4GB vs. 8GB

[GalacticRuler]

Basically I'm comparing between the MSI Gaming X RX 480s. The 8GB one costs $234.99, but it's $55 more expensive than the 4GB one, which is 179.99. Is the extra 4GB of VRAM worth it for 1080p gaming with a FX-8320?. I don't plan on overclocking, but I may want to Crossfire with it in the future.

[Jack02]

yes

[Ophidio]

Yes and no. Right now 4GB is enough for any 1080p game out but over the next few years games are going to start using more VRAM at lower resolutions. When I bought my GTX 760 2GB in 2014 most games didn't even use more than 1.5GB at 1080p then the year after games were using 4GB easily and my card wasn't able to keep up very well anymore. So in the long run yes the extra 4GB is worth it. Especially if you do ever Crossfire you're going to want to have 8GB instead of 4GB being used by both cards. 

[JSD10]

Get the 8gb

[dalekphalm]

4 minutes ago, Savant82 said:

yes

I disagree - not for a $55 premium.

 

8 minutes ago, GalacticRuler said:

Basically I'm comparing between the MSI Gaming X RX 480s. The 8GB one costs $234.99, but it's $55 more expensive than the 4GB one, which is 179.99. Is the extra 4GB of VRAM worth it for 1080p gaming with a FX-8320?. I don't plan on overclocking, but I may want to Crossfire with it in the future.

According to this comparison:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-amd-radeon-rx-480-4gb-vs-8gb-review

 

At 1080p there is little difference between the two cards. Generally the 8GB variant scores about 1fps higher, with a max difference of around 3fps. When you jump up to 1440p, the difference becomes more noticeable, but still around 5fps or less.

 

With current 1080p games, the 4GB is sufficient. With future games? Who knows - hard to say, but given the 4GB variant can still drive 1440p games almost as well as the 8GB variant, I would not worry about "futureproofing" by spending an extra $55 for the 8GB variant.

 

TL;DR: Get the 4GB one.

 

1 minute ago, JSD10 said:

Get the 8gb

Why? Have you looked at any of the comparison benchmarks? There's little reason to spend $55 extra for literally a 1FPS boost.

[JSD10]

1 minute ago, dalekphalm said:

I disagree - not for a $55 premium.

 

According to this comparison:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-amd-radeon-rx-480-4gb-vs-8gb-review

 

At 1080p there is little difference between the two cards. Generally the 8GB variant scores about 1fps higher, with a max difference of around 3fps. When you jump up to 1440p, the difference becomes more noticeable, but still around 5fps or less.

 

With current 1080p games, the 4GB is sufficient. With future games? Who knows - hard to say, but given the 4GB variant can still drive 1440p games almost as well as the 8GB variant, I would not worry about "futureproofing" by spending an extra $55 for the 8GB variant.

 

TL;DR: Get the 4GB one.

 

Why? Have you looked at any of the comparison benchmarks? There's little reason to spend $55 extra for literally a 1FPS boost.

I think he should get the 8gb so that he can upgrade to a higher res (maybe 1440p) monitor if he wants too

[dalekphalm]

Just now, JSD10 said:

I think he should get the 8gb so that he can upgrade to a higher res (maybe 1440p) monitor if he wants too

But the facts do not support that opinion. Check the benchmark I linked to. Even at 1440p the difference between 4GB and 8GB is EXTREMELY SMALL - we're talking 2-3 FPS on average. Spending $55 extra on that seems ludicrous to me.

[dizmo]

@dalekphalm nailed it, get the 4GB, especially for what you're using it for.

While it's true that in the future cards will use more VRAM, I highly doubt it'll be any time soon, and you'll have upgraded the car by then. It's like saying in the future you'll need more cores. True, but buy for the present, not what might happen sometime in the future.

 

Go for the 4GB. Unless you play ridiculously modded Skyrim.

[GalacticRuler]

Just now, JSD10 said:

I think he should get the 8gb so that he can upgrade to a higher res (maybe 1440p) monitor if he wants too

I'm not going to be upgrading to 1440p anytime soon. By the time I ever do that I'll have a new rig. The most I'd ever do is 21:9 1080p, and even that's quite unlikely. Also, I'll be getting a Freesync monitor, so that may help with the lower frames.

 

My main question isn't whether the 8GB card is better, because, duh, of course it is. What I want to know is whether the 8GB card is worth $55 more than a 4GB one, which @dalekphalm answered perfectly.

[dalekphalm]

2 minutes ago, dizmo said:

@dalekphalm nailed it, get the 4GB, especially for what you're using it for.

While it's true that in the future cards will use more VRAM, I highly doubt it'll be any time soon, and you'll have upgraded the car by then. It's like saying in the future you'll need more cores. True, but buy for the present, not what might happen sometime in the future.

 

Go for the 4GB. Unless you play ridiculously modded Skyrim.

Haha well heavily modded Skyrim breaks all the standard conventions, so that's always a special case

Just now, GalacticRuler said:

I'm not going to be upgrading to 1440p anytime soon. By the time I ever do that I'll have a new rig. The most I'd ever do is 21:9 1080p, and even that's quite unlikely. Also, I'll be getting a Freesync monitor, so that may help with the lower frames.

 

My main question isn't whether the 8GB card is better, because, duh, of course it is. What I want to know is whether the 8GB card is worth $55 more than a 4GB one, which @dalekphalm answered perfectly.

Given that you're not doing 1440p anytime soon, I think that's the right choice. 8GB makes no sense right now at 1080p. It's DEFINITELY not worth paying $55 extra for.

[ARikozuM]

Go with the 4GB if you want to SLI or use the money for a better [insert component].

[GalacticRuler]

1 minute ago, ARikozuM said:

Go with the 4GB if you want to SLI or use the money for a better [insert component].

Considering I'm a young teen who's not old enough to have a job, I'd like to save as much of my birthday and Christmas money as possible.

 

Unless the people who think I should get the 8GB card actually back up their statements (except you, @Ophidio), I'll be getting the 4GB card.

 

[ARikozuM]

2 minutes ago, GalacticRuler said:

Considering I'm a young teen who's not old enough to have a job, I'd like to save as much of my birthday and Christmas money as possible.

 

Unless the people who think I should get the 8GB card actually back up their statements (except you, @Ophidio), I'll be getting the 4GB card.

 

You'll be fine with 4GB and if you do run into games that use more than 4GB, install to an SSD to allow faster data transmission to the frame buffer.