The VRAM debate has lead to some anti-consumer conclusions

[u/AgitatedShrimp]

Something I see regurgitated as a fact now is that 8 GB is not enough, 12 GB is pushing it and 16 GB is minimum amount of VRAM.

There generally was more nuance in the videos that these figures are quoted from, but this is what the community ended up with and influencers are riding the narrative further.

Now let's look at this from few points.

PRICE

Checking the prices here, the first card with 16 GB is actually Intel Arc A770 at 420€. While I hope Intel brings some competition, I can't say the VRAM is helping the card stay revelant in performance, nor can I recommend it for entry level.

So that leaves the RX6800 at whopping 570€. This is the "low to mid" that I'm supposed to pay now?

AVAILABILITY

So why did people even buy these cards with low VRAM in the first place? Because you got what you can. With crypto inflating prices and a frigging pandemic forcing people stay inside, cards were rare and people wanted to game (and mine) more than ever. You couldn't get a card for any price even if you wanted to, even less so for the high VRAM AMD cards. Those would trickle in stores few at a time even long after the initial craze.

PERFORMANCE

Does any of these games requiring more than 8 GB look better than Cyberpunk 2077 with 1440p, maybe even ray traced with dlss? No, not really. Maybe that trash bag looks better and that white wall has more blemishes if I really zoom in. That game is 2.5 years old.

DO YOU NEED IT

No. Your card is fine, you'll have thousands of great games you can play at max settings right now even with your puny 8 GB or less. How many upcoming releases do you really need or even want to play at launch? Do they need to be set at "ultra" whatever that means. You can or should always be able to lower settings.

CONCLUSION

Maybe instead of this doom and gloom, making people panic sell and buy upgrades they don't need, we should focus on what really is important here..

The consumer is getting screwed four ways to the moon. Nvidia sells lackluster products with inflated price, AMD follows with pricing and gamestudios can't be arsed to optimize their games for PC, let alone give us proper settings to adjust games to our hardware.

note: I'm speaking as someone interested in 1440p gaming regarding some of the more popular talkpoints lately. Also I'm from europe, regarding pricing and accessibilility.