 1660 ti and useless and you should ignore and never buy them.
the 1660 super is the same price as the 1660 or just a little above and is 1-2% slower than the much more expensive 1660 ti.)