> 1GiB VRAM useful on a video card yet?

[VoraciousGorak]

I'm starting to think about upgrading my GeForce GTX275 1792MiB video card (I want a taste of DX11) and was wondering if there was any use for more than 1GiB VRAM on a video card yet. How much texture data does a modern game load at a time, anyway?

I remember back in the day when the debate was between 64MiB and 128MiB video cards and Doom III was one of the first games to push enough data to necessitate the latter size; can any games do that today, perhaps with a hi-res texture pack? What are the odds, in you guys' expert opinions, is the likelihood of a 1GiB card bottlenecking in the next year or two?

If it matters, I run at 1920x1200 resolution.

 

[Damascus]

I think it's only needed at 2560x1600 and higher but don't hold me to that.

 

[videogames101]

With oblivion texture res mods, yep.

 

[Arkadrel]

for 1920x1200, most cards really dont need more than 1.5gb.

 

[SickBeast]

for 1920x1200, most cards really dont need more than 768mb.

Fixed.

 

[3DVagabond]

Fixed.

Well, yes. At that res, a single card with only 768mb would never be able to crank AA enough to use more. The GPU would puke. Something that is 570/80 or 6970 power though could probably draw more than 1gb in a small % of situations. Not enough though to ever say anyone "requires" more than 1gb. Back one setting down and you're back in the game.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

The high end cards, and high end SLI setups, are putting more than 1GB of RAM to use.

 

[Annisman*]

at 1920X1080 I often times see games get past 1GB in video memory usage.

Oblivion with texture mods, Stalker CS and COP with texture mods often get to 1.5 GB of usage, GTA 4 with all the settings cranked goes past 1GB of Vram, also, games like Metro and Crysis will use close to 1GB.

 

[3DVagabond]

at 1920X1080 I often times see games get past 1GB in video memory usage.

Oblivion with texture mods, Stalker CS and COP with texture mods often get to 1.5 GB of usage, GTA 4 with all the settings cranked goes past 1GB of Vram, also, games like Metro and Crysis will use close to 1GB.

It would be nice to know all of your settings to get to these high usages.

 

[toyota]

It would be nice to know all of your settings to get to these high usages.

in Clear Sky I had to turn down some settings because it was hitching when hitting 896mb vram limit. that's at 1920x1080, DX10 enhanced, sun shadows and SSAO on medium, no AA, and grass and view distance were not even maxed either.

 

[Throckmorton]

The high end cards, and high end SLI setups, are putting more than 1GB of RAM to use.

It doesn't depend on the power of the card, but how much data (textures for example) is put into the VRAM, how much is used for AA (not much), frame buffer (also not much).

 

[toyota]

It doesn't depend on the power of the card, but how much data (textures for example) is put into the VRAM, how much is used for AA (not much), frame buffer (also not much).

it most certainly has to do with the power of the card because a slow card is not capable of running the same settings.

 

[Dark Shroud]

Short answer yes. The fact that the 460 1gb was getting better results than the 768mb.

I play at a high res with high settings.

 

[3DVagabond]

it most certainly has to do with the power of the card because a slow card is not capable of running the same settings.

That's what I was trying to say too. Not sure if I stated it well, though.

Short answer yes. The fact that the 460 1gb was getting better results than the 768mb.

I play at a high res with high settings.

The 1gb card also has a wider bus which makes it faster. Even if you don't exceed 768mb

 

[Cerb]

Depends. For a new game, fairly well-made, made for new hardware, no. Only really good for high res, maybe. Generally, if such games can really use it, they will also have added effects as part of the better detail, along with more data needed--thus, more GPU processing power is needed to take advantage of it. Good game devs will design for known known hardware limits, and make the most out of them.

Poorly-made games, and modded older games, though, can be outliers.

Modded/ini-tweaked Gamebryo games (Oblivion already mentioned)? There is no such thing as enough VRAM. I recently picked up Morrowind again, and it can eat 700+MB w/ model and texture mods (a 2002 game + mods). I consistently have to fuss with FO3, to keep the VRAM use down, too, after getting all the distance settings acceptable (start messing with the grid and LOD settings, and you won't even need mods to eat up 1GB, which I happen not to have).

If you are considering a 560 Ti, 6950, or better, and are going to keep awhile (can I assume you got your GTX 275 while it was still fairly current?), there would be no harm in getting 2GB.

 

[Annisman*]

It would be nice to know all of your settings to get to these high usages.

All the games I mentioned were on maximum settings, except for AA which I always keep at 4X.

Here's the interesting thing, it seems that my games are using more VRAM now that I have upgraded to GTX 580's (1.5GB VRAM) versus when I owned 570's (1200 MB VRAM) and GTX 460's/HD5870's (1GB each). Though my SETTINGS are the exact same, some games are now using more VRAM, I assume it is because it is now there to use, so it is taking advantage of that.

I'm always shocked to see how much VRAM is used in some titles and how little it is in others.

I think I would just say, that if you can ever get your hands on a card with more than 1GB of VRAM, for a little bit more money, take it every time.

 

[3DVagabond]

All the games I mentioned were on maximum settings, except for AA which I always keep at 4X.

Here's the interesting thing, it seems that my games are using more VRAM now that I have upgraded to GTX 580's (1.5GB VRAM) versus when I owned 570's (1200 MB VRAM) and GTX 460's/HD5870's (1GB each). Though my SETTINGS are the exact same, some games are now using more VRAM, I assume it is because it is now there to use, so it is taking advantage of that.

I'm always shocked to see how much VRAM is used in some titles and how little it is in others.

I think I would just say, that if you can ever get your hands on a card with more than 1GB of VRAM, for a little bit more money, take it every time.

So, you think these games, or Windows, is adaptive? It "senses" the available resources and adjusts to best utilize them. That's very interesting.

 

[Morg.]

Of course it does.
If you consider the following fact :
a p3-800 with 128 mb ram will be *useless* after a year
a p3-800 with 768 mb ram will be *useless* after two

Random numbers sort of talking about a personal experience, but simply put, if your Graphics board has more RAM, it will be able to handle more recent stuff with less problems.

If the question is : can I play old games without any VRAM the answer is yes
If the question is : will my gpu fare much better 3 years from now if it has more VRAM, the answer is yes, even though it will be total crap compared to the $150 board at that time.

 

[Annisman*]

Of course it does.
If you consider the following fact :
a p3-800 with 128 mb ram will be *useless* after a year
a p3-800 with 768 mb ram will be *useless* after two

Random numbers sort of talking about a personal experience, but simply put, if your Graphics board has more RAM, it will be able to handle more recent stuff with less problems.

If the question is : can I play old games without any VRAM the answer is yes
If the question is : will my gpu fare much better 3 years from now if it has more VRAM, the answer is yes, even though it will be total crap compared to the $150 board at that time.

No, I don't beleive you understand the gravity of my claim.

I am saying that the exact same game (new or old) at the exact same settings, seems to use more VRAM when there is more present on the system.

Which seems to go against anything I know about VRAM.

 

[Grooveriding]

Crysis on very high with 8xaa at 2560x1600 pegs me a little over 1.35gb.

 

[Morg.]

No, I don't beleive you understand the gravity of my claim.

I am saying that the exact same game (new or old) at the exact same settings, seems to use more VRAM when there is more present on the system.

Which seems to go against anything I know about VRAM.

Aha . No idea, except potentially caching happening ? Check for caching-like behaviour

i.e. start game both cards, check vram usage.
get one set loaded (probably loading one level would do that), check vram usage
get another set loaded (probably another level .. don't know tbh), check again.

 

[Elfear]

The two newest STALKER games put a hurting on my 1GB 5850 at 2560x1600 with medium settings. Part of that was due to lack of horsepower but a lot had to do with lack or vram.

Sounds like you keep your video cards for awhile so if it were me buying today for a 1920x1200 screen res, I'd get something with 1.5GB or more vram. The vast majority of games will run fine with 1GB (@1920x1200) but over the next two years I imagine that will not be the case.

 

[imaheadcase]

Yes some games will use more vram.

 

[apathy_next2]

how can you check how much vram your card is using?

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

The 6950 2GB is cheap enough (hit ~$225AR recently) that it wouldn't make sense to not get a >1GB card.
Deal of the year right there - 6970 for ~$225AR