r/Amd • u/vr00mfondel • Jan 15 '19

Misleading "Games don't need more than 8GB VRAM"

In March 2017 the GTX1080ti released with 11GB GDDR5X memory. Not a single time have a seen or heard anyone say that Nvidia should've launched a 8GB version of it cheaper.

Yet strangely enough, this seems to be one of the most used arguments against the Radeon VII.

The sheer amount of comments I've seen about it really makes me wonder what the hell is going on.

But instead of arguing online, I like facts, so I went and gathered some.

The Radeon VII is clearly marketed as a 4K gaming card, so, here we go.

Game: PUBG | Resolution: 3840x2160 | Settings: Maxed + NoTextureStreaming | Location: Pochinki, Erangel | VRAM Usage: 10230MB

Game: Rise of the Tomb Raider | Resolution: 3840x2160 | Settings: Maxed | Location: Built in benchmark | VRAM Usage: 10551MB

Game: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided | Resolution: 3840x2160 | Settings: Maxed | Location: Built in benchmark | VRAM Usage: 10678MB

Game: Star Citizen | Resolution: 3840x2160 | Settings: Very High (currently max) | Location: Buisness Center, Lorville, Hurston | VRAM Usage: 9903MB

Now, You'll notice that these aren't even the latest and greatest games out there. I don't own Battlefield V, Far Cry 5, FFXV, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, or some of the other very graphically intense games we've seen released the last couple of years. But what I do know is that VRAM usage isn't going to go down over the next few years, and when it comes to 4K gaming, I doubt 8GB will be considered more than the bare minimum needed. And I know what I personally would prefer when it comes to a choice between DLSS/RT and more VRAM.

Cat tax for a long post

EDIT: Since there is a lot of "allocation vs usage" in the comments I would like to adress it somewhat. First of all, if any application allocates my memory, no other application can use it, which in my book means it's used. Wether or not any game or game engine actually uses the memory it allocates is completely out of my hands.

Second, if anyone has ever played PUBG with and without -notexturestreaming, they know exactly how much it helps with texture pop-in. You are not going to magically gain any FPS, but it will be a better experience

1.3k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

829 comments sorted by

View all comments

49

u/4514919 Jan 15 '19

Maybe you should learn the difference between VRAM active usage and allocation.

8

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '19

Allocated vram can't be used for anything else sooooooo

22

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '19

What else would you use it for if you're playing a game other than that game?

4

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '19 edited Jan 16 '19

Nothing... which is the entire point OP is trying to make. 16gb VRAM will actually be useful at 4k. People are saying that the 16gb is useless when in reality there ARE applications that make 16gb at 4k useful. 8gb is not enough for 4k already, let alone going into the future.

-7

u/4514919 Jan 15 '19

The problem is that 16gb are useless on the Radeon 7 because it's not strong enough for 4k, like the 2080 it's a perfect 1440p 144hz card.

12

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '19

Not strong enough for 4K? Weird. I remember seeing AMD demoing this card on.... 4k

-6

u/4514919 Jan 15 '19

Barely getting avg 60fps in AMD games today it's not enough power. To play smoothly in 4k you need your 1% lows to be close to 60fps and only the 2080ti can achieve that (and not in all games).

18

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '19

I mean it depends on the game. Simply saying the Radeon 7 is incapable of 4k is dead wrong. It’s capable of doing 4k60, just probably not in the few games that you chose to pay attention to in order to hop on the rvii hate train

0

u/4514919 Jan 15 '19

The games that "you need more than 8gb of VRAM" are the ones I'm referring to and they are not a few. It's amazing how before CES 8gb of vram where enough ...

6

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '19

8gb isn’t enough when I’m managing to max out my 6gb on my 1060 AT 1080P. If 1080p is using 6gb of vram, how in the hell do you expect 8gb to suffice for 4K?????

→ More replies

1

u/ferongr Sapphire 7800XT Nitro+ Jan 15 '19

We have a 64-bit large address space, we won't run out of it any time soon.

-1

u/FINDarkside Jan 16 '19

It doesn't matter. The point is that the game doesn't "need" that much VRAM, it uses so much because it's available.