Is 6GB VRAM Enough for Gaming?

Let’s discuss whether 6GB VRAM is enough for gaming and determine the minimum required VRAM for the latest games.

No, the VRAM requirement for gaming has increased significantly due to the latest mechanism, improved physics, and realistic graphics. You can still play many games with lowered graphical settings on your 6GB VRAM GPU, but you will need at least 8GB of VRAM for the latest titles.

As the years progress, so do the technology and improvements. New game engines are being developed to make more realistic games, and the newly released PC games require at least 8GB of VRAM to provide smoother gameplay with optimal settings. RTX technology has also made a huge difference in gaming.

Ray tracing has introduced new game graphics with more realistic reflection physics. With the latest Unreal Engine 5, new games are being developed with more details, increasing the overall requirements. These upgrades require more VRAM to render the necessary frames for smoother gameplay.

Some of the most popular 6GB VRAM GPUs are AMD Radeon Pulse RX 5600 XT, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super, GeForce RTX 2060, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti and GeForce GTX 1660. Buying a new 6GB GPU in this era is not recommended, but you can still game with these GPUs with decent frames using the optimal settings and low resolution.

6GB VRAM is not enough for gaming because of higher requirements, ray tracing, new game engines, resolution, low graphic settings, and outdated GPUs. These are explained below, but remember you can still play many games on your 6GB VRAM GPU, but not the new titles with decent frames.

Higher Requirements

The newly released games of this era will require more from your PC setup. These games will not run on any old GPUs and processors. The required specifications to run these games have been increased immensely as the technology and graphical details have been improved. Upgrading your PC setup for smooth gameplay.

Some examples of newly released games that now require more VRAM are Starfield, Tekken 8, and Mortal Kombat 1. These games now require a minimum of 8GB VRAM to produce smooth frames on optimal graphical settings. Because of the improvements, the demand for better specifications has increased.

Ray Tracing

Ray Tracing Texel eXtreme, also known as the Nvidia GeForce RTX, changed the industry a lot after its release, and now almost all new game titles feature ray tracing elements because AMD Radeon has also released their Rays, featuring almost the same features with more performance, but it can differ in quality.

The Ray tracing allows the GPU to generate more realistic reflections and lighting effects, with physical improvements to graphical details such as shadows, weather, and environment. Only a few 6GB GPUs support this RTX feature but will still fail to provide the required frames to run the new titles.

New Game Engines

New game engines like Unreal Engine 5 have improved their mechanism, physics, and graphical quality. These new game engines are now producing much more realistic games, which has increased the VRAM and overall PC requirements marginally. Upgrading your setup and GPU is the only possible solution.

These new games developed by Unreal Engine 5 and new game engines now require at least 8GB of VRAM to render smooth frames using low graphical settings. Buying a 6GB GPU for gaming is not recommended. Going for at least 8GB of VRAM with RTX support is better. Ray tracing is necessary for the new games.

Resolution

Your PC’s screen and game resolution are crucial in rendering the frames. You can still play many games on 1080p resolution with your 6GB GPU, but playing the latest games on lower resolution will give you more frames, but it will not be worth it due to screen tearing and pixelating issues.

Higher resolution means more pixels to render, significantly reducing the frame rate. Lowering the resolution to get more frames is very helpful in competitive games because every frame increases the user’s response time, but higher resolution quality matters in story games.

Low Graphic Settings

Yes, you can increase your frame rate by lowering the graphical quality of your game, but is it worth the sacrifice? We don’t think so because the game has been developed with new graphical improvements for the users to enjoy the details with at least the recommended settings, and 8GB VRAM is the minimum.

The latest games will let you lower the settings to some extent, and 6GB VRAM will not be enough to render the frames for some games like Starfield, which requires at least 8GB of VRAM with RTX support to run. Never sacrifice too much quality, or it will start making a huge difference to your gameplay.

Outdated GPUs

Almost all 6GB VRAM GPUs are not future-proof, and many old versions are outdated to support the new drivers, enhancing graphical improvements for the new titles. Without the new firmware and driver support, these graphic cards will fail to achieve the required frames in the new games.

These GPUs will also cause compatibility issues with the new hardware and bottleneck the whole system, reducing the overall performance of hardware components. 

How Do I Increase VRAM Performance?

You can increase your VRAM performance by safely overclocking your graphic card. You can either use the motherboard BIOS to overclock your GPU or use any trusted third-party application to safely increase the GPU “Core Clock MHz” and “Memory Clock MHz” to increase the potential performance of your GPU.

MSI Afterburner is one of the most popular PC software to overclock your GPU, which lets you modify your GPU performance and power. Many experts have recommended this software. So, here are the steps to safely overclock your GPU to increase VRAM performance using the MSI Afterburner application.

• Download the MSI Afterburner from MSI’s official website. The latest version is recommended to avoid bugs and crashes.
• Install the application, and after the installation, run it to detect the GPU and current applied settings.
• From the MSI Afterburner panel, locate “Clock” and increase the “Core Clock (MHz)” and “Memory Clock (MHz)” from the controls below. Do not limit your GPU’s voltage; changing the power limit is also not recommended because an overclocked GPU will require more power from the PSU.

Limiting or undervolting your overclocked GPU can permanently damage the components and processing unit.

• You can use GPU-Z utility software to get an overclocking value for your GPU. Don’t exceed the overclocking limit; it will permanently damage the “Graphic Processing Unit” and other chipsets.
• Download and install GPU-Z from TechPowerUp’s official website. After installation, run the application and locate “Boost” mentioned in the lower left corner. It is the overlocking limit of your GPU.

Will Future Games Use More VRAM?

Yes, the newly released games of the future will require more VRAM than ever before. Because of the massive graphical improvements and almost realistic physics, it has already started to demand more specification requirements. 8GB VRAM has become the minimum VRAM to run these games with low settings.

The demand for more VRAM has already begun as the new game engines are introducing new games with ultra-realistic graphics. GPUs are being manufactured with more video memory storage. The new, improved games will require the GPUs to render their improved graphic frames, which would simply require more VRAM.

New game engines like Unreal Engine 5 and Creation Engine 2 have developed some of the most realistic games. These games now require more VRAM than the games released a year ago. The demand for more video memory has increased after the required specifications’ expansion.

Conclusion

6GB VRAM is not enough for gaming because 8GB VRAM is the minimum required video memory to run the latest titles on modified optimal settings. RTX-supported GPUs are crucial for these new games to generate the frames without sacrificing the graphical quality. Authenticity has been improved in games.

Ray tracing is a new technology that has greatly changed the gaming industry with its revolutionary graphics. It makes the reflections, lights, environment, and transparent or translucent objects more realistic. The new game titles are now built-in with the ray tracing option. It makes the games real.

New game engines such as Unreal Engine 5 have greatly improved games’ graphical quality and real-time physics. The reflections and realistic shadow evolvement of these new games built-in these engines are going to be the next generation games. Outdated GPUs will not support these games.

Decreasing the overall quality of the game with resolution can be helpful for competitive gaming, but story mode games require more to keep the users entertained. You can increase your GPU VRAM by safely overclocking your GPU from BIOS or MSI Afterburner utility software.