System RAM vs GPU RAM

[McMoppet]

Hey Everyone!

Im trying to build a PC and i’m struggling to understand the role of RAM. Firstly i looked at recommended RAM for gaming and i chose about 16GB, but when I looked into GPUs, i found they also have RAM as a component. Is this RAM a different thing? and how much should the GPU have on its own? Does the system RAM I pick benefit the GPU in any way?

[flashiling]

GPU's have VRAM.

(as far as i know)

this is ram that the gpu uses to store certain graphics related stuff.

the normal RAM stores things like webpages in chrome so when you have more than one tab open, it's fast to reopen the other tab

[porina]

Depending on the graphics settings you choose in game, it will affect how much VRAM is used. If this quantity is greater than your GPU has, then it can spill over into system ram, at lower performance. The transfer between system ram (or your storage) and the GPU is much slower than the local VRAM on the GPU. So you want to try to pick a GPU with enough VRAM. 8GB is not too hard a stretch unless you're on a really tight budget, where going lower might be required.

 

There have been others doing benchmarks with varying amounts of system ram and GPU VRAM. You can end up with the situation where a cheaper GPU can result in you needing more system ram. If budget allows, getting a GPU with 8GB or more VRAM, and 16GB of system ram, will have you well positioned for a decent gaming experience.

[bellabichon]

Random-Access Memory (RAM for short) is a specialized type of computer storage that operates at a much higher speed than conventional storage (SSDs or HDDs). RAM is used to temporarily store the files for programs which your computer is currently using, so you can access functions inside an application almost instantaneously.

 

GPUs have a specific type of RAM often called VRAM. This is RAM which is entirely dedicated to loading the graphics, shaders and images which you are currently viewing in a game. On a dedicated GPU, this RAM has nothing to do with your system memory, and will only ever be used to load graphics.

[Haro]

10 hours ago, McMoppet said:

Is this RAM a different thing?

that's vram, and is basically the ram for the gpu, if a gpu has 8 gigs frame buffeer (vram) that means it essentially got 8 gigs of ram for it, now how much vram you need depends on the workload, as for games, some games are demanding nowadays and need to load a lot of textures on the frame buffer for your gpu, so for example some 4 gigs cards run out of vram and if that happens, they start page filing to general system ram which is slowere than just accessing the vram on the gpu. but when looking at a gpu, don't just look at the size of the frame buffer, look at an all around good card that suites your needs and has a fairly sized frame buffer  and not just the size of the frame buffer.

[Moonzy]

25 minutes ago, McMoppet said:

Is this RAM a different thing?

they're the same thing (kinda different but shh), but configured differently

system ram are normally configured in 64-bit wide bus while GPU bus size varies.

the bandwidth of GPU VRAM (we use VRAM and RAM to distinguish between the two, V stands for video) are also much higher because video processing requires more bandwidth.

 

25 minutes ago, McMoppet said:

and how much should the GPU have on its own?

this depends on what game and game graphical settings you set.

there isnt a single number that fits everyone's needs

 

just know that manufacturer wouldnt put too much or too little vram on their GPU

because a weak GPU having too much VRAM couldnt process that much data anyways, and the reverse is true

a strong GPU having too little VRAM is just not good.

 

you could turn down some game graphical setting if you noticed you're hitting the VRAM cap

 

25 minutes ago, McMoppet said:

Does the system RAM I pick benefit the GPU in any way?

yes, but ideally a GPU should never have to use system RAM in any way, therefore it doesn't affect it directly

 

but a better system RAM boost your CPU's performance, so it makes games run a bit better