2GB VRAM still worth for upcoming games?

[bergami]

Can we expect the next big upcoming games such as Dragon Age 3, The Witcher 3, Gta V (perhaps), Watch Dogs to use either more or close to 2GB VRAM at 1080p single display?

2GB VRAM graphic cards are in the market for awhile, I still not completely convinced if it still worth buying a brand new card with that amount o VRAM.

I am not willing to upgrade my system for about 3 years.

And for that reason I can't decide which card, 280X or 770

I know 770 is better (overall) but those 2GB VRAM... the 3GB VRAM and 384-bit of 280X are tempting, there is also mantle...

What you guys think?

 

[ShintaiDK]

Not at 1080p.

 

[3DVagabond]

If you can get them for about the same price or only a little more the 280X is a better card to get. It's not worth what mining has driven the cost to though if you are in The States.

 

[bergami]

I've found a very good price at this store http://www.datavis.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prrfnbr=718723 and http://www.datavis.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prrfnbr=698125

Both still out of stock, but may be a good place to get them

 

[3DVagabond]

I've a very good price at this store http://www.datavis.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prrfnbr=718723 and http://www.datavis.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prrfnbr=698125

Both still out of stock, but may be a good place to get them

You can get the GTX 770 for less than they have it for. Still, for approx the same price I'd go for the 280X, personally. Depending on how long you have to wait.

 

[TeknoBug]

In Canada GTX770's sell for less than 280X's, it's borderline r-tarded actually because 280X's were almost $100 less than 770's a couple months ago. My 280X was $330 when I bought it, now it's $480, a GTX770 can be found for $360.

Funny what the bitcoin craze can do.

 

[Cerb]

Can we expect the next big upcoming games such as Dragon Age 3, The Witcher 3, Gta V (perhaps), Watch Dogs to use either more or close to 2GB VRAM at 1080p single display?

2GB VRAM graphic cards are in the market for awhile, I still not completely convinced if it still worth buying a brand new card with that amount o VRAM.

I've been VRAM-limited 1GB since for about 3 years, now, and I haven't even gotten up to 1080P, yet. It's not like buffers are all that big. Textures that aren't fuzzy when you're close to something are what gets big, and VRAM is the main limiting factor to that, since a doubling the detail takes 4x the space.

 

[BrightCandle]

The grand majority of games today are still using below 1.5GB, many of them are hovering a little over 1 GB.

There are two things we can say about the future:
1) Games will use more VRAM in the future
2) Its inevitable that it will happen but not really sure on the timescales.
3) Its never going to be universally true for all games and settings
4) No developer is going to release a game requiring VRAM that only a minority of people have.

I suspect now isn't a great time to buy a 2GB card, but at the same time if your buying mid range today VRAM isn't going to be your issue, the performance of the card is. Historically its always been the case that by the time games start exceeding the VRAM they also start suffering with performance as well, thus getting more VRAM on a card tends to be a waste of money.

 

[Wall Street]

I think BrightCandle is coming from the right point of view. Will there be situations in the next three years where certain graphics settings will be problematic on 2 GB of VRAM? Absolutely. Will games in the next three years be released that cannot be played at all with 2 GB cards? Unlikely.

Although game makers like to use new features, game makers also won't shoot themselves in the foot by making a games unplayable on last generations midrange hardware. For example, Battlefield 4 is playable on a GTX 560 Ti at high (not Ultra) settings, and that card was released in January 2011.

 

[bergami]

I play Battlefield 4 on a 6870 of 1GB, I feel like I can push my vga harder, but I am deeply limited by my VRAM, at medium-low settings I get 988 MB on MSI Afterburner.

In my country hardware is expensive, so I can't keep upgrading cards every often. I feel like the 770 has more horsepower today but may lack of gas soon, on the other hand, the 280X doesn't win in power but has more gas, so it may last longer. And that's what I want.

 

[McLovin42]

Not at 1080p.

Disagree fully. A single 1080p display 2gb is way more than plenty. Memory will not be the bottleneck, especially on a GK104.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Disagree fully. A single 1080p display 2gb is way more than plenty. Memory will not be the bottleneck, especially on a GK104.

We both agree. OP asked if new games would use more than 2GB at 1080p

2GB is more than plenty for me still at 2560*1440.

 

[McLovin42]

You can get the GTX 770 for less than they have it for. Still, for approx the same price I'd go for the 280X, personally. Depending on how long you have to wait.

Highly disagree with this too. Id take a fully refined and mature GTX 770(AKA GTX 680) over a 280x. The card runs cooler(And also has much better reference cooling), has better hardware in terms of reliability and longevity, and better software support and drivers.

Yes its basically a wash in terms of raw fps(some games favor the 770, some favor the 280x)but that's just not telling the big picture. Nvidia cards and their drivers as a whole just give a better overall experience with less screen artifacting and less odd bugs. Its been that way consistently for over a decade now.

Unless the OP is planning on doing one of those worthless mining rig setups, he is better off with an Nvidia product IMO if the focus is on games, stability and long term reliability/support/longevity.

 

[McLovin42]

We both agree. OP asked if new games would use more than 2GB at 1080p

2GB is more than plenty for me still at 2560*1440.

Yep, on my laptop I run a pair of 2gb 6990m cards(So In total its still a 2gb setup in reality) in Xfire at 1080p and the memory is never the bottleneck nor will it ever be.


If the OP was planning on running say a PAIR of GTX 770's in SLI though, then the 4gb version of the card MIGHT make some sense down the road in a few years. BUt that's pretty much the only circumstance where it may be needed, and even then its somewhat doubtful.

A GTX 770 can now be had for under $300 shipped. Killer and best bang for the buck currently.

 

[McLovin42]

In my country hardware is expensive, so I can't keep upgrading cards every often. I feel like the 770 has more horsepower today but may lack of gas soon, on the other hand, the 280X doesn't win in power but has more gas, so it may last longer. And that's what I want.

The GTX 770 is also available in a 4gb version but at a single 1080p display its not needed, not just today, but in a few years from now as well. Nvidia is very good about balancing out their cards PROPERLY with the correct amount of Vram for their GPU's capabilities.

As stated above, you are not going to max out a GTX 770's abilities to where the Vram becomes the bottleneck in the pipeline. THe GPU will become the bottleneck first I can guarantee you that.

BUt if you are all paranoid and don't want to take anyone's word for it you can always pick up the 4gb version of the card. Then in the future if you ever get a motherboard with SLI support you can just add another GTX 770 with 4gb down the road without having to spend a ton of money to significantly up your gaming performance and still be set up properly for Vram with some extra headroom on top of it.

 

[Rvenger]

Honestly OP, I would not pay ~$300 for a card with just 2gb VRAM because you don't know what the near future will bring. Once the 2gb cards start hitting a wall on current games it will be tough to get the value back out of the card you paid a hefty price for. I would go for a 4gb model GTX 770 or 280x.

 

[Midwayman]

Didn't COD:ghost come with a texture pack that took like 5GB vram to run? Odd considering that game looked like ass.

 

[-slash-]

Disagree fully. A single 1080p display 2gb is way more than plenty. Memory will not be the bottleneck, especially on a GK104.

We both agree. OP asked if new games would use more than 2GB at 1080p

2GB is more than plenty for me still at 2560*1440.

Skyrim, Ultra settings, Single 1080p monitor, 4k texture mods. After adding a higher res flora mod I'm sitting at 2k most of the time when outside. Before I wasnt getting FPS drops, now I am. Granted modded Skyrim isnt everyones bag, but 1080p can use 2gb of vRam

 

[ShintaiDK]

Thats more due to a badly made private mod than due to using 4K textures.

I can easily play Skyrim with the official packs at 2560*1440 with everything maxed with 2GB.

 

[bergami]

But Skyrim is from Q4 2011, who knows when the next TES is going to be released, maybe 2016, can't forget about battlefield 5, most likely, in 2016 aswell. I doubt I would be able to play them and many others huge titles at medium-ultra in 2015-2017 due VRAM limit, 770 is better today than 280X but it may be limited overtime.

Now the new gen is out there, I think devs will push their games to the very limit of the console, which may hit any pc with similar specs.

 

[poohbear]

Id wait for maxwell to come out in a couple of months before buying anything. Im sure they'll come with 3gb VRAM. U cant wait a couple of months?

 

[ShintaiDK]

But Skyrim is from Q4 2011, who knows when the next TES is going to be released, maybe 2016, can't forget about battlefield 5, most likely, in 2016 aswell. I doubt I would be able to play them and many others huge titles at medium-ultra in 2015-2017 due VRAM limit, 770 is better today than 280X but it may be limited overtime.

Now the new gen is out there, I think devs will push their games to the very limit of the console, which may hit any pc with similar specs.

Consoles is not pushing anything graphics wise. Rather the other way around. 720p, 900p, 30FPS capped etc.

And as stated, if you really feel the need for it. Get the 4GB GTX770. Because you could ask yourself again. Would 3GB be enough vs 4GB?

 

[ShintaiDK]

Id wait for maxwell to come out in a couple of months before buying anything. Im sure they'll come with 3gb VRAM. U cant wait a couple of months?

A possible GM104/GM114 would most likely be 2 or 4, not 3.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Highly disagree with this too. Id take a fully refined and mature GTX 770(AKA GTX 680) over a 280x. The card runs cooler(And also has much better reference cooling), has better hardware in terms of reliability and longevity, and better software support and drivers.

Yes its basically a wash in terms of raw fps(some games favor the 770, some favor the 280x)but that's just not telling the big picture. Nvidia cards and their drivers as a whole just give a better overall experience with less screen artifacting and less odd bugs. Its been that way consistently for over a decade now.

Unless the OP is planning on doing one of those worthless mining rig setups, he is better off with an Nvidia product IMO if the focus is on games, stability and long term reliability/support/longevity.

I don't want to start an AMD vs. Nvidia battle here, as chances are at the current prices the GeForce 770 is the better part for the OP (AMD's parts are just too inflated right now). But with that being said, I disagree with most everything else. The 280X is also a 'fully refined mature' product. I don't understand why anyone cares what temp their GPU runs at as long as it is quiet enough and within spec. At least when comparing reference cards, I feel that AMD typically has the more robust hardware. Drivers/software support? That is entirely subjective and typically based on individual experiences.

What is a worthless mining rig? I've sold bitcoins for regular currency. There are a lot of people that game on a mining rig when they want to game, then mine when they're not gaming. The OP may very well not care for mining, but AMD cards have made plenty of people real money.

 

[bergami]

Sadly I can't wait, I am taking a trip to NY in April, it probably won't be released untill there. If so, that's definitely my buy: GTX 870.

770 4GB is beyond my reach, way too expensive. I can pay only U$ 300-350, and I wat to buy an asus model, I have a good experience with my currently asus card.

Edit. I am really out of this subject of "mining", first time I heard people talking about it was here. Won't use my card for that purpose, altough I know what bitcoin is.