Are you experiencing errors related to VRAM (video RAM) on your Windows computer? Having trouble running graphics programs like new video game and video editing software? You may need more VRAM. So what is VRAM? What mission does it have?
What is VRAM?
Video RAM (or VRAM) is a special type of RAM that works with a computer’s graphics processor or GPU. GPU is a chip on the computer’s graphics card (or video card) that is responsible for displaying images on the screen. Although technically incorrect, the terms GPU and graphics card are often used interchangeably.
VRAM holds information that the GPU needs, like game textures and lighting effects, allowing the GPU to quickly access information and output video to the screen. Using VRAM for this job is much faster than using system RAM because VRAM is located right next to the GPU in the graphics card and is built for this intense purpose.
How to find VRAM capacity information on your computer
Users can easily view the amount of VRAM in Windows 10 by following these steps:
Step 1: Open Settings by pressing Windows key + I.
Step 2: Select System, then click Display on the left bar.
Step 3: Scroll down and click Display adapter properties.
Step 4: A panel will appear, select the Adapter tab and look in the Information Adapter section.
Step 5: You will see the VRAM capacity next to Dedicated Video Memory.
In the Adapter Type section, users will see the name NVIDIA or AMD graphics card, depending on the type of device. If you see AMD Accelerated Processing Unit or Intel HD Graphics (almost the same), it means the system is using integrated graphics.
Compare VRAM and integrated graphics
Most people who build their own computer or buy a pre-built gaming console have a video card. Some more powerful laptops even have a graphics card. But with a cheap desktop or laptop, manufacturers often do not use video cards but instead use integrated graphics.
An integrated graphics solution means the GPU has the same speed as the CPU and shares regular system RAM instead of using VRAM dedicated to it. This is a cheap solution and allows the laptop to output basic graphics products without the need for a video card. However, the integrated graphics cannot perform other gaming and graphics tasks.
The strength of integrated graphics depends on the CPU. Newer Intel CPUs with Intel Iris Plus graphics are more powerful than older competitors and are cheap but still pale in comparison to dedicated graphics.
With a computer that’s several years old, users should have no problem watching videos, playing low-intensity games, and working with basic photo and video editing applications with integrated graphics. However, playing the latest graphically impressive games using integrated graphics is essentially impossible.
What tasks require VRAM?
Before talking about specific numbers, we’ll cover the aspects of games and other graphics applications that use VRAM the most.
A big factor in VRAM consumption is screen resolution. VRAM stores the frame buffer, which holds an image before and during the time the GPU displays it on the screen. Better displays (like gaming on a 4K display) will take up more VRAM because high-resolution images will have more pixels.
In addition to the display, textures in a game can strongly affect VRAM. Most modern computer games allow tweaking settings to improve performance or image quality. You can play a game from a few years ago with Low or Medium settings on a cheaper card (or even integrated graphics). However, with High or Ultra quality, or custom mods that create even better in-game textures than normal, players will need a lot of RAM. Features like anti-aliasing (smoothing edges) also use a lot of VRAM due to the pixels.
Specific games also require different amounts of VRAM. A game like Overwatch doesn’t require too much graphics, but a game with many advanced lighting effects and detailed textures like Rise of the Tomb Raider requires more resources. Conversely, a cheap card with just 2GB of VRAM (or integrated graphics) is enough to play older computer games, but older games require closer to 2GB of VRAM.
Even if you’re not interested in gaming, some popular software requires large amounts of VRAM. 3D design software like AutoCAD, Photoshop, and high-quality video editing will all suffer without enough VRAM.
VRAM capacity
Below is a list of VRAM capacities:
- VRAM ranges from 1GB – 2GB: These cards are usually under $100, they offer better performance than integrated graphics but cannot handle most modern games with above average settings. Only buy a VRAM card like this if you want to play older games that don’t work with integrated graphics, don’t edit videos, or do 3D design work.
- VRAM ranges from 3GB – 6GB: These mid-range cards are suitable for gaming or video editing but cannot be used for this super special texture pack for Fallout 4, but can be expected to play games State of the art at 1080p resolution with few issues.
- 8GB VRAM or higher: high-end cards with this much RAM are for professional gamers. If you want to play the latest games at 4K resolution, you need a card with a lot of VRAM.
Graphics card manufacturers add the appropriate amount of VRAM to a card depending on how powerful the GPU is. Therefore, a cheap $75 graphics card will have low VRAM capacity, while a $500 graphics card will have more capacity. If a GPU is not powerful enough to render video, using an 8GB VRAM would be a waste.
Just like RAM, more VRAM does not always mean better performance. If your card has 4GB of VRAM and you’re playing a game that only uses 2GB, upgrading to an 8GB card won’t change anything. On the contrary, not having enough VRAM is a serious problem. If VRAM is full, the system must rely on standard RAM and performance will suffer, low frame rates and a number of other effects.
VRAM is just one factor that affects performance. Without a powerful enough CPU, HD video cannot be rendered, without RAM the system will not be able to run multiple programs at the same time, and using a mechanical hard drive will limit system performance. And some cheaper graphics cards can use slow DDR3 VRAM. The best way to find the right graphics card and VRAM capacity is to find a professional who is knowledgeable about the subject.
Trick your PC into thinking you have lots of VRAM!
In some cases, games or programs will not run if your PC does not have a lot of VRAM. The reason is that developers don’t want their games to run with terrible performance, then have to deal with complaints from gamers with weak PCs. However, by using a little registry trick, you can trick the game into thinking you have more VRAM than you actually have, which can help some games run.
Type regedit in the Windows search box and press Enter. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Intel. Right-click the Intel folder on the left and click New -> Key to create a new key named GMM, then select the newly created folder.
In the right panel, right-click anywhere in the empty area and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it “DedicatedSegmentSize” and set Value data to 512.
Restart your computer to see if the problem is resolved and if you can play the game or run the program you want.
VRAM is at the heart of gaming, video editing, and other graphics-intensive activities. It’s also physically soldered to your GPU, so you can’t physically increase it, but you can get some benefit by following the article’s instructions above to fake the VRAM increase.
Now that you know more about what VRAM is, its uses, and its limitations, you may be interested in purchasing a new graphics card if your current GPU is not up to standard. If you have enough VRAM but are still not getting the GPU performance you want, try overclocking your GPU with MSI Afterburner.
