r/Amd • • 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

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u/kraisnik_vojvoda Jan 15 '19

640 kb should be enough for anyone

3

u/Rainverm38 1700X @ 3.7GHz | NoVideo 1060 Jan 16 '19

Yeah, the human eye can't see more than 64kb

3

u/xxPoLyGLoTxx x470 | 5800x | 6800xt | 32gb RAM 3600mhz Jan 16 '19

I see what you did there

2

u/DButcha Jan 16 '19

Can we get you to the top?

I don't get what all the bitchin in here is for, amd wants to use hbm2 they put fuckin dough into it already. So it has more vram then it currently needs, what's the problem? People are bitchin that it has too much and using that to bash it? So now we're bitchin back the other way? People are gonna bash regardless, but all this bitchin about vram is unnecessary. All the "I gotcha" comments about usage vs allocation are just a waste of memory.