Question Is 10GB of Vram enough for 4K gaming for the next 3 years?

[moonbogg]

The question is simple. Will 10GB be enough moving forward for the next 3 years? We all know what happens when Vram gets breached: skips, stutters and chugging.

 

[beginner99]

At 4k ultra? I doubt it will be enough for all games. Many yes but not all. So as always with GPUs it depends on your screen. for a 2k 144hz screen it should be enough.

 

[Gregow]

10GB of VRAM seems like a snug fit to me. I wish Nvidia would have gone for a 384-bit wide bus and 12GB of VRAM for the 3080.

I'm hoping 10GB will be fine for QHD though.

 

[Gregow]

By the way, I think the memory compression is for reading data to the buffer and not storing assets in VRAM.

 

[Gideon]

Assuming the PS5 shares RAM between CPU and GPU, it only has 16GB total. An even split affords the PS5 just 8GB of VRAM.

You can start to see how even a 3070 is future proof.

Xbox Series X has a 10GB + 6GB memory split for instance (where the 10GB is reccomended primarly for GPU and 6GB for CPU). Therefore there will be games that will use at least all of that 10GB.

 

[amenx]

Xbox Series X has a 10GB + 6GB memory split for instance (where the 10GB is reccomended primarly for GPU and 6GB for CPU). Therefore there will be games that will use at least all of that 10GB.

Use or allocate? "Use" as in the game stutters or becomes choppy if insufficient vram. Does Doom Eternal (probably the most 'vram hungry' game out there), "use" as much vram as reported in your view? Those 8gb cards seem to be doing great at 4k vs the 11 and 16gb cards:

DOOM Eternal Benchmark Test & Performance Analysis - 26 Graphics Cards Compared

DOOM Eternal is the long-awaited sequel to the epic DOOM series. There's even more carnage, and gameplay is super fast-paced. Built upon the id Tech 7 engine, visuals are excellent, and graphics performance is outstanding. We tested the game on all modern graphics cards at Full HD, 1440p and 4K...

www.techpowerup.com

Imo, its stuff like this that confuses ppl as to actual vram needs. And they see cards like the 3090 with 24gb and automatically assume thats what new games will end up using. The 3090 imo is the culprit that skewed so many minds as to vram requirements lately. It has 24gb for marketing purposes, so as to be more than AMDs upcoming 16gb cards. Its either that or 12gb for the 3090, and either 8 or 16gb for big Navi. They chose the higher numbers to sell better. Consoles are in it for the long haul, 6-7 years, and their vram may be more sensible on that basis. Big Navi and Ampere will be replaced in a couple years, so good luck with 'future-proofing' with a high vram card today.

 

[Gideon]

so good luck with 'future-proofing' with a high vram card today.

Well yes, and no, people buy cards for different timeframes.

If I'm gonna shelve out 850 EUR for 3080 (which is what it will cost in Europe with VAT) I'll want it to last me at least 4 years, so it needs to be minimally future-proof (1080 Ti held out pretty well for ~4 years for instance).

You bring out very good points though with the Doom Eternal + ultra settings example (thanks for posting that). It's not quite the same as with PS5/Xbox Series X ports that are more likely to utilize all the available ram given to them, which for last gen's good ports seems to be roughly 5/8GB for 4K. Extrapolating from that, it should be approximately 10/16GB for this gen.

Overall I agree that it's a bit overblown (especially for 10GB cards). Let's not forget that DirectStorage is a wildcard that will change things in an unknown direction (perhaps even less RAM is needed then). We'll see

 

[CP5670]

I think all of us 1080ti owners are in this situation now. On one hand I dont want to wait another year or 6 months IF a 3080ti ever comes.

And the inverse is spend a ton on the 3090 and keep it as long as you can as it should be pretty darn good for the next 3 years. The thing with this model is if you cant get one from Nvidia directly you will spend nearly 2k or more on the third party brands.

I would like to upgrade for HDMI 2.1 if nothing else. These are the first cards that can run 4K at 120hz on TVs, which will be a major improvement across all games. I plan to get a 3080 despite the low-ish memory just for that, although I would prefer the 20GB version depending on its price. The 3090 seems too expensive, and I would be surprised if you can actually get one for $1500 for a while. The 2080ti was never really available at its MSRP.

 

[Kenmitch]

Use or allocate? "Use" as in the game stutters or becomes choppy if insufficient vram. Does Doom Eternal (probably the most 'vram hungry' game out there), "use" as much vram as reported in your view? Those 8gb cards seem to be doing great at 4k vs the 11 and 16gb cards:

Aren't the newer Doom games optimized for performance? Some games appear to be optimized for upgrades. It's almost like there's a conspiracy going on.

 

[sze5003]

Also in regards to consoles having only 10gb of vram, console games will be specifically optimized for the console experience and this means they are much more so than PC games.

 

[Krteq]

Speaking of Doom Eternal (and other upcoming ID Tech based games)

This is from Billy Khan - ID Tech Lead Engine Programmer

https://twitter.com/x/status/1301129891035914240

So, no. I presume 8GB will be a bare minimum and even 10GB won't be enough for some next gen games... and it won't be enough for 4K for sure.

 

[brianmanahan]

i really don't want a 3080 with only 10GB, but i can't let myself spend 4x more than i've ever spent on a single GPU for the 3090

guess i have no choice but to wait

 

[Kenmitch]

i really don't want a 3080 with only 10GB, but i can't let myself spend 4x more than i've ever spent on a single GPU for the 3090

guess i have no choice but to wait

What gpu do you have now?

 

[CakeMonster]

He's saying what we already know about the minimums, but he's actually being reassuring of enthusiasts. You will be fine with 10Gb, 25% overhead over his minimum of 8Gb. Assuming enthusiasts upgrade after 2 years, or at least 3 years and very rarely 4 years, again you should be fine.

I want more RAM too, but lets not interpret everything in the worst way.

 

[brianmanahan]

What gpu do you have now?

a 1070, non-TI

it struggles a little at 1440p with games but can usually handle them at medium

i do want to go to 3440x1440 but maybe that's not feasible

 

[Kenmitch]

a 1070, non-TI

it struggles a little at 1440p with games but can usually handle them at medium

i do want to go to 3440x1440 but maybe that's not feasible

If you can find a really good deal on a 2080Ti it's a worthy upgrade.

 

[thxdd]

It's almost like nVidia planned a 3080ti to fill this VRAM gap... on topic, 3 years seems about right for 10GB.

 

[moonbogg]

It's almost like nVidia planned a 3080ti to fill this VRAM gap... on topic, 3 years seems about right for 10GB.

Probably true for most games. I'd expect some of the newer ones to start biting the dust though. It's cutting it too close and I think we can say for sure that it won't cover all games. I wouldn't spend $700 knowing my card can't handle the potential Vram loads coming down the line. It's a 2080 replacement, 1440p card IMO.

 

[Stuka87]

Looking at benchmarks (and using personal experience), 3GB will cause performance issues for some games (based on GTX 1060 3GB vs 6GB). Comparing 4GB vs 8GB RX 580's, there is on average about 5-8fps difference between 4GB and 8GB versions of the card on 1080 and 1440P. However, dropping 1-2 settings a bit (Such as shadows or motion blur) clears it up.

People thinking that 10GB is woefully too little and games are going to start stuttering the moment new console games hit PC is a bit far fetched.

 

[repoman0]

a 1070, non-TI

it struggles a little at 1440p with games but can usually handle them at medium

i do want to go to 3440x1440 but maybe that's not feasible

I've got the same. Pretty sure I'm going to end up with a 3080 even though I'm also worried about the 10 GB. It's tempting to go for the 3090, but then might as well just buy the 3080 for now, which will be fine for a while at 1440p and 3440x1440 and even 4k, plus a future (16-20 GB????) 4080 in 2-3 years for the same total amount of money.

 

[brianmanahan]

I've got the same. Pretty sure I'm going to end up with a 3080 even though I'm also worried about the 10 GB. It's tempting to go for the 3090, but then might as well just buy the 3080 for now, which will be fine for a while at 1440p and 3440x1440 and even 4k, plus a future (16-20 GB????) 4080 in 2-3 years for the same total amount of money.

yeah that is the most sensible thing to do if buying a card right now

 

[blckgrffn]

If you can find a really good deal on a 2080Ti it's a worthy upgrade.

I advised my cousin the same - he has a 1060 3GB and a six core coffee lake i5, and mainly uses his PC for productivity/video encoding but feels like he wants more gaming headroom - and so was asking about upgrading to a 2700x/3080 setup. Chuckle worthy, perhaps. In his defense, to the less informed that is a 6 core ~mid 3 ghz upgrading to a 8C/16T high 3ghz CPU.

I told him to flip the budget. Try to get a 2080/2080S during the current fallout (what a huge upgrade from a 1060 3GB!) and take that 3080 budget to Zen 3 and really get massive productivity gains. I hope he finds something solid.

For the record, I am also still aghast at the TDP for both the 3080 and 3090. For a card short on vram but super long on power usage I think the secondary market for the 10GB 3080 may not be that favorable in a couple of years. I am trying to think of a good example, the GTX 480 maybe? I don't think that aged particularly well in terms of value...

 

[blckgrffn]

Looking at benchmarks (and using personal experience), 3GB will cause performance issues for some games (based on GTX 1060 3GB vs 6GB). Comparing 4GB vs 8GB RX 580's, there is on average about 5-8fps difference between 4GB and 8GB versions of the card on 1080 and 1440P. However, dropping 1-2 settings a bit (Such as shadows or motion blur) clears it up.

People thinking that 10GB is woefully too little and games are going to start stuttering the moment new console games hit PC is a bit far fetched.

The RX 580 isn't strong enough to push games at 4K to get to the point where the 4 vs 8 GB really matters - it is also been a $90 - $130 card for a long time now. It's always been in a different league than a flagship card. I'd say expectations for longevity on that guy have been met and then some

I purchased my son an 8GB RX470 for $90 because the 4GB to 8GB difference at that time on eBay was ~$5. I know that I expect to be used in my household for another 5 years or so.

If there was a $800 3080 20GB option would we even be having this conversation right now? I think a lot of people would drop that extra $100, no problem.

It just makes the 3090 pretty pointless...

 

[brianmanahan]

If there was a $800 3080 20GB option would we even be having this conversation right now? I think a lot of people would drop that extra $100, no problem.

It just makes the 3090 pretty pointless...

exactly, it makes me think they might be coming out with one in the future

how long do i want to wait though...

 

[DooKey]

exactly, it makes me think they might be coming out with one in the future

how long do i want to wait though...

By the time 10gb isn't viable there will be faster cards with more VRAM available for purchase. No sense in jumping the gun when there's money to be made.

 

[brianmanahan]

By the time 10gb isn't viable there will be faster cards with more VRAM available for purchase. No sense in jumping the gun when there's money to be made.

i usually stick with these things for about 4-5 years though... went from a 256mb 1900xt -> 1gb 4870 -> 3gb 7950 before this 8gb 1070.

so it just feels like i should be tripling the memory every time, but tripling memory usually meant spending 200-300$, not 1500$

i guess that probably just means i need to wait another year