1Gb or 2Gb vram

[bononos]

Would 1Gb be enough for a 7850 or 7870 at 1080 resolution for gaming?

 

[Durvelle27]

not if you want to use AA

Edit: when i play BF3 1920x1080 Ultra with litlle AA i see Vram usage above 1GB like 1.2-1.5GB on my HD 6950 2GB

 

[toyota]

a 7850 is fast enough to run a few current games at settings that can utilize more than 1gb so of course 2 gb makes more sense.

 

[bononos]

not if you want to use AA

Edit: when i play BF3 1920x1080 Ultra with litlle AA i see Vram usage above 1GB like 1.2-1.5GB on my HD 6950 2GB

I read a post that said memory usage might only mean that the amount was allocated but not actually used in the game so I wasn't sure...

 

[Smoblikat]

In skyrim with 0xAA and 0xAF im using 1200mb of VRAM.

 

[joshhedge]

In skyrim with 0xAA and 0xAF im using 1200mb of VRAM.

Sounds like you've modded Skyrim?

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Even without AA I wouldn't buy a 1gb 7850

 

[fffblackmage]

It's not worth saving a few $$$ for less vram. When I bought an XT1950XT 256MB back in the day, I regretted not getting the 512MB version.

Once I got my 7870 2GB, I tried Skyrim with the Skyrim HD mod. GPU-Z shows I was using every bit of that 2GB vram.

 

[Red Hawk]

Sounds like you've modded Skyrim?

Nah, just with maxed out AA, the high-resolution texture pack, and maxed out draw distances Skyrim can go over 1 GB. Anandtech's benches show a clear difference between 1 GB cards and 2 GB cards.

 

[SPBHM]

if you like to use "mods" 2GB is a must have, but for most games 1GB will do just fine, Skyrim with HD res pack will also use over 1GB... but it's really up to you to decide if it's worth the extra money, I was able to play Skyrim with HD pack on a 1GB card, BUT the memory usage was always on the limit, and there was some stuttering in some places... so I reduced the view distance a little bit, and was playing in lower res than usual

Skyrim without the HD texture pack will use far less memory, and the difference in terms of image quality is not huge.

 

[moonbogg]

2GB is far better for todays games. Even older games like far cry 2 with max AA at 1080p come right up to 1gb.

 

[Powermoloch]

at 1600x900 8AA/ Ultra, i seen my HD 7850 use up 1.2 gb vram.

 

[blastingcap]

With no or light AA you are fine at 1080p with 1GB VRAM, but due to the chorus of people who insist that 1GB isn't enough (even though they were playing 1080p games on 1GB VRAM cards for a long time), reality doesn't even matter at this point anymore; just get the 2GB VRAM version so long as it isn't much more expensive than the 1GB version; a 2GB card will be easier to resell and it's possible that future games may eat more VRAM than older games, though I doubt to the point where 1GB VRAM will be obsolete anytime before 2014 (new console gen).

This is like if you are the only non-superstitious guy in town, you should still avoid buying a house that has "unlucky" numbers in the address, because even if you don't care, others will. Plus, in this case, there is actually some truth to the superstition and the truth will increase over time.

 

[Jacky60]

Buying a 1gb card is plain silly these days. Yes, some games/settings won't use more than 1gb but many will and why limit yourself as things can only get worse for 1Gb cards.

 

[bononos]

With no or light AA you are fine at 1080p with 1GB VRAM, but due to the chorus of people who insist that 1GB isn't enough (even though they were playing 1080p games on 1GB VRAM cards for a long time), reality doesn't even matter at this point anymore; just get the 2GB VRAM version so long as it isn't much more expensive than the 1GB version; a 2GB card will be easier to resell and it's possible that future games may eat more VRAM than older games, though I doubt to the point where 1GB VRAM will be obsolete anytime before 2014 (new console gen).
........

I'm coming to the same conclusion that 1Gb is a-ok for now but would be lacking in the future. How much in the future for a 7850 to still be useful - I'm not sure but I think it could still be worth it.

In one of my posts, I mentioned that allocated != actually used and here is the thread which mentions it.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1256787/...r-more-than-2gb-vram-for-lower-resolutions/50

 

[Dstoop]

Recently shopping for a card myself, I can honestly say most mid-range and up cards aren't even made with 1GB anymore. There's a few models here and there, but 2GB is more or less the new 1GB as far as "standard config" goes. With more and more games using higher resolution textures and newer, fancier methods of AA, I'd avoid a 1GB card myself.

 

[SPBHM]

at 1600x900 8AA/ Ultra, i seen my HD 7850 use up 1.2 gb vram.

what game?
also using more than 1GB doesn't necessarily mean that the game couldn't run with 1GB decently.

 

[FalseChristian]

It depends on what resolution you want to game at. For me I have a 22" 1680x1050 LCD and my 2 GTX 460 1GB run every game on high so 1GB is enough even for 1920x1080. Anything higher and you'll want a 2GB card.

 

[tweakboy]

Im using 8x CSAA FSAA ON GAMMA ON HIGH QUALITY, vsync on, 16x AF 1080p

all games are flawless and there is no pauses or skips......

So to answer you, 2GB is nice but only if you get a powerful card.

 

[tweakboy]

Oh at 1680res all games must FLY 60fps constant.

 

[Mem]

Would 1Gb be enough for a 7850 or 7870 at 1080 resolution for gaming?

I game at 1080p with my 2GB video card and can state you need more then 1GB for some games if you want to max out settings etc....example being Skyrim,its also more future proof with 2GB and worth it IMHO.

 

[toyota]

It depends on what resolution you want to game at. For me I have a 22" 1680x1050 LCD and my 2 GTX 460 1GB run every game on high so 1GB is enough even for 1920x1080. Anything higher and you'll want a 2GB card.

that is not really true. resolution only plays a part in how much vram is needed. there are some game that will use almost the same amount at 1280 as they do at 1920. 1gb is NOT enough for a couple of current games right now at settings the 7850 could run. some games will have more detail and/or give higher performance so its not always as simple as just saying 1gb is enough because your card does not stutter. at this point it is foolish to save a few bucks on a 1gb 7850 over a 2gb model.

 

[SPBHM]

more data for the discussion

again only Skyrim (with HD textures pack) really have trouble with 1GB, and as I said, the benefit to graphics with this patch is pretty limited, and you can try to reduce the impact lowering some settings,
I don't see anything foolish in going for 1GB if you have a very limited amount of money to spend on a VGA.

so while I agree that there is some benefit from 2GB, and that it's probably more future proof (but, how future proof is the GPU?); I can still see some sense in going for 1GB for the 7850, and lower than that.

and always be careful with your recommendations because people can end up buying things like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=7750%202gb

and end with drastically lower performance.

 

[blastingcap]

What settings (resolution, AA, AF, etc.) was that chart at? That's highly relevant I would think

 

[SPBHM]

What settings (resolution, AA, AF, etc.) was that chart at? That's highly relevant I would think

1080p
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6359/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-650-ti-review/6
it's probably their usual higher settings test.

also from the games they haven't tested and mention that it could be different, I can say that on Borderlands 2 1GB will also do just fine, and Dirt Showdown to, as for the other I don't know.

and another

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7850_RoyalQueen/28.html
(clocks are all the same for the 1 and 2GB version of the 7850)