New video card time

Forums › Desktop computing › New video card time

1 | 2 | 3

11924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9675

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3383347 12-Jun-2025 19:26

Stu1:

What’s bad about 8Gb cards? We build a gaming pc the Nvidia RTX 4060 has been solid

VRAM has become the bottleneck for many modern games. As you go up in resolution it gets progressively worse.

It's not a big problem at 1080p for most games but as you go 1440p it's limiting the framerate in many games.

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14116 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4578

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3383371 12-Jun-2025 20:05

Stu1:

What’s bad about 8Gb cards? We build a gaming pc the Nvidia RTX 4060 has been solid

Screen resolution vs textures etc.

4060 is fine 1080p and prob 2560x1440, but Im on 3440x1440.

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

Qazzy03

545 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 492

#3383395 12-Jun-2025 22:03

Stu1:

What’s bad about 8Gb cards? We build a gaming pc the Nvidia RTX 4060 has been solid

Hardware Unboxed has a new video looking at the differences for the 9060 XT and PCI E generations.

Radeon RX 9060 XT PCI Express 3.0, 4.0 & 5.0 Comparison (8GB vs. 16GB)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LhS0_ra9c4

IronH

398 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 79

#3384526 15-Jun-2025 23:01

I'm on a 34" 3440x1440 ultrawide. I had an 8GB 3060Ti which often ran out of VRAM. It performs roughly the same or slightly worse than a 5060 IIRC. So if 3060Ti was running out of VRAM, you can bet a 5060 / 5060Ti / 9060XT with 8GB will have it even worse at this resolution.

And yeah, pricing is crazy, I had hoped to buy something this gen in the $800-$1000 range (which I don't think is a 'budget' amount but apparently it is in 2025). I could've gotten a 16GB 5060Ti, and yes the VRAM amount is nice but the performance uplift wasn't enough to justify that price. I ended up getting a $1400 12GB 5070 (need CUDA support for pytorch otherwise I would've gone with 16GB 9070). The 5070 is almost double the performance of my old 3060 Ti - but with that performance level its' 12GB is still pretty limiting @ 3440x1440 (I've hit VRAM limit a couple times and a lot of titles sit at 11.5GB usage) - I don't see this card lasting me more than a year. In hind sight I wish I had just gone for the 16GB 5070Ti even though it would've been double my original budget, because then I wouldn't have to upgrade in a years time. Though maybe I can upgrade to a 'Super' variant (perhaps the rumored 18GB 5070 Super or 24GB 5070Ti Super).

TLDR: I highly advise against 8GB for 3440x1440 gaming in modern titles - you'll get VRAM performance related issues today let alone in 12 months from now. It won't age well if you intend on keeping it for a long time.

SpartanVXL

1498 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 666

#3384663 16-Jun-2025 12:33

IronH:

I'm on a 34" 3440x1440 ultrawide. I had an 8GB 3060Ti which often ran out of VRAM. It performs roughly the same or slightly worse than a 5060 IIRC. So if 3060Ti was running out of VRAM, you can bet a 5060 / 5060Ti / 9060XT with 8GB will have it even worse at this resolution.

And yeah, pricing is crazy, I had hoped to buy something this gen in the $800-$1000 range (which I don't think is a 'budget' amount but apparently it is in 2025). I could've gotten a 16GB 5060Ti, and yes the VRAM amount is nice but the performance uplift wasn't enough to justify that price. I ended up getting a $1400 12GB 5070 (need CUDA support for pytorch otherwise I would've gone with 16GB 9070). The 5070 is almost double the performance of my old 3060 Ti - but with that performance level its' 12GB is still pretty limiting @ 3440x1440 (I've hit VRAM limit a couple times and a lot of titles sit at 11.5GB usage) - I don't see this card lasting me more than a year. In hind sight I wish I had just gone for the 16GB 5070Ti even though it would've been double my original budget, because then I wouldn't have to upgrade in a years time. Though maybe I can upgrade to a 'Super' variant (perhaps the rumored 18GB 5070 Super or 24GB 5070Ti Super).

TLDR: I highly advise against 8GB for 3440x1440 gaming in modern titles - you'll get VRAM performance related issues today let alone in 12 months from now. It won't age well if you intend on keeping it for a long time.

This is why my first recommendation was the 5070ti, it is the lowest card with 256bit bus and enough cores to last a decent time for 1440p and above. 5080 costs too much and the 4xxx series are mostly sold out.

I wish we could return to when high end was less than $1000 but thats not happening now with AI speculation.

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14116 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4578

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3384688 16-Jun-2025 14:04

I'm looking at 8GB 9060XT, as a friend said to me over the weekend, "its still going to be hell of an upgrade over what you have".

Yes I game at native 3440x1440, but I turn crap down to make things work now, so can do the same with the newer card where needed.

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

toejam316

1516 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 888

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3384690 16-Jun-2025 14:13

If you're going to pick up a 9060 XT, please push the extra for the 16GB model. You will find yourself rapidly hamstrung by going for a 8GB model. It's a $90 difference at PB tech between the cheapest 9060 XT 8GB and 9060 XT 16GB. I also think checking the used market for a 7800 XT could be a good move, too.

Join Quic Broadband with my referral - no sign up fee and gives me account credit

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.

eonsim

403 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 192

Trusted

#3384696 16-Jun-2025 14:23

The problem with 8GB is that it drastically tanks your performance if you go over the limit (Veilguard went from 90 to 20 fps for example for me at 1440P). So you end up having to turn down alot of settings in an attempt to get under the memory threshold. Sure currently you can run all the games if you turn the settings down far enough, but there are cases even at 1080P on High or Ultra quality that end up needing more than 8GB of VRAM.

It would drive me a bit nutty if I had to turn down half the settings to lowest because I only had 8GB of VRAM, when the 16GB card could happily run it at 2-3x faster on High. Also there are cases where the cheaper 12GB B580 will run games noticeably better than the more expensive 8GB 5060 TI/9060 XT/5060.

Is saving $100-150 dollars today to get a 8GB card now, and thus needing to buy a new card (for $700-$1000) in 2-3 years with 12/16GB just to run a new game that interests you worth it?

The 8GB cards may mostly work today, but in two to three years if your still keen on playing the odd new PC game you'll be looking at buying a new card with more VRAM (which is why the 8GB cards exist to make you more likely to have to buy a new card in a couple of years).

IronH

398 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 79

#3384874 16-Jun-2025 20:51

xpd:

I'm looking at 8GB 9060XT, as a friend said to me over the weekend, "its still going to be hell of an upgrade over what you have".

Yes I game at native 3440x1440, but I turn crap down to make things work now, so can do the same with the newer card where needed.

Totally understandable—any upgrade from older hardware can feel huge. But 8GB GPUs are already struggling today, and that gap will only widen. Imagine if the 2060 Super had launched in 2019 with a 4GB variant—it would’ve been obsolete years ago. While the 8GB version is still usable today. Thankfully they never released a 4gb variant because it wouldn't have been reasonable. That's what 8gb is today, it's not reasonable and that's why there is so much backlash about it. 8GB is the bare minimum today, it won’t age well.

Check out Youtube reviews from Hardware Unboxed, Gamers Nexus, VEX, and Daniel Owens. They show how 8GB cards are already lagging behind their 16GB counterparts—this isn't future speculation, it's happening now!

Of course, it's your decision at the end of the day, but when you ask for our "thoughts and experiences", and the general consensus is to steer clear of 8GB, it's probably worth considering why that advice is so consistent.

IronH

398 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 79

#3384877 16-Jun-2025 21:08

SpartanVXL:

This is why my first recommendation was the 5070ti, it is the lowest card with 256bit bus and enough cores to last a decent time for 1440p and above. 5080 costs too much and the 4xxx series are mostly sold out.

I wish we could return to when high end was less than $1000 but thats not happening now with AI speculation.

yeah me too, I remember when someone on overclockers nz forum back in the day bought a brand new top of the range nvidia gpu for $1k - everyone was so envious.

I did consider the 5070Ti but they were $2k at the time and I just didn't want to spend that much, but hind sight is always 20/20 🙃. My only consolation is maybe they will release Super variants next year with 50% more VRAM 🤞, that way I can justify another upgrade

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14116 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4578

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3385006 17-Jun-2025 08:35

At least you guys aren't abusing me :D Certain other forums I've asked around in a little more "colorful" and forth coming with their responses :D

I'm still a few weeks off from having the funds, so will take everything said into consideration :)

Thanks all :)

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

Geekzone

Want to support Geekzone and browse the site without the ads? Subscribe to Geekzone now (monthly, annual and lifetime options).

SpartanVXL

1498 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 666

#3385025 17-Jun-2025 10:45

I haven’t looked at how well FSR4 fairs overall (seems good), but if you rely heavily on that then you won’t encounter vram issues as much. It does however mean you have to get a 9000 series as amd’s prior cards don’t do ai upscaling well. It also relies on whatever games you play to have FSR4 implemented or at least DLSS which you can use dll swap mods for.

Other forums especially overseas expect different price points. We’re all in the same boat down here, expensive unless you find a good secondhand deal or ship something over from amazon aus for cheaper :)

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14116 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4578

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3385987 21-Jun-2025 16:42

Reporting back to let you know I went with the 16GB in the end.... ouch to the wallet but yeah :D The life of gaming....

Not installed yet, visitors arriving very soon damnit :D

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

Handle9

11924 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9675

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3386096 22-Jun-2025 06:35

xpd:

Reporting back to let you know I went with the 16GB in the end.... ouch to the wallet but yeah :D The life of gaming....

Not installed yet, visitors arriving very soon damnit :D

FWIW I think you've done the right thing. It'll be a good card for a long time.

Qazzy03

545 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 492

#3386162 22-Jun-2025 09:53

xpd:

Reporting back to let you know I went with the 16GB in the end.... ouch to the wallet but yeah :D The life of gaming....

Not installed yet, visitors arriving very soon damnit :D

If you play games with mods i.e Xcom 2, Skyrim etc, that extra VRAM is going to pay dividends!

Mods eat up so much VRAM.

1 | 2 | 3