How much GPU Memory do we NEED?

[JOSHSKORN]

I've asked a similar question in the past, but strictly based on system memory. This one is based on GPU memory.

I use my computer for recording/viewing HDTV (InfiniTV card) and gaming. To list a few games out there I play: Crysis, Crysis 2, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Metro 2033, Grand Theft Auto IV and San Andreas. I'd like to play each of these games on max settings.

Currently, I have a 7 year old SD monitor. I'm waiting for the thing to die so I can upgrade to a (roughly) 27" HD monitor and connect to it via HDMI. For this question, I'd like to assume one has a HD monitor of that size, already.

All that said, with all the current games out there, how much Video memory is actually used? Are 1 GB cards sufficient? Are 2 and 3 GB cards just complete overkill? Again, on only 1 monitor, roughly at the 27" range. Assuming all games on max settings. Also, would one notice any REAL benefit in a multi GPU settup (SLI/Crossfire) with today's available products? That is, with the naked eye, and not a benchmarking tool.

 

[notarat]

nobody needs more than 640kb.

Signed,

Bill Gates.

 

[dragonstongue]

well, this depends on game, resolution, as mentioned settings, and the card itself, and for that matter if using SLI/CF. High res-high levels of AA/AF with MOST cards in most conditions 1GB is not enough Vram as card both from Nvidia/AMD will chew up the usable vram and start tapping system/paging memory a way not good situation, using 2 cards with low Vram will chew more of thier memory in the process making it a worse thing(more shaders, rops etc to fill afterall and it does tap a bit for "linking" the 2 cards or more together)

So 2gb cards with most games in thier vanilla states seem ok, however for certain games modded for extra eye candy etc they can use 3gb possibly more given the right/wrong circumstance. So the happy medium 1.5-2-3gb Vram seems sufficent in mostly every case, the 1.5 sometimes are limiting, but it(the card) tends to run out of steam before tapping its vram out most times.

multi-gpu, well high reso, very high levels of eye candy, then yes there is and can be a benefit, example same FPS but higher reso, or same fps but alot higher quality settings and such. Is it worth the cost, it can be if you do your homework correctly, I as a user do not use multi-gpu I have no need and am ok with a single card having less performance, but next to no issues due to scaling, or drivers not working correctly for the scaling etc.

 

[dr.stevil]

nobody needs more than 640kb.

Signed,

Bill Gates.

http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/1997/01/1484

Gates claims that he actually never said that. I wonder how that started

On the site, Gates takes questions from kids.

QUESTION: "I read in a newspaper that in l981 you said '640K of memory should be enough for anybody.' What did you mean when you said this?"

ANSWER: "I've said some stupid things and some wrong things, but not that. No one involved in computers would ever say that a certain amount of memory is enough for all time."

Gates goes on a bit about 16-bit computers and megabytes of logical address space, but the kid's question (will this boy never work at Microsoft?) clearly rankled the billionaire visionary.

"Meanwhile, I keep bumping into that silly quotation attributed to me that says 640K of memory is enough. There's never a citation; the quotation just floats like a rumor, repeated again and again."

 

[ParasiticJ]

I play similar games and can tell you the 1 GB on my Radeon 5870 does not cut it. The main culprit is Battlefield 3, but Crysis 2 as well with the texture pack and DX 11 upgrade. If I remember correctly, GTA is very CPU dependent.

I would say 2 GB is the minimum, and 3 GB is what you want to aim for. So I guess that leaves you with a GTX 580, 7970, 7950, and that one GTX 570 EVGA makes with 2.5 GB.

 

[silent-circuit]

A modern high end card should never come with less than 3GB, ideally more. 2560x1600 and 2560x1440 aren't so rare as they once were, and with multi-screen gaming (be it Eyefinity or Surround) becoming more common even 1920x1080 x 3 is a ton of pixels, nevermind that many people springing for that sort of setup may end up with a trio of 30" at 2560x1600 x 3. Either company, Nvidia or AMD, releasing a high end card with less than 3GB onboard right now is doing their customer base a disservice.

2GB you can scrape by in most cases, even with texture packs, but at present the only thing making me consider an upgrade from my 6950 2GB x2 (which is faster than a 7970 in most cases) setup is the potential for more video memory.

 

[sai_dee]

2GB seems to be more than enough for just about every game at 1080p. Rarely do games even peak over 1GB and the gpu power usually gasses out before that.

 

[Dangman]

Currently, I have a 7 year old SD monitor. I'm waiting for the thing to die so I can upgrade to a (roughly) 27" HD monitor and connect to it via HDMI. For this question, I'd like to assume one has a HD monitor of that size, already.
......
Again, on only 1 monitor, roughly at the 27" range.

Note that 27" monitors comes in both 1920x1080 resolution and 2560 x 1440 resolution. So you might want to clarify which resolution you want to know about. The hardware needed for either resolution are a bit different from one another.

1GB is not really sufficient for even 1920x1080 for games like BF3 and Skyrim if you want want max settings and high FPS at the same time. Though if you drop the settings, 1GB is usually sufficient. But you should really aim for 2GB if possible. Metro 2033 can use the extra VRAM but not as extensively as the other games I mentioned. I don't play or care about Crysis, Crysis 2, or MW3 so can't comment on those games.

For 2560x1440, you should have 2GB of VRAM minimum, more if possible for games like BF3 and Skyrim. 3GB is definitely not a bad choice if you can afford it.

Also, would one notice any REAL benefit in a multi GPU settup (SLI/Crossfire) with today's available products? That is, with the naked eye, and not a benchmarking tool.

Yes. If the drivers are good, there's a noticeable FPS and settings increase with SLI/Crossfire setups over a single GPU, depending on the GPU.