Riddle me this, /v/.
How come that a 2GB 960 is performing on the same level as 4GB 960? Is VRAM not all that important for video games, or is it just that the games presented do not really fully require that much memory so the additional 2GB are not really necessary as of yet?
In a few cases I even noted the 2GB outperforming the 4GB by a few FPS.
But in the Batman part, the 4GB was performing at one point by tens of FPS better (but then it was the latest Batman I think which is as far as I know quite shitty a port).
>>320388638
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZRoANKeQX0
Silly me forgot the video.
>>320388638
you don't need 4GB unless you're trying to max settings at 4k or whatever dumb trendy bullshit is tricking people into paying for overpriced peripherals and monitors
>>320388709
I'm just researching the market at the moment, I plan on buying a new GPU maybe in half a year when Pascal comes out as I'm hoping the prices will drop a bit (as they will anyway, it's 6 months).
I was deciding between 950 and 960, 2GB versions, but anon told me to buy a 4GB version and I think that he may be right, the prices are not all that different (20usd and even less) and it would be more sensible for future investment.
Oh, also, another question:
I'm researching because my GPU sudokued and so I'm gonna be using my laptop for the time being.
Is it safe to let the pc sit under my desk unplugged for 6 months or maybe even more? Should I turn it on from time to time, like once or twice a month, just so it doesn't somehow decay? Like batteries do when you don't use them for a long time and the electrolyte leaks out.
>>320388638
>>320389268
Unless you are playing above 1080p a lot of that 4GB RAM is just not being used.
Though if you are in the market for a GPU I would go for the 4GB version or 380X so you can keep the textures maxed for a few years.
>>320388638
4GB memory helps when your game at the graphical settings that you use utilizes more than 2GB of VRAM. The chances that you're running any games at settings where more than 2GB of VRAM is useful on a card as weak as GTX 960 is unlikely.
Not impossible, just unlikely.
>>320389878
>>320389827
But what about the future? THat's what I'm more concerned about. As I said, I will probably buy a new card in 6 or more months and by then more games will be out.
I play on 1080p and don't really care for the graphics all that much, if my 560 didn't die, I'd be happily using it for the next few years playing on lowest settings no fuck given.
>>320390052
You can never future proof
>>320389268
>nvidia
>drop prices
>780ti is still $450
they don't compete with themselves, a 50 buck drop is the best you can hope for unless you go secondhand market
>>320390052
>>320390165
exactly, buy for games that are out now or are coming out very soon, buy for games that exist not ones that don't because you can never keep up with the future
VRAM does't affect FPS. Up until the point where you run out of it. Then you enjoy the stuttering slideshow, anon.
>>320390052
GTX 960 struggles with games at max settings right now. What makes you think it'll be any better in the future?
You don't buy a 200 dollar card to "future proof".
Also I was still playing games on a GTX 460 a year ago. That card has only 1GB of memory.
>>320388709
>you don't need 4GB unless you're trying to max settings at 4k
Don't listen to this uneducated piece of shit.
http://www.computerbase.de/2015-12/2gb-4gb-gtx-960-r9-380-vram-test/2/#abschnitt_frametimemessungen
(German, but you can still read the graphs)
Even a 960 and, moreso, a 380 can easily be limited by their 2GB VRAM. The 4GB VRAM is better frametimes all around.
>>320390251
>a 50 buck drop
enough for me
>>320390165
>>320390364
I mean, come on, you can a little bit.
I'm not talking using-one-card-for-two-decades future proofing.
Recently I've read AMD expecting new consoles to come out sometime in 2020 so I would expect my card to last until them and +a couple years more.
>>320390492
That's why I made this thread, to know whether VRAM is all that important for games.
And as I said, if my 560 didn't die, I'd be using it for the next few years at the very least. At least until I finish uni/drop out of uni and join the cops/whatever the future holds and earn some cash.
>>320390636
That's what surprised me in the video, that 4GB and 2GB versions of 960 were, performance-wise, nearly identical, with 2GB sometimes working by 2-5 FPS better.
In the comment someone said that 4GB si better for games like BAtman which has lots of textures which I expect games in the future to be like so that's why I'm talking future proofing.
>>320390951
VRAM is important, but 4GB vs 2GB is usually not worth it for a GTX 960. Depends on price though.
It doesn't hurt to have more.
>>320388638
Because recent PC ports of console games Ultra settings are just bloated and have no glaring differences from the High settings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG15lovbtZc
>>320391054
As I said, the difference is in tens of dollars, 20 and less, so I'd rather pay that for the additional VRAM.
>>320391170
yo, thanks
If you by a 2gb card in 2015/2016 then you're a fucking retard. The reason the 960 4gb shits the bed is due to its anemic 128-bit memory bus which makes the extra 2gb pretty worthless.
>>320391928
>anemic 128-bit memory bus
so, the more the better?
My 560 is 256bit so I thought the less the better.
>>320388638
4GB is totally helpful for games with decent textures. I can't read Russian or whatever, so I can't tell if those settings are trying to maximize memory options.
There are better options than paying full price for a 660 though.
>>320388709
>>320389827
>>320389878
I'm already maxing out 2GB on a 660 in games (720p in some), so..
