{"id":415541,"date":"2022-03-13T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-13T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-is-vram\/"},"modified":"2022-03-13T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-13T13:00:00","slug":"what-is-vram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-vram\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Is VRAM?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a28a3d3b7fcd\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a28a3d3b7fcd\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-vram\/#%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_VRAM%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;What Is VRAM?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-vram\/#The_%E2%80%9CRAM%E2%80%9D_in_VRAM\" >The \u201cRAM\u201d in VRAM<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-vram\/#VRAM_Is_RAM_for_a_GPU\" >VRAM Is RAM for a GPU<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-vram\/#VRAM_vs_RAM\" >VRAM vs. RAM<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-vram\/#How_Much_VRAM_Do_You_Need\" >How Much VRAM Do You Need?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-vram\/#How_to_Check_How_Much_VRAM_You_Have\" >How to Check How Much VRAM You Have<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-vram\/#How_to_Increase_Your_VRAM\" >How to Increase Your VRAM<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_VRAM%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;What Is VRAM?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-782337 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/shutterstock_2043446315.jpg?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/shutterstock_2043446315.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/shutterstock_2043446315.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"An NVIDIA GPU without the cooling system.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/vilnius-lithuania-03-20-2021-nvidia-2043446315\" data-credittext=\"Denns\/Shutterstock.com\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/vilnius-lithuania-03-20-2021-nvidia-2043446315\">Denns\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>VRAM or Video Random-Access Memory is the memory a GPU uses to store the information it needs to render images on a display. VRAM comes in many forms and having the right amount and type of it is crucial.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_%E2%80%9CRAM%E2%80%9D_in_VRAM\"><\/span>The \u201cRAM\u201d in VRAM<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Before we talk about VRAM in particular, it\u2019s worth focusing briefly on the \u201cRAM\u201d bit. You can read all about how RAM works, but we\u2019ll give a quick summary here:<\/p>\n<p>For the purposes of this article, all you need to know is that random-access memory is the memory that a processor gets the data it needs to perform calculations. The CPU reads and stores data in RAM while it does its job. The reason it can\u2019t use data directly from a hard disk drive or solid-state drive is that they are too slow. The data must first be transferred to RAM before it is read and manipulated.<\/p>\n<p>The more RAM a system has, the less it has to rely on slow storage devices for information. When there\u2019s more data than can fit in RAM, the system is forced to \u201cswap\u201d RAM contents to a special file on your HDD or SSD, which can cause serious system slowdown. If you have a system with plenty of fast RAM, you ensure that your CPU is always working at its full potential.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"VRAM_Is_RAM_for_a_GPU\"><\/span>VRAM Is RAM for a GPU<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-782338 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/shutterstock_1430140205.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A person playing a PC game.\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/pretty-excited-black-gamer-girl-has-1430140205\" data-credittext=\"Gorodenkoff\/Shutterstock.com\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/pretty-excited-black-gamer-girl-has-1430140205\">Gorodenkoff\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>VRAM is, in principle, the same thing as CPU system RAM but for the use of the GPU. VRAM is often referred to as \u201ctexture memory\u201d, referencing the texture data that polygonal 3D models are wr<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ed in, but modern graphics consist of much more than just wireframe models and textures.<\/p>\n<p>The GPU also needs information from the CPU such as the positions of objects determined by animation and physics algorithms performed by the CPU. Basically, if the GPU needs data to draw the final picture on the screen, that data is in VRAM.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"VRAM_vs_RAM\"><\/span>VRAM vs. RAM<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>VRAM doesn\u2019t have to be a specific type of physical memory. Any RAM can work as VRAM, for better or for worse. It\u2019s actually quite common for system RAM to be used as VRAM. If your computer uses an integrated GPU, then the GPU doesn\u2019t have any RAM of its own. Instead, a portion of your system RAM is reserved to act as video memory.<\/p>\n<p>However, the needs of a CPU and a GPU are a little different when it comes to bandwidth, latency, and speed. This is why graphics cards use specialized graphics RAM such as GDDR5 or GDDR6. There are several technical differences between regular DDR system RAM and GDDR, but the most important one is that GDDR features a wide \u201cbus.\u201d A bus is an interconnection between computer components.\u00a0The wider the bus, the more data can be sent at the same time. Since graphics involve manipulating massive amounts of data in parallel, the width of the memory bus is incredibly important.<\/p>\n<p>Some computer systems such as modern <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> consoles, smartphones, and Apple\u2019s M1 computers have \u201cunified memory.\u201d Rather than having a piece of system RAM chopped off for the GPU, both processors dynamically share memory as needed. As an added bonus, if the CPU and GPU both need the same data, there\u2019s no need to have two copies in two different sets of memory. In some of these systems, such as the PlayStation 5, the unified RAM is all GDDR. So the CPU and GPU both use RAM that\u2019s designed for GPU use.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Much_VRAM_Do_You_Need\"><\/span>How Much VRAM Do You Need?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Software packages that have specific GPU requirements will list the minimum and recommended amount of VRAM you need to run the software. That\u2019s independent of the minimum GPU specification. Weak GPUs can have more VRAM than you need and powerful GPUs can have too little.<\/p>\n<p>For gamers, the good <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> is that you can now see how much VRAM is in use as you adjust the settings of your game. With each setting you change, the impact on your VRAM usage is shown.<\/p>\n<p>Performance overlay software, such as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nvidia.com\/en-us\/geforce\/geforce-experience\/\">GeForce Experience<\/a> for NVIDIA cards, will show how full your VRAM is in real-time.<\/p>\n<p>If your software uses more VRAM than your GPU physically has, it must swap VRAM content to the hard drive, just as with system RAM. When this happens, you\u2019ll experience a dramatic drop in performance so it\u2019s best avoided.<\/p>\n<p>The main factors that affect VRAM use are texture detail and output resolution. You <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly need much more VRAM to render a 4K image than a 1080p image!<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Check_How_Much_VRAM_You_Have\"><\/span>How to Check How Much VRAM You Have<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you aren\u2019t sure how to know how much VRAM you have, there are a number of ways you can check:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Check your graphics card\u2019s box.<\/li>\n<li>Find your GPU model on the manufacturer\u2019s website.<\/li>\n<li>Check the VRAM number in a game\u2019s settings or use your GPU\u2019s performance overlay.<\/li>\n<li>On Windows 10 or Windows 11, head to Settings &gt; System &gt; Display &gt; Advanced Display &gt; Display Adapter Properties and look at the \u201cDedicated Video Memory\u201d line.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-782234\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Graphics-VRAM.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Graphics VRAM\" width=\"406\" height=\"420\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>We prefer using <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techpowerup.com\/download\/gpu-z\/\">TechPowerUp\u2019s GPU-Z application<\/a> since it will give you detailed information about your GPU. You\u2019ll find your VRAM size under Memory Size, as shown here.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-782238\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/GPUZ.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"388\" height=\"539\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Increase_Your_VRAM\"><\/span>How to Increase Your VRAM<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re using a dedicated graphics card, the only way to increase your VRAM is to replace the card. If you\u2019re using a laptop with dedicated graphics, you\u2019ll usually have to replace the entire laptop, since virtually none have upgradable GPUs.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re using a computer with an integrated GPU, you can usually increase the VRAM allocation in the BIOS settings. Of course, that eats into the available system RAM, but with both desktop and laptop systems it\u2019s usually possible to install more system RAM. If you have a Thunderbolt 3 equipped system, you may also have the option of using an eGPU\u00a0with better specifications than your current GPU, but it\u2019s not the best solution for everyone!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/781787\/what-is-vram\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;What Is VRAM?&#8221; Denns\/Shutterstock.com VRAM or Video Random-Access Memory is the memory a GPU uses to store the information it needs to render images on a display. VRAM comes in many forms and having the right amount and type of it is crucial. The \u201cRAM\u201d in VRAM Before we talk about VRAM in particular, it\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":415542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/shutterstock_2043446315.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-415541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}