2560x1600 4gb or 2gb?

S

See-Fu

Limp Gawd
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Sep 3, 2008
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I'm in the process of selecting a video card to replace my 460. Is 4gb necessary for 2560x1600 gaming w/ ultra detail settings?
 
4gb. Crysis 3 will go over 2gb at 19x12. You could make it with 2gb, but you would have to turn a few things down.
 
Everything runs fine at 2gigs for me. Can't run Crysis at max with 2 or 4 gigs. Need more GPU power!!!! :cool:
 
You don't need more than 2GB. I gamed with 680 SLI for over a year with 2GB, and my VRAM use was just fine at 2560x1600. The only way you will go over is if you're completely overzealous with sparse grid override usage or use a ton of game mods.

That being said, I don't know how upcoming next generation games will affect this (due to next generation consoles)
 
At 2560x1600,
Single high-end GPU -> 2GB is enough
Multiple cards setup -> 3GB is enough
 
I'm running it well @ 2560x1600 in SLi. I find that you run out of GPU horse power than vram capacity. If you are doing surround gaming, then higher capacity becomes a requirement for somewhat smooth gameplay with all the in game bells and whistles. 2GB is enough.
 
Personal experience, 2GB isn't enough for Max Payne 3 with 4xMSAA, or Skyrim w/ certain mods.

There may be other cases. I'd get at least 3GB.
 
I say if you want to get the most out of your money get the 4gb to max it out. Better to over compensate than leave yourself wanting more.
 
On my 1440p monitor I go over 2gb with Max Payne 3, Crysis 3, And sometimes BF3 (Depending on the map). Also Skyrim is an easy 2.5gb with just the texture mod. Tombraider is REALLY close as well.

BF4 I am sure (if you want to max out) will easily hit 2gb at 1440/1600p.

To me 2gb is waste to get right now if you want to play next gen games at 1440/1600p
 
you only need 2 gb of vram at 1600p.



the only exception is skyrim with mods. otherwise you are perfectly fine. those that are saying otherwise are probably confused about allocated vram that displays from msi afterburner while playing games.
 
770 2GB SLI at 1600p, no problems. GPU's run out of power in most games before vram becomes an issue, Skyrim being the exception.
 
4GB is necessary with 1600P resolutions since you stated you wanna play Ultra settings, I've done it with only 2GB and 1GB cards but the frame drops aren't pretty.
 
With all this Max Payne 3 talk I decided to test it at 1440p, close enough resolution. With an overclocked 780. Logged the memory usage. Maxed out it did pass 2GB at rare points, but by then the performance had already plummeted because the GPU could not keep up. With MSAA down to 2x performance mostly stayed at 60fps and never passed 2gb, mostly hovering around 1.8gb.
 
DASHlT said:
You forgot to mention Crysis 3, Tombraider, Max Payne 3.
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none of those games are a problem thats why he didnt mention them; skyrim modded is the only game that will have a problem.


HARDOCP said:
We know there was a lot of worry when this game came out because of this VRAM counter and people assumed the HD 7950 and 7970 might be a lot faster in the game. Our results prove that this is not so, the 2GB GTX 680/670 is on par with the HD 7970/7950. VRAM does not limit them in this game anymore than it does the Radeon cards.
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http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/06/12/max_payne_3_performance_iq_review/9#.Ufb6P9L2Z8E
 
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2GB is not a limitation whatsoever if you have a single card but I have experienced VRAM limitations with a 680 2GB SLI setup.

4GB should only be considered if you plan to go SLI.
 
I'm running SLI 680s (2GB) at a resolution of 3840x800 which is 3/4 of 1600p. I've never ran into a VRAM limit in any game. I play Skyrim with a bunch of HD texture mods too ... MSI Afterburner says I'm up at around 1.8-1.9G but at those times my framerates are dipping below 60 so I'm running out of GPU at the same time as VRAM.

You're fine with 2GB at 1600p. If you want to enable shit-tons of eye-candy and don't care if your framerate drops into the 30's then get 4GB cards.
 
rdqlus said:
I'm running SLI 680s (2GB) at a resolution of 3840x800 which is 3/4 of 1600p. I've never ran into a VRAM limit in any game. I play Skyrim with a bunch of HD texture mods too ... MSI Afterburner says I'm up at around 1.8-1.9G but at those times my framerates are dipping below 60 so I'm running out of GPU at the same time as VRAM.

You're fine with 2GB at 1600p. If you want to enable shit-tons of eye-candy and don't care if your framerate drops into the 30's then get 4GB cards.
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Hmmm not sure about that. I run 780 in SLI, and run with all the eyecandy on and get 60fps.

The reason you aren't hittin the vram limit is because you are turning down options.

Maxing out a video game is totally different then "Turn down some eye candy" maxing out
 
DASHlT said:
Hmmm not sure about that. I run 780 in SLI, and run with all the eyecandy on and get 60fps.

The reason you aren't hittin the vram limit is because you are turning down options.

Maxing out a video game is totally different then "Turn down some eye candy" maxing out
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if we look @ the OP he specifically asked for Ultra detail. which is easily obtainable with 2gb.


IF he had to turn down anything it would be AA related and nothing regarding detail or textures and most games he could have AA if not all of them anyways.

he could still max em with 2gb of vram.
 
dremic said:
if we look @ the OP he specifically asked for Ultra detail. which is easily obtainable with 2gb.


IF he had to turn down anything it would be AA related and nothing regarding detail or textures and most games he could have AA if not all of them anyways.

he could still max em with 2gb of vram.
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No it's not. I just went from 670 in SLI To to 780 in SLI, and I was hitting the vram limit of 2gb when running ultra detail in Crysis 3, Max Payne 3, Tombraider, and Skyrim.

AA is considered Ultra quality. IF you dont use AA, then you aren't maxing our your details in your game, this not running in Ultra.

This is coming from experience of using 2gb and 3gb of memory maxing out my games running at 100hz.
 
Everyone's definition of "Ultra" and "maxed" is different, from what I've read :D
 
DASHlT said:
No it's not. I just went from 670 in SLI To to 780 in SLI, and I was hitting the vram limit of 2gb when running ultra detail in Crysis 3, Max Payne 3, Tombraider, and Skyrim.

AA is considered Ultra quality. IF you dont use AA, then you aren't maxing our your details in your game, this not running in Ultra.

This is coming from experience of using 2gb and 3gb of memory maxing out my games running at 100hz.
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You weren't hitting your limit. Your cards may have allocated 2gbs or more but they werent using it sorry. unless you had insane MSAA going on which wouldnt have even been necessary

I play @ 1440 with sli 670s with no issue. in fact i havent even allocated 2gbs let alone hit the cap.

maybe you had bunk cards
 
dremic said:
You weren't hitting your limit. Your cards may have allocated 2gbs or more but they werent using it sorry. unless you had insane MSAA going on which wouldnt have even been necessary

I play @ 1440 with sli 670s with no issue. in fact i havent even allocated 2gbs let alone hit the cap.

maybe you had bunk cards
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Nope I use MSAA 4x. Which isnt insane AA, Its the standard. Crysis 3 below hitting 2.2gb of memory running on max quality 4xaa. My 670's in SLI Could not run this option smoothly period.

pk7q.jpg
 
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I wonder why GTX 780 wasn't offered in 4GB variants.

Do you suppose it might be a maneuver on Nvidia's part to encourage premature obsolescence / promote accelerated upgrades?
 
Grimspoon said:
I wonder why GTX 780 wasn't offered in 4GB variants.

Do you suppose it might be a maneuver on Nvidia's part to encourage premature obsolescence / promote accelerated upgrades?
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Yea....they want you to buy the Titan if you want more then 3gb on the big boy's....Sucks but its a business decision.
 
Grimspoon said:
I wonder why GTX 780 wasn't offered in 4GB variants.

Do you suppose it might be a maneuver on Nvidia's part to encourage premature obsolescence / promote accelerated upgrades?
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It can't work that way due to the memory bus width of 384 bits and each GDDR5 chip has a bus width of 64 bits. So you can do 3GB or 6GB or even 1.5GB. Just think of multiples of six. Please correct me if I'm wrong, lol.
 
If you run out of vram, the system will come to a halt and stutter like a bitch in the low teens, or single digit fps and jump all around. If you turn down the AA and it still stutters, it's not a vram issue. Is this what you saw with your 670 GTX SLI configuration? Or was it just a little choppy in the 30-40 fps window? If so you probably didn't have enough GPU power and the vram was being allocated.
 
hdgamer said:
If you run out of vram, the system will come to a halt and stutter like a bitch in the low teens, or single digit fps and jump all around. If you turn down the AA and it still stutters, it's not a vram issue. Is this what you saw with your 670 GTX SLI configuration? Or was it just a little choppy in the 30-40 fps window? If so you probably didn't have enough GPU power and the vram was being allocated.
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Around 10-12fps
 
sonsonate said:
It can't work that way due to the memory bus width of 384 bits and each GDDR5 chip has a bus width of 64 bits. So you can do 3GB or 6GB or even 1.5GB. Just think of multiples of six. Please correct me if I'm wrong, lol.
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Didn't realize, thanks for the info!

See-Fu said:
When you guys say SLI w/ 4 gb memory do you mean 4 gb/card or total?
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4gb per card.
 
skadebo said:
Facts lol

http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Video-Card-Performance-2GB-vs-4GB-Memory-154/

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/palit_geforce_gtx_680_4gb_jetstream_review,26.html Check the 2nd paragraph.

Edit: If you don't plan on upgrading within the next three years, get 4gb. Otherwise just get 2gb.
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lol

Both those links are over a year old, and don't test any newer games (obviously) that have been mentioned in this thread as having vram limits

Try again, lol
 
DASHlT said:
Nope I use MSAA 4x. Which isnt insane AA, Its the standard. Crysis 3 below hitting 2.2gb of memory running on max quality 4xaa. My 670's in SLI Could not run this option smoothly period.
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lol you just arent reading my posts.

that memory that you see MSI afterburner displaying is ALLOCATED MEMORY it isnt the total being used.

like a previous poster stated if you hit the cap your game would come to a screeching halt and hit 0-1 fps and then go back up. you havent hit a vram cap.. you hit a 670 strength cap.


also no where in the HardOCP review of Crysis 3 image quality do they mention 2gb of vram being an issue at 1600p



SKYRIM the only game that needs more than 2gb of VRAM @ that resolution
 
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dremic said:
lol you just arent reading my posts.

that memory that you see MSI afterburner displaying is ALLOCATED MEMORY it isnt the total being used.

like a previous poster stated if you hit the cap your game would come to a screeching halt and hit 0-1 fps and then go back up. you havent hit a vram cap.. you hit a 670 strength cap.


also no where in the HardOCP review of Crysis 3 image quality do they mention 2gb of vram being an issue at 1600p



SKYRIM the only game that needs more than 2gb of VRAM @ that resolution
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http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/crysis_3_graphics_performance_review_benchmark,8.html

/facepalm
 
DASHlT said:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/crysis_3_graphics_performance_review_benchmark,8.html

/facepalm
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not sure if serious


Anyway, 2GB minimum .. the magic number ;)
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that article only proves what i am saying. again theyre showing allocated memory not used. theyre also saying MSAA will take more performance, GASP.

MSAA is a cumbersome AA method. still doesnt mean youre hitting a cap on your 2gb of vram. sorry.


unless your fps drops to one and your game basically freezes youre not hitting a vram limitation youre hitting a card strength limitation.
 
dremic said:
lol you just arent reading my posts.

that memory that you see MSI afterburner displaying is ALLOCATED MEMORY it isnt the total being used.

like a previous poster stated if you hit the cap your game would come to a screeching halt and hit 0-1 fps and then go back up. you havent hit a vram cap.. you hit a 670 strength cap.


also no where in the HardOCP review of Crysis 3 image quality do they mention 2gb of vram being an issue at 1600p



SKYRIM the only game that needs more than 2gb of VRAM @ that resolution
Click to expand...

dremic said:
not sure if serious




that article only proves what i am saying. again theyre showing allocated memory not used. theyre also saying MSAA will take more performance, GASP.

MSAA is a cumbersome AA method. still doesnt mean youre hitting a cap on your 2gb of vram. sorry.


unless your fps drops to one and your game basically freezes youre not hitting a vram limitation youre hitting a card strength limitation.
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Guess you didnt noticed 4xMSAA using 2.3gigs of memory while playing at 1600p.

They might recommend 2gb, but with future games, if you are going to future proof yourself 2gb is not the smart decision.

MSAA isnt cumbersome. People dont want to run it because they dont have the hardware too. It's taxing and is ALOT better then FXAA or SMAA or TXAA.
 
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