QOTW: How much RAM must your next graphics card have?

[Danzio]

What makes this more interesting is that we are on the horizon of Direct X 12 which has been said to not limit an SLI/Crossfire setup to its base memory amount. For example I own 2 780ti's which as you will know have 3gb of memory each, which in current setup allows me only 3gb. Direct x promises to unify these allowing 6gb removing past limitations. I run my current setup on a 144hz gsync AOC and find the 780ti's more than enough to pump the frames as its only 1080p, which im planning to stick to for the 3 years i'm going to uni for. I can't wait to see what direct x has in store, but if the memory will be the same (3gb+3gb = 3gb) scenario, i'd not settle for less than 6gb for future gaming.

[Danzio]

Direct x promises to unify these allowing 6gb removing past limitations.

By this I mean it's (meant to) unify all available graphics cards running into one better graphics processing unit allowing the memory from both cards to be used together in split frame renders.

[stevie lee]

had to get the box out the drawer to find out how much ram I had, its 2GB GDDR5 btw.

and I am looking forward to cheerful glee and mocking you all in a few weeks when Witcher 3 is out, as all of my computer is below the recommended specs for the game.

I know full well mine will run it, just not with all the fancy stuff turned on. so if anyone starts saying 'you need 4gb to run it' 'you need at least a 780 to start the game' I will swoop and go 'ha ha, no you don't, my onboard 3300 from 2009 runs it' (and yes I will be trying it, just cus )

so do I look at ram size on cards? not really. in the past when I actually bought graphics cards, I just picked a price point and saw what fit in it. if it was within a few £ and had 1gb versus 512mb well obviously id get the 1gb one. other than that, meh, couldn't care less.
and with the 750ti supporting DX12. its going to be maybe a couple more years before I upgrade again.

I don't see the point at the moment, everything works, I don't know new stuffs going to be faster (obviously it is) because I haven't seen, nor touched or used any newer stuff so I don't 'know' its any faster. its all a matter of perception.
not even looked in detail at any new stuff, consequently I don't even know what the average ram amount on cards actually is.

after upgrading i'll look back and wonder why did I use this computer for so long, I could have had a much faster one. but meh, that's for future me to worry about.
current me is cleaning the shelf where the witcher 3 collector box is going. Bought with money that would otherwise been spent on a possibly faster core i5.

In 3 years, which one is going to be worth more?

[genkifd]

i still have my old gtx 680s (x2) in SLI with 4gb of vram each - when i use to have surround (3 x 1080p) monitors my 4 gb of vram would occasionally limit the cards but more so the gpu power. I have replaced the monitors with a single 4k display and therefore my ideal amount of ram would be at least 6gb

[DemonHighwayman]

Seeing as GTA 5 wants around 3.5Gb on my system and i'm using a GTX 970, if I were looking today for a new GPU i'd be looking at 4Gb+. I guess it all depends when my next upgrade will be and what the games of that time will be wanting, I do try and future proof a little bit so if the games were averaging 6.5gb i'd be looking at 7-8gb.

[azrael-]

I agree with the majority here in that 4GB should be the absolute minimum on a new graphics card. Can't see more than 8GB max being necessary for the foreseeable future though.

Also, if I had to choose, I'd rather my graphics card had a bit less, but faster memory than the opposite.

[DanceswithUnix]

TLDR: Right now, I wouldn't buy less than 4GB. I am looking, and that is what I am looking for.


I think it only really matters if you like to keep a graphics card for a long time.

If you are going to ebay in a year and upgrade, then just look at the benchmarks vs cost right now.

My GTX460 is 5 years old and I am starting to feel I need to upgrade. When I bought it I spent I think an extra £25 to get a 2GB version rather than the usual 1GB version. I can't imagine the 1GB version would have lasted me this long. At the time the 768MB cards were excellent value and benchmarking only just below my 2GB card, but I expect that wouldn't have lasted me long at all.

If you want to play at 1440p then you do need more vram. If you want to play at 4K, well you are probably upgrading next year anyway

[Mauley]

Absolute minimum for me is 4GB. Ideally my next GPU will have at least 6GB if not 8GB.

[Goodman2576]

It seems today with GTX970`s false 4GB RAM is enough, but I presume my next videocard upgrade will take place after release of Pascal Vcards and be aimed for 4K gaming, so I would be happy to have a good choices between 12 and 32 GB of RAM

[gingerninja7]

4GB would be my absolute minimum, but I'd rather have 8GB (for whatever upgrade I eventually get to replace my 770, probably a Pascal or Arctic Islands card at this point)

[GuidoLS]

Whatever comes stock on the GPU that I win from Nexus

Seriously, no less than 4gb, and depending on the available deals on purchase day, whatever the market and my wallet can bear.

[iranu]

After spending the last few weeks researching an upgrade for my trusty HD 6950, I've settled on a 4GB minimum.

I'm in the same boat as you and come to the same conclusion.

I'm on 1080 atm for monitor and TV and I won't be making a jump on either until the 4k standards a set in stone. Can't justify a jump in resolution yet. Nvidia 970 is my current choice of upgrade but waiting to see what the red team can do before I chose and possibly the benefits of DX12.

[ZaO]

I was maxing out my 3gb of vram on my 7970 years back playing skyrim with mods. bf4 can really push it too. this is on a single 1920x1080 monitor. those are just a couple of games to mention.. it's totally dependant on the user in the end. but my next card is going to be 4gb, and i definitely wouldn't want any less at this point. i would like to see the next high end cards using 8gb or more. i can't imagine how much vram i'd be juicing if i had a multiple screen, ultra wide res or 4k+ setup..

[lumireleon]

4GB is adequate for any top end card with multiple monitors running at 1080p, 4k needs more memory but a single 4k monitor 4GB is enough.

[Jedibeeftrix]

8gb on 16/14nm, so late this year early next.

[robert3892]

I have a 4K monitor so my next graphics card should have at least 6GB or more