Gone are the days when 4GB RAM on a graphics card was the norm. Currently, the RX 5500 XT is the last AMD card to use 4GB RAM along with it’s 8GB counterpart. AMD argues that the 8GB cards get way more performance improvements compared to the same graphics card on 4GBB RAM. They even prepared an image detailing the differences between the two RAM variants.
The above image is based on AMD’s blog post which compares the RX 5500XT’s 4GB and 8GB RAM variants, and how it improves the performance in games. They tested the two Radeon RX 5500 XT cards against each other, and you can see that the 8GB version has around 20% more performance in major games. AMD tested Borderland 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Forza Horizon 4, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. They main point AMD was trying to emphasize was not that 8GB is superior, but that 4GB will not be sufficient for demanding games on 1080p in the coming years. This post could mean that AMD will soon be setting the minimum VRAM for GPUs to 8GB.
Now that the Xbox X and PS5 are released, by default they come with 16GB GDDR6 memory. While PC has a separate memory for the CPU, and separate for the GPU, the consoles have a memory that’s used by both the CPU and GPU. Since consoles are getting higher memory capacities, it’s time graphics cards for the PC too get a memory boost, and AMD is helping start the higher memory capacities for lower end GPUs.
AMD said in the post…
“AMD is leading the industry at providing gamers with high VRAM graphics solutions across the entire product offering. Competitive products at a similar entry-level price-point are offering up to a maximum of 4GB of VRAM, which is evidently not enough for today’s games. Go Beyond 4GB of Video Memory to Crank Up your settings. Play on RadeonTM RX Series GPUs with 6GB or 8GB of VRAM and enjoy gaming at Max settings.”
AMD’s new GPUs are releasing in around September this year. It will be interesting to see if they will release the lowest variant at 4GB, or choose 6/8GB as standard.
