Newbie question about GPU memory

[davidst95]

Hi,

 

I been reading the reviews about the new Geforce 980 TI have 6GB of memory instead of 4GB on the GTX980.   How big of a difference in FPS in games in 4k will the extra memory give you or is the extra memory more for software applications like CAD?   Thanks.

 

David

[Johannes_Lazor]

The extra memory is more aimed towards SLI configs and above 4k(depending on the game)

[ZetZet]

980ti is just plain better than 980 in every way so it's hard to just compare memory between them.

[minibois]

-snip-

4GB should be plenty for 4K gaming right now, but the 980 Ti seems to perform quite a bit better than the 980 at 4K.

[simo292a]

More memory does not mean more fps in most cases. in 4k it might give you ekstra 2-3 fps but nothing major. 

[SkilledRebuilds]

If games push more than 4GB of vram for 4K, the higher Vram card will not have issues with maintaining performance where the original card could drop substantially due to vram thrashing.

[davidst95]

Thanks for the replies.  Would 2 GTX 980s in SLI compensate for the lower memory if a 4k game uses a lot of vram.    I know the max would still be 4GBs and not 8GBs.   Thanks.

 

David

[simo292a]

Thanks for the replies.  Would 2 GTX 980s in SLI compensate for the lower memory if a 4k game uses a lot of vram.    I know the max would still be 4GBs and not 8GBs.   Thanks.

 

David

Yeah you should be fine with 2 980s in sli for 4k gaming. With directx 12 there is also a chance that you can double the vram so you have 8gb but we will have to see what windows 10 and directx 12 can do once its out

[SkilledRebuilds]

If a game uses more Vram than what you have you can have DRASTIC drops, no matter how many cards you throw at it.

[Elapo]

Thanks for the replies. Would 2 GTX 980s in SLI compensate for the lower memory if a 4k game uses a lot of vram. I know the max would still be 4GBs and not 8GBs. Thanks.

David

Adding more computing power to the same amount of vram makes it worse, if anything.

If you're bottlenecked by vram, adding a second card won't fix the issue.

[davidst95]

Ok, thanks for all the info.   I was just interested to see how memory affects games in 4k.   I don't have the money to buy a 980 TI or the 12GB version :-)

 

David

[SkilledRebuilds]

Adding more computing power to the same amount of vram makes it worse, if anything.

If you're bottlenecked by vram, adding a second card won't fix the issue.

This... The GTX570/580's are encountering this in GTA5.

They have the power to do better, but are VRAM limited.

[Elapo]

Yeah you should be fine with 2 980s in sli for 4k gaming. With directx 12 there is also a chance that you can double the vram so you have 8gb but we will have to see what windows 10 and directx 12 can do once its out

 

Maybe it's also worth noting that you don't only need Windows 10 and a directX 12 card, but also a game that was actually written for DX12, so we'll still have to wait a while longer to get our hands on a true DX12 game.

[simo292a]

Maybe it's also worth noting that you don't only need Windows 10 and a directX 12 card, but also a game that was actually written for DX12, so we'll still have to wait a while longer to get our hands on a true DX12 game.

Yes that might take a while to get a game that is taking full advantage of windows 10 and directx 12 but directx 12 is showing a lot of promise i am personally very excited.