F1 2012 VRAM Usage with graphic-mods?

F1 2012 The Game (Codemasters)
Hi,

i am thinking about getting a new graphic-card and am wondering about the VRAM-Usage.
Currently I have 896MB (GTX 260) and with DHD cars it's clearly overloaded.
What can you reach with maxed out details? High-res (full-HD or higher), high AA (4x Multisampling or higher) and many DHD mods.
The question is: are 2 GB (GTX 670) sufficient, or should I go for 3GB (7950) or 4 GB (gtx 670 4GB).
Your opinion/experience is highly appreciated :)

cheers
 
yeah, in stock settings, ultra details and 4xMS, the game doesn't use the full memory.
But I'd like to use the DHD cars and other texture stuff. Also with the new consoles coming I think more VRAM can not hurt in terms of future Games.
 
yeah, in stock settings, ultra details and 4xMS, the game doesn't use the full memory.
But I'd like to use the DHD cars and other texture stuff. Also with the new consoles coming I think more VRAM can not hurt in terms of future Games.


If I have to be honest, the only game that has used up to 2GB VRAM for now is pCARS. And it has a bug with VRAM usage, so it doesn't usually need more than 1GB. In my opinion, 2GB is more than enough, but if u can get a 4GB version of the GPUs, maybe you should go for that.
 
I am with most people here, single screen at 1080p, 2 GB of VRAM should be more than sufficient.

Anti-Aliasing and Ambient Occlusion tends to knock VRAM usage up a bit, but Anisotropic Filtering doesn't.

My current card (HD 7950) has 3 GB, but I didn't purposfuly buy it based on it's amount of VRAM.

Example: Stock game with just one HD tyre mod installed @ 1080p 120hz, with 2nd monitor attached and displaying extended desktop @60hz, running the built in graphics benchmark ultra settings and 8xMSAA.

Peak VRAM usage 1.336 GB & 102 fps Average
 
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I must admit that I am happy with my HD 7950, having upgraded from a pair of crossfired HD 5770's.

At a later stage if it struggles in the future, I will probably get another HD7950 and crossfire them.

That's what I tend to do, single card, then crossfire, single card, crossfire etc.

The only drawback of crossfire is that the VRAM doesn't not double up, the VRAM of the 'master card' is used. However the 3GB on one card is plenty.
 
Rowing, I don't think you'll regret either brands. Check benchmarks of the heavier games you play to see if AMD or Nvidia is better. Games like F1 2012 can be played on MAX without any problems. And even if you get a top card, I don't think it'll last more than 3 years anyway. If it's still powerful enough, it'll die. At least that's how it goes for me. :D
 
Yeah, that's the impression I am getting, but with 2 almost equal choices, the choice doesn't get easier :)
I think I'll go for the 7950 though. The big memory is a plus I think.

Now it isn't, but who knows. It might be in a few years!

Do you play games like GTA 4? Because GTA 4 runs only on Nvidia. Most likely they'll make GTA 5 like that as well when they make the PC version.

But to be honest, no game has ever used 100% of my 2GB memory. pCARS has a memory leak problem and if I play it too much it gets up to 2GB, but before that happens, it uses like 1.2GB. F1 2012 uses 600-700MB. And so on.

Take a look at the warranties, temperatures. I think these things should determine which one to get. Also see which ones draws less power. But yea, I think the most important thing here is the warranty. The 2 cards are basically going to deliver the same performance, so.. :D
 
I played GTA II for some time :D but nothing since. Don't really like it.
Warranty is a good point, did I mention I am cooling with H2O? :D
The only Manufacturer I know to cover cooler-exchange is EVGA and they only make (expensive) GTX670.
 
from experience, when I run 2012 with a lot of mods, I get a smooth constant FPS

I can run a single GTX 570 which has about 1.5GB VRAM and it uses most of it but is always running 100% no frames drop (120fps)

same with SLI enabled.

so you are good to go.
 
I played GTA II for some time :D but nothing since. Don't really like it.
Warranty is a good point, did I mention I am cooling with H2O? :D
The only Manufacturer I know to cover cooler-exchange is EVGA and they only make (expensive) GTX670.


They may be more expensive, but EVGA has the best warranty from what I know. If it brakes in a few years and they don't produce it anymore, they'll give you a newer one. Not sure if you'll have to pay a little money to get it, but I've heard they have the best warranty service.


And I don't think you need to cool your GPU with a watercooler. For CPU, I agree. It's very very needed, but my GTX 670 never goes up to more than 67-70C. That, of course with full FAN. But I don't mind the noise and these cards can run to over 100C without getting any damage. You need to go above 120C to damage your card. At least for Nvidia, I don't know how things are for the AMD side, but I doubt it's much different.

You should also consider that many developers use Nvidias tools. You can see on many games at the beginning a commercial "Nvidia - the way it's meant to be played" or something. These games will definitely work better with Nvidia cards than AMD. Altho most CM games work better with AMD.

Like I said, just look at warranties. I think that is more important than 5% difference between games and 1GB more VRAM which you won't use anyway. At least it doesn't seem like you will. Who knows if actually the new consoles will change things.
 
Of course the H20 isn't really neccessary, but way better in VRM cooling (and therefore lifespan) than ANY Air-Cooler and most important: It is the most quiet solution there is.
I had the Arctic Cooling cooler on my GTX 260 before I switched to watercooling and it is way better. A low noise level is very important to me. I know that the GPU won't overheat with the most aircoolers, but VRMs are a whole different story.

@Diego Lopez: I only knew that 896MB were not enough, so I had to ask how much is actually used. I now know, that 2 Gig will be enough for F1 2012 and probably '13 including mods.
 

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