1GB for 1080p Gaming?

[almoststew1990]

Can/ Could 1GB VRAM still cut it for 1080p gaming on cards like 660ti, 7850, 6950? I seem to recall, er, 'debate' around the issue with BF3, modded Skyrim etc at the time and I'm looking to get a card like this second hand.

 

[Zefan]

War Thunder uses 1400MB vram on max with loads of AA @ 1080p, and I'm pretty sure it's not one of the most taxing games around. Based on that I'd say 1GB is just too low nowadays.

 

[ED209]

I have a Radeon HD 5830 with 1GB of ram with a 1080P monitor.

the most games I play are CSGO and Killing Floor 2 but I turn off AA to get more FPS from the games and leave the rest on default.

with turning everything down it struggles to play more recent and taxing games like far cry 4 (got with my 970 which I sent back) which is no surprise really.

what games do you plan on playing?

 

[almoststew1990]

Its a lounge/ controller only pc Games from 2008 to 2013 or so: Skyrim, BioShock infinite, Dishonored. I'm looking at putting a 7850 in the PC which should have enough grunt for those games, it is just the VRAM I'm not sure of.

 

[Khurs]

The 2gb model should be more than enough for most. Recently made a build with one in, and far cry 4 ran pretty well with decent settings.

 

[mahius]

2GB minimum, I don't know a single modern gaming oriented card with less than that. My laptop GC (from 2.5 years ago) had 1.5GB VRAM and it did fairly well, even on newer games like GTAV at 1080p. Had to turn some settings down at that resolution, but it still looked gorgeous.

Having more VRAM doesn't equate to much of a difference in performance, just look at the 4GB 290X vs the 8GB one.

 

[ginjaninja]

2GB is the sweet spot to save up for at this end of the market for 1080p gaming..

 

[MoonBoots]

I agree with those suggesting 2GB. Running out of VRAM makes things a stuttery mess.

 

[Tyrion2]

yeah, until i switched to a 280 last year i was using a 5870 to play games like tomb raider & diablo 3 so 1gb of vram should work for casual gaming for recent games. But, like others have said, if if i was looking for a casual gaming card now i'd want a bit more vram.

 

[Aretak]

I've been using a 1.25GB GTX 570 for a while since selling my 980, and I've been surprised at how well it's held up. Obviously it's going to depend on the game, but with some cutbacks on the texture settings, I haven't found VRAM too much of an issue. The Witcher 3 doesn't seem to use much at all for example. On the medium texture setting it never hit 1GB. I've turned it up to high now and it still doesn't hit 1GB out in the world, though creeps up to 1.2GB in busy cutscenes.

First section was me having a bit of a ride around, then the rise is when the cutscene in the tavern in the first town triggered. Silky-smooth and highly cinematic 30fps and 33.3ms frametimes throughout.

 

[almoststew1990]

I think I'll go for 1.5GB+ on a 660ti or 7850 kind of card as the most taxing game I'm going to play is probably Bioshock Infinite or maybe Tomb Raider.

 

[SlightOC]

Still using my 2GB 7850 @1080, GTA V is playable, elite dangerous and Bioshock still look good.

 

[ginjaninja]

Still using my 2GB 7850 @1080, GTA V is playable, elite dangerous and Bioshock still look good.

im still using a 5850 for gta v...the gameplay was there if not the ultra graphics.....trying to hold out until true new generation post 28nm gpus come out...but getting very itchy now...