how much memory makes sense on GPU

[johnwhelan]

I'm thinking rtx 4060 8 gigs.

Thanks John

 

[pware]

The answer depends on what you are doing and at what screen resolution.

From my (limited) research on the topic:

For gaming at a screen resolution using 1080p then 8GB is considered sufficient. If you want to "future proof" your system for several years ahead or want to use a 4K monitor then 12GB will be a good move.

For video editing on a standard monitor (1080p) then 12-16GB is recommended. For 4K editing then 32GB is recommended.

My opinions.

(my RTX3060Ti GPU has 8GB and I have no issues with that)

 

[DELETED-KP7sDeFaN51Yh3C]

Generally, VRAM consumption depends on the:

• Game engine itself (a lot of aspects from shaders and RT to some scientific things);
• "Weight" of the graphics (number, resolution and size of textures).

For modern video cards this rule is more blurry than for older cards due to:

• Introduction of new technologies allowing fast access to VRAM, such as Resizable BAR (for Intel and nvidia based GPUs) and Smart Access Memory (for AMD based GPUs);
• Usage of texture compression algorithms of the video card;
• Introduction of caching mechanisms on some modern video cards, such as AMD's Infinity Cache.

To properly utilize modern fast memory access technologies there must be specific optimisations in the game engine. Not many modern game developers know about this, so most of the PC games are unoptimised and "laggy".

 

[johnwhelan]

Generally, VRAM consumption depends on the:

• Game engine itself (a lot of aspects from shaders and RT to some scientific things);
• "Weight" of the graphics (number, resolution and size of textures).

For modern video cards this rule is more blurry than for older cards due to:

• Introduction of new technologies allowing fast access to VRAM, such as Resizable BAR (for Intel and nvidia based GPUs) and Smart Access Memory (for AMD based GPUs);
• Usage of texture compression algorithms of the video card;
• Introduction of caching mechanisms on some modern video cards, such as AMD's Infinity Cache.

To properly utilize modern fast memory access technologies there must be specific optimisations in the game engine. Not many modern game developers know about this, so most of the PC games are unoptimised and "laggy".

Wow what a lot of waffle to a very specific question that doesn't seem to add much of value to the thread.

Cheerio John

 

[DELETED-KP7sDeFaN51Yh3C]

doesn't seem to add much of value to the thread

You asked "How much memory makes sense on GPU" and tried to answer.
If you provided more details in the question, I would provide more details in the answer.

 

[johnwhelan]

It's a forum about Trainz, trainz runs at 1920 by 1080, TS19 and TS22 both have similar characteristics as far as the game engine goes.

I think both those could have been assumed but for the formal record let's say that's what I'm after.

Cheerio John

 

[DELETED-KP7sDeFaN51Yh3C]

Some of the PC games using Full HD resolution (1920x1080) may use more than 8 GB of VRAM. So, I would use a video card with at least 8 GB VRAM for PC gaming in general. Games having large open worlds use more VRAM than games with small worlds. For example, I am able to fill almost all of 8 GB VRAM of my current video card when playing a quite old Arma III game. So, while Trainz is a game with large game worlds, I would recommend using as much VRAM as the budget allows.

 

[HPL]

trainz runs at 1920 by 1080

Trainz runs at 2560x1440 max resolution.

TRS22, 2560x1440, V-sync on, all settings to max: min 5GB, max 10GB VRAM used (RTX 3090, D3D11), depending on the route and rolling stock.

 

[johnwhelan]

My current card has 8 gigs of memory. I ran three tests, one a simple layout used 1.6 gigs of memory using Windows task manager, the second an S&C layout used 1.8 gigs of memory. For the third I placed PBR locos and carriages on the layout, 2.1 gigs of memory were used. The slider settings were either high or ultra, 1920 by 1080.

Trainz runs at 2560x1440 max resolution.

TRS22, 2560x1440, V-sync on, all settings to max: min 5GB, max 10GB VRAM used (RTX 3090, D3D11), depending on the route and rolling stock used.

Useful.

A sixteen gig card costs roughly 50% more than an eight gig card. Moving up to a 4070 doubles the price.

A 3D score of 16-17 k I think I'm fairly happy with, so 22k should be fine.

I think there as a sweet point on monitors and 2560 by 1440 monitors cost around twice as much as a 1920 by 1080 monitor. They also need a lot more more processing power. 3,686,400 pixels to drive rather than 2,073,600 in the 1920 environment.

So yes I could spend the family fortune on an RTX 4090 TI with 24 gigs of memory but I doubt if I'd need it most of the time so my comfort zone is probably a 4060 with eight gigs since they seem to be available for around $10 more than a 3060.

Cheerio John

 

[HPL]

There was a typo in my post when you quoted it: 10GB max VRAM usage, not 20.

 

[johnwhelan]

There was a typo in my post when you quoted it: 10GB max VRAM usage, not 20.

Corrected, so on a 1920 by 1080 8 gigs should be enough and 12 gigs wouldn't hurt depending on price.

Many Thanks

Cheerio John

 

[HPL]

I suspect "HD terrain" routes (I don't have any) would drastically increase VRAM usage.

 

[johnwhelan]

I suspect "HD terrain" routes (I don't have any) would drastically increase VRAM usage.

But then we're into the land of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt). More realistically few users have more than 8 gigs of memory and if you're trying to sell a lot of copies it has to run on the wide set range of machines so I'm not expecting to see a need for 16 gigs of memory for this but thanks for the thought.

Cheerio John