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How much RAM would you recommend?

Wrexad

Wrexad

Wrexad

Permabanned
Joined
26 Dec 2009
Posts
119
I am looking at getting 2 680's tomorrow if gibbo finally unlocks his office doors :p but im not sure how much RAM i should go for.. I know there are talks of 4GB 680's but i doubt they will come out tomorrow probably next month or so..

Anyway the cards will be running a Dell U2711 (27" 2560x1440) and a Dell Professional p2411h (24" 1920x1080) the second monitor is basically used for watching films ect while doing something on my main screen!

I might in a few months get a 3rd screen so didn't want to be on the limit so to speak.. But if i was to get a 2GB card is would you say that would give me loads of head room?
 
Most games run in 32 bit mode. Thus, they only get access to a certain amount of ram. For example Fallout New Vegas is capped at 2gb IIRC.

I did read that there was a way to bypass this limit in an X86 environment but can't remember how it worked. Either way, 8gb is overkill and 4gb is still enough (just in my humble opinion of course).
 
ALXAndy said:
Most games run in 32 bit mode. Thus, they only get access to a certain amount of ram. For example Fallout New Vegas is capped at 2gb IIRC.

I did read that there was a way to bypass this limit in an X86 environment but can't remember how it worked. Either way, 8gb is overkill and 4gb is still enough (just in my humble opinion of course).
Click to expand...
This may sound unconventional but perhaps you should read the topic before responding, as the poster was obviously referring to VRAM.

According to the leaked benchmarks the 680 seems to perform better than the 7970 at 2560x1600, despite having less memory - even in BF3, which is know to be particularly intensive. Obviously 3GB is preferable to 2GB but the likelihood is that any card you buy now will be out-of-date before you need the extra 1GB of VRAM. That said, wait for the reviews tomorrow - HardOCP will be doing an in-depth look at 1600p and multi-monitor setups. If there are any limitations to only having 2GB of VRAM they will become clear.

A 2GB card wouldn't give you "loads" of head room but will be more than enough for the majority of games. It also depends on when you're next planning to upgrade - if you're only going to run the card for 12-18 months it'll be fine. If you're planning to keep it for more than 2yrs then you will probably start to see it becoming an issue.
 
Well as more games are being aimed at console and gfx's dont seem as intense i was looking at keeping them for a few years and sticking some waterblocks on them so maybe i will wait and see some real reviews tomorrow and maybe someone can shed some light on the 4GB version cards (if there is going to be one) I would jump at the 7970's as i can make them single slot and they have 3GB but... ive had so much trouble with 2 crossfire set-ups in the past and my brothers 580's run like a dream so for that reason alone i want nvidia.
 
with regard to overall system RAM I would say get 8GB for gaming, I notaced a marked improvement in BF3 going from 4 to 8GB (whilst my GPU was 2x5850s).

As far as VRAM goes I would pick a card with 2GB even at 1920 x 1080 I have seen BF3 consume up to 1.7GB and crysis 2 using 2GB with all the bells and whistles.
 
Hmmm, not too sure what would be the best amount of VRAM to have. . . but if it helps I have a pair of GTX 580s with 1.5gb RAM and that plays everything i throw at erm at 1080 on full ultra settings with no problems at all, inc both BF3 and Crysis 2.
 
Seems like the silly answer but - wait until prices are firm and then get the card with the most ram you can afford.
Benchmarks coming in the next few days should settle this.
 
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