As the NVIDIA RTX 4070 reviews hit the web today, AMD wants to emphasize to gamers that memory capacity is just as crucial as performance. When gaming at higher resolutions and using “movie quality textures,” memory limitation can become a potential issue.
It appears that AMD was proactive in anticipating the need for ample VRAM in graphics cards, as they introduced the Navi 21 GPU lineup with 16GB of VRAM two years ago. Furthermore, they have even increased the VRAM to 20GB and 24GB with the Radeon RX 7900 series. This means that gamers using Radeon GPUs are well-equipped to handle high memory requirements in games. However, it’s worth noting that for features like full ray tracing or FSR3 in demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077, some additional patience may be needed.
AMD is showcasing the benefits of a large memory buffer in modern games. Titles like Resident Evil 4 or The Last Of Us Part 1, played at 4K resolution with ray tracing enabled, can require a significant amount of memory, with peak memory allocation reaching up to 17.5GB. This highlights how having ample VRAM can enhance gaming experiences in demanding scenarios.
It is important to note that allocation doesn’t always equate to actual memory usage. Nowadays, games can dynamically adjust texture fidelity based on the available VRAM. However, it’s undeniable that gaming at 4K or even 1440p resolution with modern titles will likely require a high-end GPU with VRAM exceeding 8GB. This highlights the increasing demand for larger VRAM capacities in order to deliver optimal performance in today’s graphics-intensive games.
So far, all the released RTX 40 GPUs have come with a minimum of 12GB of VRAM, and this configuration is expected to continue with the upcoming RTX 4070 non-Ti. However, there are rumors circulating about an RTX 4060 series with 8GB VRAM.
Gamers on a budget may also face similar VRAM limitations with the Radeon RX 7700/7600 mobile series, which are limited to 8GB VRAM. AMD has been relatively quiet about its plans for the Navi 32/33 desktop GPUs, but given their focus on memory capacity in their marketing, it would be surprising if these upcoming cards don’t push the industry forward with even higher VRAM capacities compared to the previous generation.
Via AMD