Computerbase - 3gb vs 4gb vs 6gb vs 8gb GDDR5 VRAM Frametime Testing

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Bacon1

Diamond Member
Feb 14, 2016
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but the distance that the highest quality textures are loaded is significantly increased relative to ultra and high quality.

Where does this occur so I can test it?

But, this is besides the point. This discussion isn't about whether Doom's nightmare settings increases texture quality. It's about whether the Fury X and the Fury can run nightmare quality shadows and textures without dropping frames or creating lots of stutters due to texture swapping.

I've already tested that and found that it does handle nightmare shadows without issue. I found no evidence that nightmare virtual texture page size increased IQ at all. Please show me where I can go to confirm that it does increase IQ.

After doing some research, I doubt you'll find any differences because Doom uses virtual textures. The PC and consoles are using the same virtual textures broken up into tiles or chunks, but the PC is able to have better looking textures due to having more memory in the sense that the highest quality textures are loaded further away rather than up close.

Nightmare quality just pushes the distance further away from the camera for when the highest quality textures will be loaded relative to the ultra setting. This is why I never see texture pop in when playing Doom, unless it's after an initial load..

I already mentioned that the page size was to hold more textures and not increase the IQ days ago and showed that even the 1070 has texture streaming issues.
 
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Carfax83

Diamond Member
Nov 1, 2010
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Where does this occur so I can test it?

Don't know. I said that because theoretically, that's how the technology is supposed to work. I will say that I've played through Doom twice with nightmare textures enabled both times, and I never noticed any pop in at all unless it was an initial load..

I've already tested that and found that it does handle nightmare shadows without issue. I found no evidence that nightmare virtual texture page size increased IQ at all. Please show me where I can go to confirm that it does increase IQ.

I don't think you're understanding this, or maybe I'm not. Virtual texturing page size as far as I know doesn't improve IQ, because the overall texture resolution remains the same. What it does is increase the size of the page pool, which means the highest quality textures can be loaded from a longer distance. Theoretically, consoles or PCs with lower amounts of RAM should still be able to use nightmare textures. The only thing is that they will have much greater amounts of pop in and the texture streaming will be very noticeable.

and showed that even the 1070 has texture streaming issues.

Could have been a bug, or a configuration issue. GTX 1070 shouldn't have any texture streaming issues in Doom, as the VRAM buffer is more than adequate for even nightmare textures.
 

Bacon1

Diamond Member
Feb 14, 2016
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I don't think you're understanding this, or maybe I'm not. Virtual texturing page size as far as I know doesn't improve IQ, because the overall texture resolution remains the same. What it does is increase the size of the page pool, which means the highest quality textures can be loaded from a longer distance. Theoretically, consoles or PCs with lower amounts of RAM should still be able to use nightmare textures. The only thing is that they will have much greater amounts of pop in and the texture streaming will be very noticeable.

I know that's what I said it did here:

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...rametime-testing.2486265/page-5#post-38484407

What I'm asking for is a place where there is pop in with Ultra textures and no popin with Nightmare. Apparently it's very noticeable since you made sure to comment that I hadn't enabled it and it wasn't a valid test without it.
 
Aug 11, 2008
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Or one can view the Hardware Unboxed video which says the 1060 3gb card is an overall better choice than the 4gb 470 hardware unboxed comparison.

Specifically he says the 1060 3gb is a "seriously good 200.00 option" near the start of the video, and the conclusion is "if you dont own a crystal ball and deal in cold hard facts the 1060 3gb is the better option" vs the 470.
 
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moonbogg

Lifer
Jan 8, 2011
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3GB is ridiculous and 4GB on the Fury X wasn't a good idea either. We all knew it. Hell, even the 980ti's 6GB is already pushing it. Its just barely enough to let the card survive a little longer. 8GB is going to die in another 18-24 months also, maybe sooner in some new games. That's just the way it goes. OH LOOK! Fancy new game needs 8.5gb Vram or else lag. Better buy a new card.
 
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kondziowy

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Feb 19, 2016
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3GB cards in Forza Horizon 3 are riperino in pepperino even in 1080p High
http://gamegpu.com/images/stories/Test_GPU/Simulator/Forza_Horizon_3_/hi/f3_1920_h.png
Forza is joining the "4GB is bare minimum today" club.

On the other hand to maintain 60fps at 1440p on 980Ti/980/Fury you need to lower details to High (or OC 980Ti) and you are still good with 4GB as Fury cards are scaling well there, and are faster than 980 4GB.
http://gamegpu.com/images/stories/Test_GPU/Simulator/Forza_Horizon_3_/hi/f3_2560_h.png
But is 4GB enough for some MSAAx4 on top? I'm gonna test that today on a Fury. It will be on the edge :p