Video Cards and Game VRAM Requirements

[Rettere]

Hi all, I am a somewhat experienced builder (4 machines under my belt) and I know the basics of computers pretty well. I've always tried, however, to build a new machine with as much memory on the graphics card as possible as it seems like the memory is what determines if the game will run, while the speed determines how fast and how many goodies you can turn on. I understand that a Geforce 5200 with 512 MB of memory is not going to do anyone any good. My brother is planning on building a computer this October and I am wondering how quickly games will require more than 320MB of memory. He is between the 320 and 640 versions of 8800GTS and the biggest concern is the memory issue, as these cards are powerful enough (and expensive enough) that he doesn't want to upgrade for a while.

So, anyone keeping track at the rate of increase in minimum VRAM requirements? Do people think the minimum requirement will jump from 256MB (where it is currently) to 320, or will it skip all the way to 512?


Thanks,
Rettere

 

[Laminator]

No, memory determines the speed of the card, too. No game "requires" more than 320MB (or even 256MB) of memory but if you set the settings high enough, the limited amount of memory will cause a performance drop in the card, sometimes to an extremely drastic extent.

Some games like Rainbow Six: Vegas and Need for Speed: Carbon use less than 200MB of memory. Other games like STALKER and Quake 4/Doom 3 at Ultra Quality use 500MB+ memory. Call of Duty 2 uses 300MB+ memory. Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter will not allow you to set the textures to "high" unless you have 512MB+ memory.

In short, 320MB is getting dated. Depending on the resolution you play at and the games you play, 320MB might be good enough and it should be for most games out right now, but don't expect it to last long. No one knows anything about the new spate of games coming out in Q4 (Crysis, UT3, etc.). They could use a lot of memory or little memory.

If you really don't want to upgrade for a long time, get an 8800GTX.

 

[Rettere]

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. I understand that more memory means you can turn more stuff on as well. I also realize that no game currently uses more than 320MB of memory. What I'm asking is how fast the requirement is going up. The "minimum required" spec on the back of a game box- once upon a time it was 8 MB, then it was 32 MB, now it is 256 or so... Willl the next jump be to 320, or will it go to 512? I realize nobody knows for sure, but surely some people on the forum have ideas about the future of VRAM *minimum* system requirements?


Rettere

 

[Modular]

For future-proofing on a "budget" of sorts. I'd have to say go with the GTS 640.

 

[RussianSensation]

Just because a game developer states that a minimum VRAM requirement is 256mb, that doesn't mean a lot. NV 6600 256mb is not going to provide the same performance as X1950XT 256mb card, even if both meet the "minimum" box requirements. If you play at 1600x1200 resolution or even 1920x1200 in some games, 320mb is enough today for most games. Obviously if some games today like Oblivion and FEAR already benefit from greater memory than 320mb, then games in the future will run smoother with 512mb+.

But is it worth spending $100 from 320mb to 640mb? In my view no. Most games today do not benefit from 640mb and 320mb performs just as well (unless you have a 24+ monitor). This makes 320mb card adequate for <1920x1200. In 1 year it'll most likely be too slow. But then you can just take the $100 you save today and sell the 320mb card for $100 and get something much faster than 640mb 8800GTS for $200 then. The way I look at it, it seems you are spending 40% more for a 640mb card, but today it doesn't perform 40% faster on average. You can even make the argument that X1950XT 256mb presents the best value at $170. This way you spend less today, but upgrade more often.

 

[JustaGeek]

Originally posted by: Rettere
Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. I understand that more memory means you can turn more stuff on as well. I also realize that no game currently uses more than 320MB of memory. What I'm asking is how fast the requirement is going up. The "minimum required" spec on the back of a game box- once upon a time it was 8 MB, then it was 32 MB, now it is 256 or so... Willl the next jump be to 320, or will it go to 512? I realize nobody knows for sure, but surely some people on the forum have ideas about the future of VRAM *minimum* system requirements?


Rettere

No game uses 320MB of VRAM as a minimum requirement - but as Laminator mentioned, there are games today that use over 500MB.

You are building a new machine that is supposed to last a few years, and you want to "future proof" it.

Why do you want to limit yourself, if for a mere $100 or less (extra) you can get a card capable of playing almost anything today with the highest resolutions...?

You must not have seen Quake 4 with the Ultra Quality Settings enabled...

 

[Laminator]

Originally posted by: Rettere
Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. I understand that more memory means you can turn more stuff on as well. I also realize that no game currently uses more than 320MB of memory. What I'm asking is how fast the requirement is going up. The "minimum required" spec on the back of a game box- once upon a time it was 8 MB, then it was 32 MB, now it is 256 or so... Willl the next jump be to 320, or will it go to 512? I realize nobody knows for sure, but surely some people on the forum have ideas about the future of VRAM *minimum* system requirements?

There is no "jump" - it's not like games use memory only in increments. Traditionally, memory was always stayed as a power of 2 so to keep things simple, publishers would put the lowest power of 2 that enabled you to play the game on the box. A game that says it needs 256MB of memory will require anywhere from 128MB to 256MB of memory. But those are minimum requirements.

Quake 4 uses about 200MB on High Quality, for example, but 500MB+ on Ultra Quality. I don't think the box even states that you need 256MB of memory. You can probably run the game just fine on a 128MB card. Just don't expect to turn all the settings up.

Your question is unanswerable. First, absolutely no one knows how much memory future games will require. The ones that say they do are guessing. Second, the amount of memory a game requires is extremely different than the amount of memory it needs to run a full settings. Third, some games are extremely memory-efficient while other games are memory hogs. Rainbow Six Vegas is a GPU hog but it only uses ~150MB of memory. It came out in late 2006. Doom 3 runs quite easily on any modern card but if you turn it to Ultra Quality, it uses 500MB+. It came out in, what, 2004-2005? I have tested these games myself using Video Memory Watcher.

If you want your machine to last a few years, then you should get the fastest card you can afford because no card will play games two years ahead of it at the same settings and resolutions that it played games at when it was new. Since the market is pretty bad right now, though, you could get an X1950 XT right now and upgrade to GeForce 9 in November.

 

[kpo6969]

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940105

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/...ay/graphicsmemory.mspx

http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3034

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...ts/showdoc.aspx?i=3044

http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=3060

 

[LightningRider]

Originally posted by: Rettere
upgrade to GeForce 9 in November.

That's what I'm doin, 8800GTS 320MB will last me till then. Then I will either sell it or use it in another machine.