Problems with VRAM

[Stonep11]

Hey guys,

     Like many of you, I am a computer gamer.  I play at 2560x1600 as it was the greatest res available (1 screen) when I developed my system.  The problem is, with the growing texture quality and now increasing resolutions (4k baby) is there anyway to increase the amount of usable VRAM I have without going for a 6GB Titan, like SLI with a 4gb 680? (I doubt it, but I am just asking)

     I have a GTX680 DCII 2gb (the damn 4gb one came out right after I bought my 680)  I planed on simply buying another one to SLI      when I wasn't able to play uber-settings anymore, unfourtunatly the VRAM seems to be my main bottleneck right now (Crysis 3, BF3, etc.).  Is there a way to increase VRAM without buying a whole new card (i.e. GTX780 and whatnot)

[rustikles]

Not that I know of, you buy the card with a specific amount of VRAM to start with.

[FloRolf]

nope. you have to get a new card for that.

[DudeWazap]

No unfortunately you will have to buy another card in order to play in 4k. And as far as 2560x1600 3gb will be enough.

[Godlygamer23]

No. The VRAM is soldered onto the PCB. You cannot change it out for different VRAM or add more.

[Overl0rd]

Hmm..no VRAM are actual memory modules on your card, so you have to get a new one.

[constanrine5d]

Hey guys,

     Like many of you, I am a computer gamer.  I play at 2560x1600 as it was the greatest res available (1 screen) when I developed my system.  The problem is, with the growing texture quality and now increasing resolutions (4k baby) is there anyway to increase the amount of usable VRAM I have without going for a 6GB Titan, like SLI with a 4gb 680? (I doubt it, but I am just asking)

     I have a GTX680 DCII 2gb (the damn 4gb one came out right after I bought my 680)  I planed on simply buying another one to SLI      when I wasn't able to play uber-settings anymore, unfourtunatly the VRAM seems to be my main bottleneck right now (Crysis 3, BF3, etc.).  Is there a way to increase VRAM without buying a whole new card (i.e. GTX780 and whatnot)

Windows 8.1 will have direct x11.1 which I think will allow the GPU to use some ram

[MrSuperb]

SLI with two cards with different VRAM amount will limit it to the smaller one ;)

[constanrine5d]

Here is my source ( and I meant DX 11.2) http://teamtechsquad.com/882/direct-x-11-2-features-exclusive-to-windows-8-1/ :

Microsoft announced that they will be using a new graphic system. They have done talks with Intel, Nvidia and AMD for this one, and will utilize “Tiled Resources”. This will make use of your RAM and your graphics card RAM to improve the details of the game you are playing by storing your textures there. And by the looks of it, it will improve alot!

Edit: so my answer to your question is get windows 8.1 +StartisBack (or whatever this thing is called)

[Godlygamer23]

SLI with two cards with different VRAM amount will limit it to the smaller one ;)

Most of the time, you cannot SLI cards with two different VRAM amounts. NVIDIA doesn't allow it.*

*Without a mod.

[Stonep11]

Thanks for the replies.  Pretty much what I feared, but I was hoping one of you could come up with some sort of crazy solution :(

Also, in regards to the GPU using DDR3 memory, while cool and even with my 2133mhz memory, the speed is incomparable to GDDR5, but thank you.

[Godlygamer23]

Also, in regards to the GPU using DDR3 memory

What?

[MrSuperb]

Most of the time, you cannot SLI cards with two different VRAM amounts. NVIDIA doesn't allow it.

 

so ... http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/sli/faq#c19

//Can I mix and match graphics cards with different sizes of memory?When purchasing a second graphics card, you should try to match the memory size so that you are ensured full value and performance from your purchase. However, while it is not recommended, NVIDIA does offer the flexibility to run graphics cards with different sized memory by using CoolBits. Using CoolBits (value set to 18), you can force both of the cards to use the lower of the two memory sizes and operate them together in SLI mode. When dissimilar memory sizes are enabled to work together using CoolBits, the effective memory size for each card becomes the smaller of the memory sizes.

[Godlygamer23]

Without a mod. Coolbits is a mod.

[constanrine5d]

Thanks for the replies.  Pretty much what I feared, but I was hoping one of you could come up with some sort of crazy solution :(

Also, in regards to the GPU using DDR3 memory, while cool and even with my 2133mhz memory, the speed is incomparable to GDDR5, but thank you.

Get windows 8.1 as I said when you get that 4k you should be fine with 16gb of ram

[Art Vandelay]

3GB of RAM is going to be enough for quite a while. On a single monitor, it's hard to run into situations where you need more than 2GB on an Nvidia card.

[Stonep11]

3GB of RAM is going to be enough for quite a while. On a single monitor, it's hard to run into situations where you need more than 2GB on an Nvidia card.

I agree that it is hard, but as I said from my use case playing Crysis 3 at 2560x1600 I am bottle necked by VRAM.  With next gen consoles able to integrate higher res textures PC games will demand more of a buffer for enthusiasts like me.

[Stonep11]

What?

It was suggested here

 

Windows 8.1 will have direct x11.1 which I think will allow the GPU to use some ram

That I could get Windows 8 (I have 7) along with some other downloads that would allow my GPU (the GTX680 uses GDDR5 natively) to use leftover system memory (I have 8gb Corsair Dominator GT 2133mhz which is DDR3).  While the source looks promising, for the price of Windows 8 I am not sure I want to risk my system memory being fast enough to drive a game like Crysis 3 at Very High details.

[Art Vandelay]

I agree that it is hard, but as I said from my use case playing Crysis 3 at 2560x1600 I am bottle necked by VRAM.  With next gen consoles able to integrate higher res textures PC games will demand more of a buffer for enthusiasts like me.

How much VRAM do you have? I really don't think the next gen platforms are going to push the envelope so much than we are going to run out of VRAM. They really are not all that powerful, and developing games like Crysis is expensive.

[Godlygamer23]

It was suggested here

I see now.

[xAcid9]

Get windows 8.1 as I said when you get that 4k you should be fine with 16gb of ram

 

No, your typical DDR3 system RAM is very slow compare to GDDR5, it will only make gaming experience worse.

[Stonep11]

How much VRAM do you have? I really don't think the next gen platforms are going to push the envelope so much than we are going to run out of VRAM. They really are not all that powerful, and developing games like Crysis is expensive.

See OP.  I have the GTX608 DCUII with 2GB of GDDR5