I'm considering buying an RX 9070 GRE to pair with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, but the graphics card has 12GB of VRAM. At 1080p, is that likely to become a limitation soon? Cards with 16GB cost more than $200 extra where I live, so I'm trying to decide whether the additional VRAM is worth the price.
4 Answers
Twelve gigabytes is currently a sensible middle ground. Some especially demanding games can use more at maximum settings, but those cases are uncommon at 1080p and often involve ray tracing or poorly optimized memory usage. I’d choose the 12GB card and save the extra money.
The main concern right now is 8GB, especially in newer games with ultra settings, ray tracing, or heavy texture packs. Twelve gigabytes gives you a much more comfortable buffer, and at 1080p you can usually keep demanding settings under control without a noticeable compromise.
You should be fine, and that card is powerful enough that 1440p may be a better match than 1080p. If you do eventually encounter a VRAM limit, lowering texture quality, ray tracing, or a couple of ultra settings should usually solve it. Paying over $200 more solely for 16GB probably isn’t worthwhile for 1080p unless you plan to keep the card for a very long time or use heavy mods.
Yes, 12GB should be more than adequate for 1080p for several years. You’ll also be able to play at 1440p in most games without running into VRAM problems.
There are a few games that can exceed 12GB, but usage alone doesn’t mean that amount is required. Memory allocation can be higher than the amount the game actually needs.