AMD has recently announced that 4 GB GPUs are simply not enough to run modern games. They shared a graph which highlighted the significant performance increase for GPUs with more than 4 GB of VRAM.
In the graph, both 4 GB and 8 GB versions of the Radeon RX 5500 XT were tested while running several different modern games. In each of the games tested, the 8 GB version offers at least a 12% performance boost – and up to 24% in the case of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.
While the performance boost might only be relatively small for some games, for modern titles such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, it’s a significant boost that’s hard to ignore.
Why Is VRAM So Important?
VRAM or Video RAM is important for PC gaming because PCs use separate memory pools for the CPU and GPU. If your GPU can’t access data in VRAM, it has to pull it from the CPU across the PCIe bus. While PCIe 4.0 is fast, it’s not quite the same as having a decent amount of GDDR6 RAM.
Therefore, having a low amount of VRAM can affect performance but it does depend on the type of games you’re playing.
Is 4 GB Of VRAM Really Obsolete?
That’s not to say there’s any need to panic if your GPU only has 4 GB of VRAM. Games are still going to run on 4 GB in most scenarios, but some modern games in the future may require some settings turned down. Investing in a GPU with 8 GB of VRAM could be a better way to future-proof your system.
However, it does depend on the type of games you’re playing. If you typically play games with low system requirements, then perhaps making the investment in better VRAM isn’t worth it just yet. In cases like these, any performance boost is going to be minimal. However, if you’re always playing the latest titles, with high system requirements and you want them on high or ultra settings, then 8 GB could be a good investment for your next graphics card.
Do you think 8 GB of VRAM is the future? Will you be upgrading to 8 GB in the future for this reason? Please share your thoughts below.