You can trust PC Guide: Our team of experts use a combination of independent consumer research, in-depth testing where appropriate – which will be flagged as such, and market analysis when recommending products, software and services. Find out how we test here. Nvidia’s RTX 50 series graphics cards are expected to launch early next year. And according to rumors so far, there’s a chance that the RTX 5060 will be released with just 8GB of VRAM this coming March. Nvidia hasn’t officially confirmed any details about the upcoming generation yet, but one thing we know for sure is that 8GB’s longevity for gaming is debatable at the moment. Considering we’ve just seen the launch of the Intel Arc B850 (and its reviews), a $249 graphics card with 12GB of memory, the bar for budget GPUs has been raised. The market has been starved of noteworthy entry-level to mid-range entries for a while now, especially something that offers excellent value for money, but the B850 looks to deliver that. How much VRAM do you need these days for gaming? VRAM is a type of memory found in GPUs. It stores textures, shaders, and other graphics data that games need to render images on your screen. The more VRAM your GPU has, the better it can handle larger textures and higher quality/resolution settings. Around five years ago, 4GB of VRAM was enough for most games. However, these days, developers are crafting games with next-gen visuals, which require more VRAM to run smoothly, especially at higher settings and resolutions. Some people will argue that devs are just less focused on optimization, but the fact remains that modern AAA games are getting harder to run. For instance, Intel showcased how Assassin’s Creed Mirage ate up over 9GB of memory while using ultra textures and consumed just over 4GB at low textures. We’re already familiar with high VRAM usage in modern AAA games, as while playing Star Wars Outlaws, we noticed that the game was using around 14GB of VRAM with high settings at 4K. Image source: Intel Intel is going in the right direction, and Nvidia needs to follow Intel seems to understand the need for more VRAM. Their Arc B-Series GPUs come with 10GB and 12GB of VRAM, even though they are budget-focused options. One of their models, the B570, is priced at just $219, making it a great value choice. If the rumors are true and Nvidia sticks to 8GB of VRAM for the RTX 5060, it could feel like they’re falling behind. Many who already own the RTX 4060 might be looking to upgrade, but they may be expecting more VRAM to handle modern games better, at least 10GB. If the RTX 5060 doesn’t deliver, some people might skip upgrading or even switch to Intel or AMD instead. Considering even the RTX 3060 offers 12GB, it would be disappointing to see the 5060 fail to bump up the memory standard. For gamers who play at 1080p resolution and don’t mind lowering the settings, 8GB of VRAM should be fine for some time to come. But for those who want to play the latest AAA games with high or ultra settings, it is becoming out of reach. Take Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as an example. GPUs with only 8GB of VRAM were struggling and the developers had to release a patch to address the issue. In fact, the RTX 3060 was better than the 4060 in some scenarios, particularly with higher texture settings. This doesn’t mean 8GB of VRAM is useless. It’s sufficient for casual gamers or those who play less demanding games. However, for anyone who prefers maxing out graphics settings, especially at 1440p, 8GB will soon fall short; it already has in today’s most demanding titles. Nvidia can fall back on DLSS 3 with Frame Generation (or potentially next-gen DLSS with the 50 series), but frame gen doesn’t come without its problems. 60 FPS as a base is recommended for an optimal experience, otherwise graphical artifacts or latency/input lag can become a factor. In any case, Nvidia is expected to reveal the RTX 50 series during CES 2025, which will kick off on January 7. We’ll have to wait until then to see if the company will follow in Intel’s footsteps and introduce a budget GPU with 10GB+ of VRAM or stick with the standard 8GB.
Nvidia releasing the RTX 5060 with just 8GB VRAM would be disappointing now the Arc B580 exists
