3840x2160 (4K) is four times as many pixels as 1920x1080 (1080p), and 2.25X as many pixels as 2560x1440 (1440p). But while that can dramatically increase the number of calculations your GPU needs to perform, on its own it doesn't actually make a game use that much more VRAM.
If you plan to work with footage resolutions at 4K or greater and need to work with a high resolution 4K timeline, then investing in a graphics card with at least 8GB of VRAM is recommended.
Is 16GB RAM and 8GB VRAM graphics card enough for gaming in 4k resolution? Yes, absolutely. 16GB RAM is plenty, because RAM has no effect on gaming at 4K. And very few games need that much VRAM, even at 4K, and even if they hit the limit, they won't go far above it and the performance drop would be very minimal.
In general, 8GB of VRAM should be enough for most games at 4K resolution, but some newer and more demanding games may require more VRAM to run smoothly at 4K. It also depends on other factors such as the graphics settings used in the game and the amount of memory on the CPU and RAM.
Now in general the more VRAM you have the better a game will work. For 4k you'll need lots. Don't bother with less than 8, and even that isn't always enough. 12 or more is better.
On the whole, 32GB of RAM isn't overkill for gaming if you want to play in higher resolutions, or if you can afford to future-proof your gaming set-up.
The RTX 3080 Ti is a GPU target for 4K gaming. Features such as the 12GB GDDR6X and the 1665MHz boosted clock speed will allow this card to achieve 4K gaming at more than 60fps for the vast majority of titles.
In conclusion, while 8GBs of VRAM GPUs can get simple gaming and productivity workloads done in a pinch, they aren't good enough in terms of longevity. As games become more graphically intensive, the demand for more VRAM increases.
Our personally recommendation is that 12GB VRAM is more than enough for gaming at 1080p and 1440p, but you could honestly struggle to maintain consistent frame-rates at 4K. We've had a look at if 8GB VRAM is good enough for gaming and came to a similar conclusion.
10GB of VRAM is fine at 4K for now. 8GB might not be enough at 4K but should be plenty at 1440P.
16GB. Considering most computers come with 4GB RAM, 16GB will give you enough memory to do multiple things at once without the computer struggling. 16GB is enough for editing 1080p projects or 4K files with minimum effects.
@720P: 2GB of VRAM. @1080P: 2GB-6GB of VRAM. @1440P: 4-8GB of VRAM. @4K: 8GB+ VRAM.
At 4K, NVIDIA says 10 GB VRAM should be fine, while AMD says “nuh uh” (Godfall's 4K Ultra Textures Require 12GB VRAM on PC, Says Developer - of course, that's just one game, and only at max settings with HDR and everything enabled, so don't throw your RTX 3080 in the garbage just yet :D ).
Most modern games can run on 6 to 8GB of VRAM if you play on low to medium settings at 1080p with DLSS, FSR, or XeSS. However, if you plan to upgrade your monitor to a higher resolution one, you might also need to upgrade your graphics card.
The answer to how much RAM for 4K gaming is 16 GB of RAM and 8 GB of VRAM. Such a PC will definitely not become incapable of handling newer games.
A good rule of thumb is: 8GB bare minimum, 16GB for most gaming needs, and 32GB if you want to run multiple high-intensity programs simultaneously.
The RTX 3060 has 12GB VRAM, which, while it doesn't outshine the 3060 Ti on performance, is quite effective for gaming.
NVIDIA has paired 8 GB GDDR6 memory with the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which are connected using a 256-bit memory interface. The GPU is operating at a frequency of 1410 MHz, which can be boosted up to 1665 MHz, memory is running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).
Originally shipping with 8GB of VRAM, the Nvidia RTX 3070 has a relatively small amount of VRAM by modern standards. Its direct replacement, the RTX 4070, has 12GB while even some variants of the lower-end RTX 3060 have 12GB.
What's up with the cheaper RTX 3060 having 12GB of VRAM? They went with the cheaper 192-bit memory interface, instead of 256-bit like in the RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 3070. This means they need to use 6 chips (since each memory chip provides 32 bits width). So they either had to go with 6 GB (6 x 1 GB) or 12 GB (6 x 2 GB).
While the Radeon RX 6800 may still provide better raw performance, the 3070's ray-tracing capabilities, DLSS support, and better optimization for creative applications make it a solid choice, especially for gamers who value these features.
8gb VRAM at 1080p is enough for the vast majority of games. Only a select few games will have problems.
As a mainstream card, the RTX 3060 primarily targets 1080p and 1440p gaming. Some lighter games may also run fine at 4K, or in some cases, you could shoot for 4K at medium settings. But despite having more VRAM than even the RTX 3080, frame rates definitely take a hit at the highest resolutions.
In fact, the RTX 4070 performs better than the RTX 3080 in games like Forza Horizon 5 and Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p resolution. Beyond that, the RTX 3080 consistently delivers higher margins than the RTX 4070 at 4K.
AMD's Radeon RX 6600 XT and Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3060 are both capable of running games at 4K with medium graphics settings.