VRAM Issue

[Dazza477]

I don't know if anyone else gets this issue, but I'm finding that the 3.7GB of VRAM my GTX 970 provides is not enough for 1080p.

For example, on AC Unity at full settings and AA switched off, I'm getting, 3.7GB VRAM usage and only 40 fps.

The moment I turn the settings down to use anywhere from 3 to 3.5GB of VRAM, the framerate rockets back up to 60+

Also in GTA V, everything runs at 60fps but at 1080p,it still uses 3.7GB of VRAM.

Not all games do this and most others don't use much VRAM at all.

I know that they're high end games, but they're high end games of today! How will my 3.7GB of VRAM cope with titles in years to come, when every where says that you don't need more than 2GB for 1080p?

I understand that the moment you hit 3.5GB on a 970,you start accessing slow memory and the framerate drops, but surely at 1080p,it shouldn't be hitting anywhere near the 3.5GB frame buffer.

If anyone can weigh in on this, that would be great. I feel as if this 970 isn't going to last very long.

[Muz]

Probably just something to do with how the game uses the Maxwell architecture or something.

[Mew]

I think you're fine until about 3.7gb because the windows desktop uses about 200mb of the slower vram. 

[Litargirio]

And why the hell did you buy a graphics card with broken VRAM, when you have a counterpart (R9 290/290x) that performs exactly the same and allows you to use the totality of itself? And is cheaper!

[Guest]

For most games I think 3gb would be good for 1080p. But, a lot of games are starting to use more and more. It seems like 4gb would be perfect for 1080p but since your card is like 3.5gb it isn't enough... 

[blu4]

Turn down advanced settings in GTA V. ACU is shit in terms of optimization.

[Nacho Marco Segui]

Dont use AC unity test the gpu,its a bad optimized game.Gta is capable of using all the vram of a card,even 6gb from a 980 ti at 1080p,so just turn down advanced settings because they are useless at 1080,those settings are focused on 4k resolutions

[Dazza477]

For most games I think 3gb would be good for 1080p. But, a lot of games are starting to use more and more. It seems like 4gb would be perfect for 1080p but since your card is like 3.5gb it isn't enough... 

 

So do you think that the GTX 970 will become out of date very quickly?

[Dazza477]

Dont use AC unity test the gpu,its a bad optimized game.Gta is capable of using all the vram of a card,even 6gb from a 980 ti at 1080p,so just turn down advanced settings because they are useless at 1080,those settings are focused on 4k resolutions

 

Okay then, are you saying that 99% of games over the next couple of years will be okay, but I just happened to find a worst case scenario?

[Dazza477]

I think you're fine until about 3.7gb because the windows desktop uses about 200mb of the slower vram. 

That's true, but surely at a 1080p resolution, it shouldn't even need to get near 3.7GB?

 

Everyone seems to say that you never need more than 2 -3 GB of VRAM for 1080p games.

[Nacho Marco Segui]

Okay then, are you saying that 99% of games over the next couple of years will be okay, but I just happened to find a worst case scenario?

Cant witness the future

[Guest]

So do you think that the GTX 970 will become out of date very quickly?

Maybe. I think all these high vram games are because of consoles IMO. I mean all you'll really need to do is turn down the textures and it'd be fine. 

 

Also it's quite funny how like a year ago people were like "2GB of vram enough for years for 1080p" or whatever. I could be wrong, and everyone in this thread could be wrong. The only way to find out is to see the future lol. 

 

If the 970 was a proper 4GB card then I think I'd be fine with it. But, as with the problems you've been having (games using just over 3.5gb) then I (in my opinion) don't think it would be enough. But, it comes down to your choice and the best option would be to just turn down the settings.