VRAM or Cores?

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Which is more important when considering a graphics card (aside from cost): the amount of VRAM or the number of cores?

I have two use cases: video rendering and Microsoft Flight Simulator. Is the answer different between those cases?

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Both are important but a much more critical consideration is the clock/bus speed and memory bandwidth of the card.

A card with less VRM/cores but a higher clock/bus speed will outperform one with more VRM/cores but a slower clock/bus speed.

For example, I bought an Nvidia RTX-3060 Ti instead of the cheaper RTX-3060.

They both have the same number of cores…

3060 = 4864 Cuda cores

3060 Ti = 4864 Cuda cores

And the 3060 has more VRM…

3060 = 12 MB

3060 Ti = 8 MB

But the 3060 Ti has a faster clock/bus speed and higher memory bandwidth.

3060 = 1320 MHz and 360.0 GB/s

3060 Ti = 1410 MHz and 448.0 GB/s

And averaged 28% better performance in real-world user GPU comparisons Nvida RTX 3060 Ti vs Nivida RTX 3060.

BTW, two good sites for comparing various graphics cards are:

User Benchmark’s real-world GPU comparisons by actual users and TechP@werup’s searchable GPU database.

2 users thanked author for this post.

windbg, Will Fastie

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n0ads wrote:

will outperform

Outperform in which scenario?

So many of the YouTube videos and benchmark sites focus on contemporary games. I need to strike an appropriate balance. I’m very unlikely to play the popular first-person shooters, but I do want to meet slightly more than the minimum requirements for MS Flight Sim. Most important, I want to accelerate video rendering.

I’m also conscious of price. $275 is my max, but my target is under $200. It has focused my attention on the GeForce RTX 3050 with 6GB VRAM. It has more CUDA cores and RAM than FS requires in its “recommended” tier of requirements, should do dramatically better than my built-in Intel GPU (UHD 750), and has the interesting quality of being powered by the bus, not a separate 8-pin connector. $180. I’m currently investigating Intel Arc A750 cards (~$240); I just need to find out how compatible the card is. There was an early problem with drivers. I do have an 11th-gen processor, which is the minimum.

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Will Fastie wrote:

Outperform in which scenario?

Both gaming and video rendering.

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