How much video memory will FSX make use of?

[WebMaximus 334]

Hi fellow FSX captains!

 

I'm about to build a new FSX rig and I bought a GTX 580 with 1.5 GB of RAM. Is this enough for FSX in all situations or would FSX benefit from a card with 3 GB RAM because I've seen there are such cards as well.

 

TIA,

[Twitchstick 0]

Good question. I have the GTX 580 3GB and I have not checked to see how much VRAM its using when I sim. I will have to check this and get back to you on it.

[dazz 69]

What resolution? for a single screen, 1.5GB should be plenty

[Ben Cap 89]

I use a 1080P display and I have never seen my VRAM usage go over 800-900MB. Typically it hovers around 400-500MB.

[tom79 6]

I think this really depends on the type and amount of addons you use and your other settings (resolution, AA etc).

 

My only suggestion would be: monitor VRAM usage and see if you hit the limits. NVidia inspector has a little monitor tool that can record max VRAM usage.

[Barnstormer1 0]

1.5 is plenty.. FOR FSX. Ive seen the same results as Ben @ 1920 X 1200 dual monitor. Cant comment on theses triplehead, high res situations. I have noticed the higher I push the AA the more mem it uses but never gets close to 1.5.

[WebMaximus 334]

I'll be running at 1920x1080 (I think) and I'm only using one screen (have the second one connected to a second computer) and I'm using 8xS AA if memory serves so I guess this means I'm good to go with the 1.5 GB 580 I already got.

 

Great news, now I think I'm ready to finally start unboxing all my new hardware and put my new FS rig together and hope everything will work as good as I've been hoping it will

[borgfan 1]

I may have picked this up incorrectly, but my understanding is that FSX, using DX9, maps the cards video memory into the applications address space, thus reducing the amount of ram for FSX's use and increasing the risk of out of memory errors, particularly if running WinXP 32b OS.

 

If this is the case then 1-1.5 GB would be a safer route and probably is more than ample for FSX.

[Manny 719]

I am reasonably convinced that more video RAM helps.. Particularly if you have multi monitor setup

 

So all things remaining the same, if you can get more VRAM, I say go for it.

 

Don't ask me to "prove it"./ :Nail Biting:

 

 

Manny