Quick VRAM Cleaning? Prevent Programs From Using VRAM?

[Percephere]

I use an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 graphics card and I'm having a few tiny issues with it. I'm sure most of you have at least heard of the 0.5GB VRAM 'scandal' concerning this model GPU and I'm wondering if any of you can help me alleviate my symptoms.

 

First off, the 970 is not a bad GPU at all. I can run just about any consumer-grade video game in 1080p at 60 FPS using the highest possible video settings available. I could even manage this with No Man's Sky at launch, and that is saying a lot. Granted, there are a handful of obvious exemptions.

 

Now, all that said, there is one game I have trouble with... Skyrim. I have modded Skyrim heavily, adding weather mods and ENBs and texture overhauls and high-poly meshes and script-laden add-ons... And this often runs my VRAM over the 3.5 GB margin. The effects are quite noticeable. To  be honest, I didn't even think this whole 0.5 GB thing even existed until I tested it, and oh boy does it. I'll go from a stable 50-55 FPS to a less-than-15-frame choppy hell, and all just as soon GPU-Z says I tip into that sweet spot. To be fair, Skyrim actually uses about 3,000-3,300 MB of VRAM. My problem is background applications, like Google Chrome and Firefox, hogging my precious video memory. Even now, my VRAM usage sits at 439 MB.

 

Now, my question for you sexy folk: is there any way to manually clear VRAM usage, and possibly force applications to use RAM only? I've tried running CCleaner (to clear browser caches) and exiting all unnecessary background applications, which does help quite a bit, but some bits seem to linger.

[DrM]

disable hw acceleration in the browsers?

[Percephere]

6 minutes ago, DrM said:

disable hw acceleration in the browsers?

I do believe this has done it for me. My VRAM now sits at a cool 283 MB, well within manageable margins. The text in Firefox now looks a bit blocky though...

 

My browser now seems a bit choppy, too... Oh well, as long as Skyrim runs smoothly!