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GTX 970 apparently can't use 4 gigs of VRAM?

deathjester
By deathjester
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i hope at the very least a vBIOS update can fix this issue. This isnt such a problem for single card users, but for SLI configs this will be a problem for future games.

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Yeah doubt most people will be hitting 4 gigs of VRAM on a single card. Shadows of Mordor was up there, bout the only game I can think of where I saw 4 gigs used on my R9 290. For SLI setups I can see it being a problem though. I might be bummed if I had two of them. 

 

 

I take it you are running SLI? So does performance just tank at higher vram usage? Hope it isn't a hardware problem. In the neogaf thread some people were saying Samsung ram cards were better than the Hynix? Lot of people ran the test there and posted results. I know my sister is really happy with hers. No idea what ram is in it, it is the mini itx Gigabyte model.

I'm wondering if this only affects some cards. I've been playing shadow of mordor and BF4 completely maxed out at 1440p with no problems. I even turned up the resolution scale to 150% in bf4... Maybe this isn't present in the model with the Nvidia reference cooler.

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I'm wondering if this only affects some cards. I've been playing shadow of mordor and BF4 completely maxed out at 1440p with no problems. I even turned up the resolution scale to 150% in bf4... Maybe this isn't present in the model with the Nvidia reference cooler.

 

If you read through the threads on Overclock.net, it is not affecting all 970's the same. Also, something I noticed as did a few others, most of the people who are saying they are seeing this issue. Have really low post counts, which I find interesting.

 

Here's a great post on Overclock.net in regards to the program itself that they use to bench the memory:

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1537596/lazygamer-nvidia-s-gtx970-has-a-rather-serious-memory-allocation-bug#post_23448829

 

Basically the short hand version is after many people tested multiples of different cards, they all had the same supposed issue as the 970. Meaning, either it's a fault in the code itself in the program or every single card NVIDIA has ever released has this problem. There's even a user inside the Overclock.net thread that tested with a Titan and had the same problem, along with a person with a 780 Ti who had the same problem. So is it possible it's the benching program itself?

 

 

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1381504-community-standards/

 

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If you read through the threads on Overclock.net, it is not affecting all 970's the same. Also, something I noticed as did a few others, most of the people who are saying they are seeing this issue. Have really low post counts, which I find interesting.

 

Here's a great post on Overclock.net in regards to the program itself that they use to bench the memory:

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1537596/lazygamer-nvidia-s-gtx970-has-a-rather-serious-memory-allocation-bug#post_23448829

 

Basically the short hand version is after many people tested multiples of different cards, they all had the same supposed issue as the 970. Meaning, either it's a fault in the code itself in the program or every single card NVIDIA has ever released has this problem. There's even a user inside the Overclock.net thread that tested with a Titan and had the same problem, along with a person with a 780 Ti who had the same problem. So is it possible it's the benching program itself?

 

Interesting.  Has Nvidia responded yet?

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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I just bought two 970's.... honestly not sure what to do, but I haven't noticed anything. 

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Meh, I game on a 1080p monitor. I probably wouldn't notice a thing. Although it would be good for Nvidia to fix it, probably a driver bug?

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Interesting.  Has Nvidia responded yet?

 

Found a response from NVIDIA (Page 9, 11th down):

 

"We are still looking into this and will have an update as soon as possible."

 

https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/803518/geforce-900-series/gtx-970-3-5gb-vram-issue/post/4430032/#4430032

 

 

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1381504-community-standards/

 

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Found a response from NVIDIA (Page 9, 11th down):

 

"We are still looking into this and will have an update as soon as possible."

 

https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/803518/geforce-900-series/gtx-970-3-5gb-vram-issue/post/4430032/#4430032

 

Yeah, I saw that. I was hoping for something a little more in depth.  Oh well.  Let's hope it gets sorted before the memes come and we have another reason for GPU threads to get derailed.

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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Yeah, I saw that. I was hoping for something a little more in depth.  Oh well.  Let's hope it gets sorted before the memes come and we have another reason for GPU threads to get derailed.

 

Yeah seems like a generic response, but maybe it's because there is no issue. I mean, one single program that does this on all the cards? Then the other side of it is hardware based, where it's a problem with the card itself:

 

52/64 = 0.8125 (rop's/smm's) = 3.25GB allocated at full bandwidth. (3328MB, 3,490,000,000 bytes approx)

 

 

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1381504-community-standards/

 

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Yeah seems like a generic response, but maybe it's because there is no issue. I mean, one single program that does this on all the cards? Then the other side of it is hardware based, where it's a problem with the card itself:

 

52/64 = 0.8125 (rop's/smm's) = 3.25GB allocated at full bandwidth. (3328MB, 3,490,000,000 bytes approx)

 

So it's likely they knew all along that this was going to happen, but because no one puts 3.5G of ram on anything (it has to be either 4 or 3)the difference is just the difference.  It's like putting 16G into a gaming machine then crying there must be something wrong because it's not using the full 16G. 

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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I just found out about this on various sites. I have been running into issues with my single 970 in Shadow of Mordor lately in the 2nd area where the framerate will drop to the 40s or will freeze for a few seconds. Very disappointing! If I would have know that it only used 3-3.5 of the 4 GB of vram I would have just bought the 980 up front. I might try to get in on EVGA's step up program but then I'd be without a graphics card for a couple of weeks...

 

Is this with the Ultra textures downloaded and installed (game takes a restart to make them work). Note, you actually have to download them, and when you select them restart the client, because just setting it to ultra does nothing, it just reverts to the next highest setting.

 

Cus I think you really do need 6 gigs of VRAM to not get stuttering for that at like 1440p. On my Tri-X I can play MOST of the time without stuttering with the Ultra Texture pack but it will still stutter in certain areas. Usually on cliffs, or when you have really far view distance. The in game benchmark? My card killed it and there was no stuttering with the 6GB pack. Actual gameplay? Stuttering.

 

The textures that came with the game? Yeah those should be running fine. I ran that game at the 150 percent on resolution (which would be like 1440p) maxed out on my Tri-x with no hitching/stuttering.

 

Farcry 4? That game stuttered on everything I tried. 780ti, GTX 970, R9 290. Seemed to be CPU bound on one core with GPU usage tanking (very noticeable when driving on like a 4 wheeler at full speed). Only solution I found to that was locking it to 30 FPS or disabling mip mapping in the XML file, or just plain lowering settings.

 

So if those two are the problem with the ultra texture packs, or Far Cry 4? One is a game issue (Far Cry) and one is a VRAM issue for everyone without a Titan or the new AMD card with 8 gigs. If Mordor is stuttering without the 6GB texture pack? Yeah that is a problem. :(.

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So it's likely they knew all along that this was going to happen, but because no one puts 3.5G of ram on anything (it has to be either 4 or 3)the difference is just the difference.  It's like putting 16G into a gaming machine then crying there must be something wrong because it's not using the full 16G. 

 

Well my take is, even though it's a generic response. It's a response that covers the fact that it could be fixed in an update. I'm sure when moderators for a company like NVIDIA make statements like that, they have to double check with their higher-ups before saying such things. I mean they can't just say we will have an update addressing the issue if it is actually a hardware problem. And of course the card actually has 4GB on it, because even in the thread on the NVIDIA website there were people posting links with 970's using 4GB of VRAM. 

Here's a hilarious video of someone trying to complain about the VRAM allocation, but then almost the entire video you see he is over 3.5GB of VRAM utilization (he claims it stutters, but from what I can see he's getting consistent frame rates; granted they are low because 8x MSAA still nonetheless using almost 4GB of VRAM):

 

 

 

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1381504-community-standards/

 

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Well my take is, even though it's a generic response. It's a response that covers the fact that it could be fixed in an update. I'm sure when moderators for a company like NVIDIA make statements like that, they have to double check with their higher-ups before saying such things. I mean they can't just say we will have an update addressing the issue if it is actually a hardware problem. And of course the card actually has 4GB on it, because even in the thread on the NVIDIA website there were people posting links with 970's using 4GB of VRAM. 

Here's a hilarious video of someone trying to complain about the VRAM allocation, but then almost the entire video you see he is over 3.5GB of VRAM utilization (he claims it stutters, but from what I can see he's getting consistent frame rates; granted they are low because 8x MSAA still nonetheless using almost 4GB of VRAM):

 

 

Well what they did was increase MSAA to 8x which ate up the ram pushing it past 3600MB and cut their framerate in half (as it would) from 40 to 25.... but's that's ok because an ubisoft title running at 24 fps is more cinematic.

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Well my take is, even though it's a generic response. It's a response that covers the fact that it could be fixed in an update.

 

Ah, I read that to mean there would be an update to the situation coming shortly (like a news update), not a software update to fix the issue.

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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Ah, I read that to mean there would be an update to the situation coming shortly (like a news update), not a software update to fix the issue.

 

Yeah if you read it a few times, it looks like an actual update. And, I only assume it's a driver update or a Bios update. Because, I mean what are they going to do recall the thousands upon thousands of 970's they sold? I really don't think NVIDIA can afford to do that.

 

 

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1381504-community-standards/

 

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Well my take is, even though it's a generic response. It's a response that covers the fact that it could be fixed in an update. I'm sure when moderators for a company like NVIDIA make statements like that, they have to double check with their higher-ups before saying such things.

 

Yeah, this morning I checked with my boss that it'd be OK to post on our forum that an issue I had filed (after confirming bug reports) and confirmed fixed in the next beta release, would be fixed in the next release. You've got to be so careful with what you write on the internet when you're telling customers what is going to happen.

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Yeah doubt most people will be hitting 4 gigs of VRAM on a single card. Shadows of Mordor was up there, bout the only game I can think of where I saw 4 gigs used on my R9 290. For SLI setups I can see it being a problem though. I might be bummed if I had two of them. 

 

 

I take it you are running SLI? So does performance just tank at higher vram usage? Hope it isn't a hardware problem. In the neogaf thread some people were saying Samsung ram cards were better than the Hynix? Lot of people ran the test there and posted results. I know my sister is really happy with hers. No idea what ram is in it, it is the mini itx Gigabyte model.

 

I'm running nothing, I have just see people with this issue for a few days now, especially on Steam. Mostly single card.

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inb4 AMD boasts about it's 512-bit memory bus again

At leased AMD has cards that actually work.

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At leased AMD has cards that actually work.

until you install the drivers :P

 

 

 

 

hehehehehehe. Joke.

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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until you install the drivers :P

 

 

 

 

hehehehehehe. Joke.

They work great man. Omega is a really great driver man. I have had just as much trouble with nvidia drivers as i have had with AMD.

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They work great man. Omega is a really great driver man. I have had just as much trouble with nvidia drivers as i have had with AMD.

 

I know, was just have a rib dig.  

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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They work great man. Omega is a really great driver man. I have had just as much trouble with nvidia drivers as i have had with AMD.

To be honest, I've also had some problems with Nvidia drivers. You can't say AMD or Nvidia has perfect drivers. New cards - new games - new drivers. There's no way to perfect things on release, whether it be games or cards.

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They work great man. Omega is a really great driver man. I have had just as much trouble with nvidia drivers as i have had with AMD.

Everything is fine as long as the gaming goes. When you start to do some productivity work and AMD drivers starts to crash and take down applications with them together with your work just because they can't handle certain effects or filters in PS, that's where the problem starts. Didn't even had a chance to try my card with 3D software. I sold it faster than I bought it. :P

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Everything is fine as long as the gaming goes. When you start to do some productivity work and AMD drivers starts to crash and take down applications with them together with your work just because they can't handle certain effects or filters in PS, that's where the problem starts. Didn't even had a chance to try my card with 3D software. I sold it faster than I bought it. :P

Why you be trollin ? If you need a workstation GPU then don't buy a gaming GPU LOL. I have ran Adobe Photoshop stc lots with AMD Radeon and it worked perfectly.

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