How Much V-RAM Do I Need?

[HerEscutcheon]

First off, I'm not sure if I should be posting this here, or PC Gaming, so I apologize if I'm in the wrong spot.

Now, on to the question. I plan on getting a GTX 760 for a silent gaming rig. I prefer nVidia over AMD because I'll eventually take advantage of Shadowplay and G-sync, so please refrain from suggesting r9 cards and their beautiful beautiful 3gb of v-ram. Now, I'd like to get the 2gb version as it's SO much cheaper than the 4gb version, but the thing is, the game I'll be playing most is Skyrim.

Skyrim is famous for eating up v-ram when modded. Modders can easily pass the 2gb mark if they add enough content and texture replacers.

However, I plan at playing at only 720p. I plan on using very optimized and lite texture replacers. But then on the other hand I'm also planning on using a lite ENB, which will eat up more v-ram.

So what do you think? Can the v-ram eating monster that is Skyrim be tamed at under 2gb? At 720p with optimized textures, but with an ENB?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Sarcasm]

2 gigs should be fine. Just don't get mods that use 4K textures exclusively.

[_ASSASSIN_]

I'd go R8 280x because you will eventually go 1080p....

 

right?

[tp95112]

If you use msi after burner you can use the Riva Tuner to check how much Vram you use. So far games like Bf3 was able to use 1.5Gb of my Vram and sometimes more

[WoodenMarker]

2GB is fine for 1080p. You should really upgrade your display.

[HerEscutcheon]

I'd go R8 280x because you will eventually go 1080p....

 

right?

Nope. My eyesight isn't perfect anymore, and I really can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on any screen smaller than 32".

[Flight1sim]

2gb will be fine up to 1080p no problem

[HerEscutcheon]

Okay, so it sounds like as long as I mod modestly, 2gb is fine. Thanks guys!

[PillowSmoke]

I suppose 2gb is enough for 720P Skyrim with a few light mods here and there.

 

2gb= sufficient enough for now

good enough for some light mods to the game.

not maxing things out (maxing in-game res).

 

4gb= future-proofing 

will help when future games come out with a more demanding vram requirement in order to play.

coups betters for higher resolution higher than 1080 or have multiple monitors.

[HerEscutcheon]

I suppose 2gb is enough for 720P Skyrim with a few light mods here and there.

 

2gb= sufficient enough for now

good enough for some light mods to the game.

not maxing things out (maxing in-game res).

 

4gb= future-proofing 

will help when future games come out with a more demanding vram requirement in order to play.

coups betters for higher resolution higher than 1080 or have multiple monitors.

I do understand the argument for future proofing, but I'm not looking to do that with this card. I figure in 4-5 years, Bethesda will announce a new Elderscrolls game. At that time, I will look to upgrade my card to something that can handle it.