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VRAM is primarily used as a high-speed memory buffer for storing and quickly accessing the data required for rendering graphics. It holds the textures, shaders, and other graphics assets that are used by the GPU to process and display images on the screen. Having sufficient VRAM is crucial for rendering complex scenes, high-resolution textures, and advanced graphical effects without significant performance degradation or visual artifacts, i.e., your gaming experience.
For playing the latest games in 2023, Radeon™ graphics have a solution no matter your budget. AMD suggested price, market price subject to change.
According to Steam Survey, gaming displays with 2560x1440p resolution are the fastest growing segment of displays among gamers. With over 75% more pixels than the current dominant 1080p resolution, 1440p is today’s sweet spot in both esports and AAA gaming with sharper images and higher detail to bring your games to life. As you increase pixel count you place more demand on your PC’s graphics card.
Depending on which resolution you choose to play at (i.e., 1080p, 1440p, or 4K) the recommended VRAM size will change. With the right amount of VRAM in your GPU, you gain more control over your gaming experience and maximize the value of your investment into your PC rig.
Take Control Over Your Play.
Why Memory Matters
Performance
Faster. Smoother. Stable. VRAM is a key contributor to graphics performance. Games will run faster (higher average FPS) and smoother (lower, stable time between each frame) in newer games. It also adds stability to your experience. When a graphics card’s video memory hits capacity during gameplay, information that cannot fit must travel back and forth from your system RAM. This causes laggy gameplay and in extreme cases, game crashes.
AMD Radeon™ graphics are prepared for the road ahead. With performance and memory configuration leadership versus competition, Radeon™ graphics gives you the performance you need in the latest games. As an example, here are some key performance metrics in Far Cry 6 with the HD Texture Pack enabled at 1440p with raytracing enabled:
Performance Leadership with Radeon™
Far Cry 6 at Native 1440p, Max Settings with Raytracing Enabled[1]
AMD Radeon™ RX 6750 XT vs. RTX 4060 Ti: 28% faster average FPS, and 87% smoother gaming with higher 1% Low FPS. The RTX 4060 Ti was limited by 8GB of VRAM for 1440p gaming.
For 1440p gaming at maximum settings, AMD recommends 12GB of VRAM. Average FPS is a good overall metric in understanding game performance, but 1% Low FPS and frame times give you a deeper understanding on how smooth and stable the experience is. VRAM is a critical component in maintaining high FPS stable frame rates, while delivering maximum fidelity in your game.
Image Quality
High quality textures. Beautiful shaders. Immersive raytracing. Having more video memory gives you more control over dialing your in-game graphics settings to max, enabling features like raytracing, all while maintaining good frame rates. Having ample VRAM reduces visual issues that can occur, like texture pop-in.
Texture pop-in can occur when your GPU does not have enough VRAM. This causes blurry, low-res textures to appear instead of higher quality textures.
Control Your Investment
Graphics cards are an investment into playing your favorite games today and new favorites tomorrow. For 1440p gaming or playing 1080p at maximum settings with raytracing enabled, AMD Radeon™ offers 12GB graphics cards starting at $349. If you want even more memory to take the plunge into even higher resolutions like 4K, Radeon™ GPUs with 16GB start at $499.
The Right GPU for You. Radeon™ RX GPUs with 12GB start at $349.
Pricing based on lowest market price on Newegg.com and Nvidia.com as of 5/30/2023.
Gaming requirements are evolving, and we don’t want you to get left behind. Be ready and confident that your PC is ready for your favorite games today and tomorrow.
For more information on where to buy AMD Radeon™ RX 6000 and 7000 Series graphics, visit our Where to Buy Radeon RX 6000 Series and RX 7000 Series pages.
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Matthew Hummel is a Product Marketing Manager for Radeon™ graphics cards at AMD.
Currently protecting the galaxy from descending darkness in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
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Endnotes:
1) RX-946 – Testing by AMD as of May 16, 2023, on AMD Radeon™ RX 6750 XT (12GB) graphics card with AMD Software Adrenalin Edition 23.4.3 driver, versus RTX 4060 Ti (8GB) with driver 531.79 on a test system with AMD Ryzen™ 9 7950X3D, 32GB DDR5-5200M/T, X670 Ace MSI motherboard, and Windows 11 Pro 10.0.22621, using Far Cry 6 at 1440p, Ultra settings with raytracing “High” enabled. System manufacturers may vary configurations, yielding different results.
