Hello

Just wondering if MSFS will ever use up to 24GB or VRAM or is 16 GB enough.

Wanting to upgrade to 4x series GPU to take advantage of DLSS3 and Frame generation. Running a I9 13900k at the moment 

Am flying planes like Fenix A320 into JFK, EGGL and KLAX ...

Running at 1440p but maybe 4k in the future.

 

Thanks!

I have it on good authority from Bill Gates himself that you'll never ever need more than 640K of RAM in a computer...  😉

The real question is whether there'll be a need for >16 GB within the useful life of the current batch of cards.  I tend to doubt it, unless you're doing something like 4K multimonitor work, 8K, or high-end VR.

I've not had any issues with my RTX 4080 16 GB in any games (incl. MSFS), but who knows what the future will bring. 
The usual trend is that games and software require more and more VRAM, so I am a little bit skeptical about how the 16 GB card is going to hold up 5 years from now. 
But in the immediate future I don't think it's going to be a problem. 

Other than that, I would say the 4080 is absolutely amazing for MSFS. Frame Generation really works wonders. 

I have seen my 4090 get surprising close to 16 gig in memory usage. Glad I have a bunch more vram.

46 minutes ago, planechaser said:

Running at 1440p but maybe 4k in the future

VR?

I went 4090 to secure for future hi-res VR use.

People using hi end VR devices like a Varjo Aero or Pimax have reported performance issues with lower VRAM.

In terms of 2D screens, I strongly suspect you are no going to hit serious issues until you start talking multiple 4K monitors.

Withdrawn..

Edited February 14, 20233 yr by FrankR409

1 hour ago, planechaser said:

Hello

Just wondering if MSFS will ever use up to 24GB or VRAM or is 16 GB enough.

Wanting to upgrade to 4x series GPU to take advantage of DLSS3 and Frame generation. Running a I9 13900k at the moment 

Am flying planes like Fenix A320 into JFK, EGGL and KLAX ...

Running at 1440p but maybe 4k in the future.

 

Thanks!

I run 1440p - the 4080 is more than enough with my 12700k driving it.

I also use VR and kinda wish I had a 4090 for that.  The 4080 is still super nice though.

I have a 3090. I'm hoping that after it wears out the 12GB of VRAM its using now it will start using the spare 12GB it has in reserve. And after the 55" Samsung 4KTV I am currently using for Frame Generation conks out I can get another one for about $200. At some point if I'm still alive I might consider upgrading to a used RTX 7090ti with 24gb of VRAM at which point the top shelf cards might actually need all 24GB of VRAM.

Edited February 14, 20233 yr by FBW737

I went with a 20gig Radeon from a 8gig 2080. Very pleased. If you’ve got the budget and a big enough case (I didn’t) the 4090 would future proof you for quite some time.

7 minutes ago, dbw1 said:

I went with a 20gig Radeon from a 8gig 2080. Very pleased. If you’ve got the budget and a big enough case (I didn’t) the 4090 would future proof you for quite some time.

I bought a 3090 when they came out. It future proofed me until the 4090 came out.

3 hours ago, FrankR409 said:

I have seen my 4090 get surprising close to 16 gig in memory usage. Glad I have a bunch more vram.

Anyone know how this impacts MSFS performance?  I've seen my 12Gb maxed out or close to it and there is no discernable impact on performance, but I'm at 3440x1440.  How does MSFS manage VRAM in a PC?

Edited February 14, 20233 yr by Noel

24 minutes ago, Noel said:

Anyone know how this impacts MSFS performance?  I've seen my 12Gb maxed out or close to it and there is no discernable impact on performance.  In fact I've yet to hear one testimony of how their particular VRAM amount had any adverse impact on anything in MSFS for them.  

Most people report no issues.

Those few people that do report issues with 8/10/12 GB of RAM are generally talk about getting stutters from running out of RAM when using a his res  VR headset when they are flying over detailed stuff like big cities with photogrammetry enabled. They are NOT about taking off from a random airport in the bush on a flat 2D screen at 1440/4K.

Edited February 14, 20233 yr by Glenn Fitzpatrick

So you believe the impact is stuttering from running out of VRAM.  I wonder how accurate that is because I've certainly been up against the 12Gb max many times and experience no stuttering in any plane anywhere.  I assumed MSFS was perhaps was designed to cache to system ram or something like that to accomodate more demand on VRAM but perhaps that's not true.

I do not have VR and only run 1440p,  so my 3070 with 8GB is plenty for me personally.  I am not personally affected by this discussion at all.

I am just repeating what people on the VR discussion groups are saying about swapping from a 3090TI to a 4070TI.  Some people have observed the 4070TI is faster than the 3090 initially,  as you would expect it is a faster card, until the VRAM fills up (presumably this shows up in there diagnostic software)  at which point they immediately get stutters.

BTW - if the game reports your system has committed all of the available VRAM that is different to actually using all the VRAM - also retrieving data cached in system RAM could easily cause stutters,  if system RAM was a viable place to store video card data without a performance hit, then why bother with VRAM at all ?

 

Edited February 14, 20233 yr by Glenn Fitzpatrick