Does more RAM on a GPU make a difference when playing in 3D?

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Osobari
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Does more RAM on a GPU make a difference when playing in 3D?

Post by Osobari »

I've been thinking about building a gaming rig that's built to handle multiple 3D solutions (NVIDIA 3D Vision and Tridef, in my case), so I'm trying to decide what's the best GPU to buy. Due to Tridef's limitation of being unable to support dual GPUs, it seems like a GTX 580 is my best option. However, I have another choice to make; should I go with the standard 1.5 GB model, or go for the 3 GB model, since it's really not that much more expensive? I'm not sure if RAM usage is doubled when in 3D mode, so I thought I'd ask before investing in anything.
WiredEarp
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Re: Does more RAM on a GPU make a difference when playing in

Post by WiredEarp »

Hi Osobari.

I've just been through all of this with my new build.
I ended up posting a question on Reddit as I wasn't sure. Got lots of useful info, but eventually found some benchmarks that I think were a more definitive answer.

My original thread was here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/gamingpc/commen ... _versions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The relevant links were these:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/show ... p?t=684954" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; http://www.behardware.com/articles/844- ... round.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Even @ 5760x1600, 8xAA, it seems the difference is only a couple of FPS in almost every game - and also it seems the 3GB cards are generally about 1fps slower at 'normal' resolutions. Both of which make both the 1.5GB 580's, and the 1/2 of 3GB 590's a bit more attractive.

I ended up buying a 3GB card before I saw those benchmarks, and because I'm going to probably SLI it in a couple of months anyway. However, if id seen those benchmarks first, I might have just gone with a GTX 590. Its only 50% faster than a 580 but it has the ability to do triple monitor out on the one card, and is significantly cheaper than 2 580's (which DO provide better performance).

The GTX580s are pretty decent cards even not SLI'ed... im getting 60FPS in Skyrim almost everywhere in stereo, and BF3 gets me > 60 in non stereo mode.
Osobari
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Re: Does more RAM on a GPU make a difference when playing in

Post by Osobari »

Hmm, thanks for the help. Looks like it doesn't much of a difference at all, if any.
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cybereality
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Re: Does more RAM on a GPU make a difference when playing in

Post by cybereality »

Wow! I would have thought for sure the RAM made some difference (especially in Surround) but it doesn't look like its doing jack. Great to know.
Osobari
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Re: Does more RAM on a GPU make a difference when playing in

Post by Osobari »

cybereality wrote:Wow! I would have thought for sure the RAM made some difference (especially in Surround) but it doesn't look like its doing jack. Great to know.
Indeed. I might actually get a 590 after all, and just disable SLI whenever I'm forced to use Tridef. It seems Tridef beats NVIDIA 3D Vision is most games when the game doesn't natively support 3D, whereas 3D Vision can take awhile to catch up while people wait for mods from the community to fix certain errors. Skyrim appears to be flawless with Tridef from what I've heard, for example, whereas to people over at the NVIDIA boards are still scrambling trying to get mods and patches to fix the errors with the sky and such. The only downside is the lack of dual-GPU setups and the fact that you have to launch the game within Tridef, though the latter isn't much of a negative.
WiredEarp
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Re: Does more RAM on a GPU make a difference when playing in

Post by WiredEarp »

Yep, I probably should have gone for a 590. If you can disable one of the cores, its probably a better option unless you really need the absolute best (2 or 3x 580's in SLI) - especially since all the card outputs are on the one card.
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