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Video RAM question

Back in the early days of the RTX 3060, I remember a question about the amount of video RAM available and I believe you stated that 2GB would be plenty. Now, these cards are available with 12GB of video RAM! Why is this necessary and what has changed?

—Serpent Lord

THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: It’s a good question, particularly given the huge amounts of system RAM available in today’s PCs. But the answer is straightforward and based on the simple fact that VRAM is optimized for the demands of graphics. The type of RAM—GDDR SDRAM—is optimized for high-bandwidth usage, and along with its placement on the GPU, means it processes graphics far quicker than using system RAM.

As you’d expect, VRAM is used primarily to store and transfer the data needed to render gaming images in all their glorious color and resolution. If you’re not a gamer or don’t care for the latest high-res graphics, then 2GB is fine (this may be why we recommended this figure in response to a non-gamer’s question), but as a rule of thumb, you’ll need a minimum of 4GB for 1080p gaming, and 6 to 8GB for 1440p or 4K.

You’ll need more than 2 GB VRAM for gaming.

Why is this? Over the past few years, no doubt fueled by the availability of ever greater amounts of VRAM, developers have focused on producing graphics containing staggering amounts of quality and detail, and those demands on gaming textures and anti-aliasing, to name just two elements in rendering graphics, have forced requirements upward.