[Eurogamer] The state of 2GB VRAM GPUs

[Gikaseixas]

There must be something magical about this card as it's selling quite well (Steam s-shot below). The understated performance must be a cool feature, though. You know, the way it's really meant to be played. A much older, GCN 1.0 based 270X equaling the newer mid-range Maxwell v2. Heh.

Nvidia marketing at it's best
A page AMD/RTG needs to copy asap

 

[frowertr]

The hate for the 960 is amusing. I play all my games with my GTX 960 2GB on my living room 55" flat screen tv at 1080p and it runs them all just fine. I put together a mini-ITX form factor system for this card as it sits in the console my tv is on. I wanted something in a small case, with minimal noise, and low heat. A GTX 960 fits this bill much better than a R9 380. The 380 pulls damn near double the power than the 960. This means increased heat and noise for a system that I'm trying to do the opposite for.

 

[RaulF]

In my experience FPS is not a good indicator of vram problems, i think frame time will really show you what a fluster cuck not having enough vram is like.

 

[AtenRa]

The hate for the 960 is amusing. I play all my games with my GTX 960 2GB on my living room 55" flat screen tv at 1080p and it runs them all just fine. I put together a mini-ITX form factor system for this card as it sits in the console my tv is on. I wanted something in a small case, with minimal noise, and low heat. A GTX 960 fits this bill much better than a R9 380. The 380 pulls damn near double the power than the 960. This means increased heat and noise for a system that I'm trying to do the opposite for.

yea 50W more of total system power will make your SFF melt and raise the ambient temperature of the room by 5c

/sarcasm

But i will agree that the GTX960 is more efficient in DX-11 than R9 380. Things may be different in DX-12 though.

 

[Seba]

But neither GTX 960 nor R9 380 will be great cards for DX-12 games. You will have to replace them anyway.

 

[AtenRa]

But neither GTX 960 nor R9 380 will be great cards for DX-12 games. You will have to replace them anyway.

First of all i believe the perf/watt in DX-12 will increase for the R9 380. Also you may need to upgrade the GTX960 way sooner than the R9 380 for the DX-12 games.

 

[96Firebird]

The hate for the 960 is amusing. I play all my games with my GTX 960 2GB on my living room 55" flat screen tv at 1080p and it runs them all just fine. I put together a mini-ITX form factor system for this card as it sits in the console my tv is on. I wanted something in a small case, with minimal noise, and low heat. A GTX 960 fits this bill much better than a R9 380. The 380 pulls damn near double the power than the 960. This means increased heat and noise for a system that I'm trying to do the opposite for.

You sure your 960 hasn't blown up yet? I mean, its a 2GB card, there is NO WAY you can play ANY games with it, it is the worst card ever produced and should immediately be thrown out to save your dignity. With that said, it will probably be better than the 380 in DX12, maybe even the 380X. :sneaky:

In all seriousness, I'm glad you went against the masses here and are enjoying your card. People who complain about VRAM usage need to learn how to uncheck some boxes so their card can perform.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Lets just say this forum and the real world is...worlds apart. GTX960, GTX750TI and GTX970 is selling like hotcakes according to Steam and all their users. Dual cores is also still strong showing no loss to quads. And they all enjoy every day gaming with 12.3 million on at the same time as new record. All in the ignorance of the elite crowd here that "knows better" 😛

As a sidenote, Windows 10 adoption got a little more speed in december. 64bit Windows 10 now sits on 31.25%(+2.44%).

 

[frowertr]

yea 50W more of total system power will make your SFF melt and raise the ambient temperature of the room by 5c

/sarcasm

But i will agree that the GTX960 is more efficient in DX-11 than R9 380. Things may be different in DX-12 though.

Its probably closer to 75w to 90w more power consumption. Basically the 380 draws power like a GTX 970 and performs like a GTX 960 albeit a few FPS faster in some games.

At any event, the GTX 960 was cheaper at the time of purchase than the 380 and this was before I sent in the manufacturer rebate that is still going on if you purchase one now. I'm very happy with my purchase and would do it again if I was building out another SFF for myself or any friends/family.

 

[AtenRa]

Its probably closer to 75w to 90w more power consumption.

According to the Review link in the OP, its 54W difference between the GTX960 2GB and R9 380 2GB

 

[Vesku]

Lets just say this forum and the real world is...worlds apart. GTX960, GTX750TI and GTX970 is selling like hotcakes according to Steam and all their users. Dual cores is also still strong showing no loss to quads. And they all enjoy every day gaming with 12.3 million on at the same time as new record. All in the ignorance of the elite crowd here that "knows better" 😛

As a sidenote, Windows 10 adoption got a little more speed in december. 64bit Windows 10 now sits on 31.25%(+2.44%).

Realistically how many people who make such buying choices have actually done much research or investigation? This isn't restricted to PCs, the more choices the more likely people are to just go with a certain brand or brands. Partly because getting good information is difficult, even reviewers must be vetted which is why Consumer Reports, with financial interests squarely aligned with the reader, came about.

Bottom line is 2GB didn't allow for the 960 to fully maximize its performance in all games at the time of launch and considering its MSRP it should have been a straight 4GB card, same with 285/380. A buyer-centric conclusion would have made clear the value in stepping up to the next tier of GPUs being a bit stronger than typical until a 4GB SKU at a similar price to the 2GB launch model showed up.

 

[Mem]

Realistically how many people who make such buying choices have actually done much research or investigation? This isn't restricted to PCs, the more choices the more likely people are to just go with a certain brand or brands.

I wonder what the percentage is for users out there with 1GB or below cards for PC gaming?

 

[AtenRa]

The problem with GTX960 is not the 2GB memory but its initial selling price. As i have said GTX960 doesnt have the performance power to fully utilize 4GB of ram so the 2GB variant is fine for up to 1080p gaming, but its release selling price of $200 was too expensive.

 

[frowertr]

The problem with GTX960 is not the 2GB memory but its initial selling price. As i have said GTX960 doesnt have the performance power to fully utilize 4GB of ram so the 2GB variant is fine for up to 1080p gaming, but its release selling price of $200 was too expensive.

I can't say I disagree with this statement.

I didn't spring for the 4GB variant because Pascal is just around the corner and I'm looking to also purchase a new 4K TV. The 960 is just a stopgap for me currently until I'm convinced there is a good single card 4k solution out there.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The problem with GTX960 is not the 2GB memory but its initial selling price.

It was both. Most of the GTX 960's life you could buy a 280(X) that was faster and had more RAM for the same price. Unless you needed a GTX 960 specific feature (HEVC decoding, HDMI 2, power efficiency, etc.) then it was always a better choice to get the 280(X).

 

[omek]

Lets just say this forum and the real world is...worlds apart. GTX960, GTX750TI and GTX970 is selling like hotcakes according to Steam and all their users. Dual cores is also still strong showing no loss to quads. And they all enjoy every day gaming with 12.3 million on at the same time as new record. All in the ignorance of the elite crowd here that "knows better" 😛

As a sidenote, Windows 10 adoption got a little more speed in december. 64bit Windows 10 now sits on 31.25%(+2.44%).

Because people make great choices like eating at McDonalds instead of Subway... or buying a Chevrolet even though a safer and more reliable car exists at the same price point.

It's brand recognition which NVIDIA has. It's really simple and something AMD has never been able to get a foot hold on. The term 'computer' equates to 'I'm friggin hungry and will eat whatever' to most people, they need something and fall back on what they have heard or know. Same with Intel, people think computer and McDonalds... uh, Intel is just there because it's always been.

Marketing supercedes product.

 

[MrTeal]

Because people make great choices like eating at McDonalds instead of Subway... or buying a Chevrolet even though a safer and more reliable car exists at the same price point.

It's brand recognition which NVIDIA has. It's really simple and something AMD has never been able to get a foot hold on. The term 'computer' equates to 'I'm friggin hungry and will eat whatever' to most people, they need something and fall back on what they have heard or know. Same with Intel, people think computer and McDonalds... uh, Intel is just there because it's always been.

Marketing supercedes product.

That's actually kind of funny, since a 6" Italian BMT with mayo has as many calories and as much fat as a Double Big Mac. You want to talk about the triumph of marketing over fact, Subway is a great place to start.

 

[omek]

That's actually kind of funny, since a 6" Italian BMT with mayo has as many calories and as much fat as a Double Big Mac. You want to talk about the triumph of marketing over fact, Subway is a great place to start.

Well, ok. That wasn't the best example but you do get more food for the dollar if your looking at it from a quantity POV 😛

 

[moonbogg]

2GB cards are low end 1080p, low detail cards. 4GB cards have taken the spot of 2GB cards. They currently occupy that odd space of "good enough for now" but very soon they will also be relegated to the 1080p, low details gaming arena.

 

[dogen1]

But i will agree that the GTX960 is more efficient in DX-11 than R9 380. Things may be different in DX-12 though.

First of all i believe the perf/watt in DX-12 will increase for the R9 380. Also you may need to upgrade the GTX960 way sooner than the R9 380 for the DX-12 games.

Any reason why you think that?

 

[2is]

At 1080p I found 2GB adequate enough when I had my SLI 680's. Some newer games I'd have to turn down a setting or two, but for the most part they handled pretty well. This was not the case once I upgraded to a 1440p monitor and it's the sole reason I upgraded to a 980Ti last month. It was my intention to hold off until Pascal, but I just couldn't hold off that long.

 

[moonbogg]

At 1080p I found 2GB adequate enough when I had my SLI 680's. Some newer games I'd have to turn down a setting or two, but for the most part they handled pretty well. This was not the case once I upgraded to a 1440p monitor and it's the sole reason I upgraded to a 980Ti last month. It was my intention to hold off until Pascal, but I just couldn't hold off that long.

Same here. My 670's did well for about 18 months but then I had to start turning details down at 1080p. With todays games, even at 1080p, forget it. Details would have to go way down on some of these new games for a 2GB card.
In a year I expect 1440p to be 8gb territory for some games and 1080p will be 4GB+ territory with 2 and 3gb cards totally choking out. By the end of the year, there will be games that blow past 6GB at 1440p. GTAV almost does it right now. 4K will be for dual 12GB+ cards in a year.
Vram is the hot new thing. Devs are using it up like absolute crazy, just because its there. So, better buy a new card every 18 months or get left in the dust. Those devs need their Vram (they don't actually need it but they want it for some silly reason). I blame consoles.

 

[MrTeal]

Interestingly, it's not really high resolutions where the 4GB cards showed their advantage in that test. The 4GB 960 only showed a substantial lead at 1080p, while the lead was erased at 1440p. The reason is most likely that at 1440p they had to turn down the details from Very High to High to keep framerates playable.

Even at 1080p 2GB might not be safe from bottlenecking a system, as you might find you have to turn down the texture size vs a 4GB card to keep from terrible minimums while you swap textures.

 

[Face2Face]

My couch PC "Alienware Alpha" is rocking a GTX 860M with 2GB of GDDR5, and it has no issues with games like SOM with High textures, even though it calls for 3GB @ 1080p. I have yet to try GTA 5, but I don't really use to play anything too demanding.

 

[AtenRa]

Any reason why you think that?

Because of the architecture, GCN is better for DX-12 than Maxwell and Tonga is way better than GM206 with more compute capabilities.
If the DX-12 game will also use Async Compute, even GCN Gen 1.0 Tahiti will be faster than Maxwell.