Hey everyone! I'm considering upgrading my graphics card for a budget build, aiming for something under £200. I'm torn between the RTX 3060 with 12GB of VRAM and the RTX 3070 with 8GB. I recently watched a YouTube video where it showed the RTX 3070 running into VRAM issues while playing Rust at 1080p and 1440p, yet it still outperformed the 3060. Strangely, the game didn't crash or lag much; it seemed like it used some system RAM to compensate for the lack of VRAM. This got me thinking: how critical is VRAM capacity in real-world usage? How much can a game rely on system RAM before performance tanks or it crashes? Also, does the type of RAM (DDR4 vs DDR5) make a difference? And do some games handle RAM offloading better than others? Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
4 Answers
It's really hit or miss depending on the game. Some titles can handle running low on VRAM better than others, so it all comes down to how well they're optimized.
System RAM is significantly slower than VRAM. Once you start using system RAM for video memory, your FPS can drop pretty dramatically. Some games might have minor issues, while others can get seriously glitchy or even fail to launch without enough VRAM.
Exactly what I thought! Is Rust just that well-optimized then?
VRAM isn’t crucial when you’re under the limit, but it becomes really important when you go beyond it. Higher resolutions and settings definitely require more VRAM as you ramp up your gaming experience.
I'd personally prefer the 3070 over the 3060, even with the VRAM difference. Just tweak your texture settings if you hit a limit!
So, it's pretty much a dev issue, right? I mean, Rust still running decently on the 3070 surprised me!