2GB vs 4GB Video Cards and does Second Life actually benefit?

[Jolene Merlin]

As the subject says, I am wondering just how much Vram does Second Life really take advantage of?

I can't imagine it maxing out a 2GB Video card, so for that matter would a 4GB Video Card actually make much difference within SL?  For that matter, does anyone here actually have a 4GB Video Card who can provide any thoughts on this?

[UncommonTruth]

I have 8G of memory on my laptop, with a 2G dedicated graphics card. I usually run sl on med-high settings, turning everything up to ultra only for pics. I've had this laptop about 2 years and haven't had any trouble with it. My lappy is much better than my net lol.  

 

edited cause that didn't make no sense

[steph Arnott]

4GB is a huge amount. Your Broad Band tends to be the bottle neck. 64 bit windows needs 4GB of ram to get it to run properly so i would have 6GB ram for the OS and 2GB for the graphics card and 4GB ram for 32 bit ,2GB for the graphics card. 

[Jolene Merlin]

I'm not talking about the RAM on the computer itself...

I am talking about the VRam, the extra ram that comes embedded on high end Video Cards.  Most of them come with an average of 2GB of VRam; while some newer generation video cards come with 4GB.

Most games, (and I know SL is NOT a game but this is just for an example) will utilize the VRam first, and if any more is required then it will go and use the System Ram.

Typically, most OnBoard Video options (video that comes embedded onto the motherboard as is the case in most laptops and some desktops) does not have extra VRam and so just uses straight System Ram.  You will usually find the VRam on computers with optional Video Cards installed in them.

So I am wondering if Second Life actually utilizes the VRam itself, and how much is used?   Or does Second Life just ignore the VRam, and just automatically default into using main System Ram?

[Coby Foden]

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Jolene Merlin wrote:

 

So I am wondering if Second Life actually utilizes the VRam itself, and how much is used?   Or does Second Life just ignore the VRam, and just automatically default into using main System Ram?

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Second Life viewers do use dedicated video memory which is in the GPU. The maximum amount of VRAM for texture usage is capped at 500 MB in SL. Besides storing textures VRAM is used also to store some additional data too, like object geometry information and some other data types.

So it's good to have more than 512 MB of VRAM. I think there are no benefits having more than 1 GB of VRAM just running Second Life. If one is multitasking, running many programs at the same time, all of which require VRAM, then it's  good to have 2 GB or even 4 GB VRAM available.

 

 

[steph Arnott]

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Jolene Merlin wrote:

As the subject says, I am wondering just how much Vram does Second Life really take advantage of?

I can't imagine it maxing out a 2GB Video card, so for that matter would a 4GB Video Card actually make much difference within SL?  For that matter, does anyone here actually have a 4GB Video Card who can provide any thoughts on this?

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This was your question and i answered, if you do not understand tthe answer then the question is moot.

[Perrie Juran]

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Coby Foden wrote:

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Jolene Merlin wrote:

 

So I am wondering if Second Life actually utilizes the VRam itself, and how much is used?   Or does Second Life just ignore the VRam, and just automatically default into using main System Ram?

---

Second Life viewers do use dedicated video memory which is in the GPU. The maximum amount of VRAM for

texture usage

is capped at

500 MB

in SL. Besides storing textures VRAM is used also to store some additional data too, like object geometry information and some other data types.

So it's good to have more than 512 MB of VRAM. I think there are no benefits having more than 1 GB of VRAM just running Second Life. If one is multitasking, running many programs at the same time, all of which require VRAM, then it's  good to have 2 GB or even 4 GB VRAM available.

 

 

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This may be a point I am not understanding but Bao said it is a "soft cap."

512MB is the cap. But we do not think it is a bug. Here are the reasons why we set this cap:

1, this cap is a soft cap. It tells viewer it is good to make the total amount of textures to follow this cap. But if this cap needs to be overflown to make all necessary textures sharp enough, and viewer has resource to overflow the cap, viewer will do it. Of course viewer will immediately remove unneeded textures to follow the cap if the situation changes

https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/SH-2547

I'm assuming here that the resources he is referring to is the amount of Video Ram on the Graphics card.  Or am I wrong about this?

However, If I am reading Bao correctly he also says we should never need more than 512MB.

 

 

[Coby Foden]

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Perrie Juran wrote:

 

However, If I am reading Bao correctly he also says we should never need more than 512MB.

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Do you mean the amount of VRAM physically in the graphics card or VRAM for SL only?

The operating system itself uses VRAM and other programs what one might run simultaneously will use VRAM too. Therefore I think a graphics card with only 512 MB memory is not a good choice - especially in 64 bit system where the memory address space is not limited to that 2 MB.

Anyway I think for SL, being 32 bit system, VRAM limit of 512 MB is a very sensible choise. There is a limit of 2 MB for all memory (RAM + VRAM) what 32 bit system can use.

If one has 64 bit system then there surely are benefits in having graphics card with 1 GB or 2 GB of VRAM. That more VRAM in the card does not benefit SL, but that extra VRAM is good to have for other programs.

 

[Jolene Merlin]

Thanks for the answers everyone.

Planning to replace my old video card courtesy of Uncle Sam this year... Probably looking at getting a GTX 770 4GB, and wieghing the benefits how such a card might effect Second Life, or whether it would be better to go with the 2GB version of the same card....

But, as I thought, it won't make much difference with SL either way... 

But then, SL is not the only reason I'm wanting the upgrade and this helps my decision knowing that it won't matter to SL which card I chose to get.

[Chic Aeon]

I have 2G on my graphics card and 6 RAM. With shadows on and a slow sim I can definitely max out the card. If I get a second avatar on it can get tricky -- again depends on the sim. So if you can afford 4G I would go with that. I DO have other programs open at the same time and a high resolution monitor.

I will get a 4G on my next computer.

 

 

[Perrie Juran]

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Coby Foden wrote:

---

Perrie Juran wrote:

 

However, If I am reading Bao correctly he also says we should never need more than 512MB.

---

Do you mean the amount of

VRAM physically in the graphics card

or

VRAM for SL only

?

The operating system itself uses VRAM and other programs what one might run simultaneously will use VRAM too. Therefore I think a graphics card with only 512 MB memory is not a good choice - especially in 64 bit system where the memory address space is not limited to that 2 MB.

Anyway I think for SL, being 32 bit system, VRAM limit of 512 MB is a very sensible choise. There is a limit of 2 MB for all memory (RAM + VRAM) what 32 bit system can use.

If one has 64 bit system then there surely are benefits in having graphics card with 1 GB or 2 GB of VRAM. That more VRAM in the card does not benefit SL, but that extra VRAM is good to have for other programs.

 

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In context I meant VRAM for SL.

I got interested in all this because I am one of the people who suffer from the Texture Discard Due To Insufficient Memory crashes.

The problem started without rhyme or reason and has never gone away.  I was using a GTS250 card with 1GB.  I have since upgraded to a GTX650ti with 1GB.  Overall SL does run better.  As far as the crashes go the main difference has been how long it takes before I crash after I get the error message. I can last longer with the 650.

[steph Arnott]

I read your other post, you have HTTP texture  disabled, re enable it as this is nothing to do with the problem, increase the disc storage to Max if you have the space. Allow SL not to be scanned by your anti virus program. There is something else and not SL or your graphics card  that is the problem.

ADDED: I wonder if maybe your ram has a fault. You could do a memory test.

[Perrie Juran]

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steph Arnott wrote:

I read your other post, you have HTTP texture  disabled, re enable it as this is nothing to do with the problem, increase the disc storage to Max if you have the space. Allow SL not to be scanned by your anti virus program. There is something else and not SL or your graphics card  that is the problem.

ADDED: I wonder if maybe your ram has a fault. You could do a memory test.

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While I appreciate the advice did you read the whole thread and especially the Firestorm and and SL JIRA's about the issue?

Also, if you did read it you will see I had to post a request for people not to IM me for advice.  This is far from being an isolated problem.  Also look at how many other's were having this problem in the thread.

I have tried everything that has been advised to me with the same results.  The problem persists.

After I upgraded my Card I turned HTTP back on.  Again, one of those mysteries but with my old card I ran better with it off.

Yes, something funky is going on with SL not only on my computer but many other people also.  A few people have found that by changing this setting or that setting the problem went away but there has been no rhyme or reason to that.  For me it has been beyond my diagnostic skills to decipiher.  

[steph Arnott]

I have never had  the problem, so I honestly do not know. I still feel it is a problem with your computer and not SL or the viewer, if it was the viewer it would be much more wide spread. I will look at the JRA

 

[Jolene Merlin]

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Perrie Juran wrote:

---

Coby Foden wrote:

---

Perrie Juran wrote:

 

However, If I am reading Bao correctly he also says we should never need more than 512MB.

---

Do you mean the amount of

VRAM physically in the graphics card

or

VRAM for SL only

?

The operating system itself uses VRAM and other programs what one might run simultaneously will use VRAM too. Therefore I think a graphics card with only 512 MB memory is not a good choice - especially in 64 bit system where the memory address space is not limited to that 2 MB.

Anyway I think for SL, being 32 bit system, VRAM limit of 512 MB is a very sensible choise. There is a limit of 2 MB for all memory (RAM + VRAM) what 32 bit system can use.

If one has 64 bit system then there surely are benefits in having graphics card with 1 GB or 2 GB of VRAM. That more VRAM in the card does not benefit SL, but that extra VRAM is good to have for other programs.

 

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In context I meant VRAM for SL.

I got interested in all this because I am one of the people who suffer from the

Texture Discard Due To Insufficient Memory

crashes.

The problem started without rhyme or reason and has never gone away.  I was using a GTS250 card with 1GB.  I have since upgraded to a GTX650ti with 1GB.  Overall SL does run better.  As far as the crashes go the main difference has been how long it takes before I crash after I get the error message. I can last longer with the 650.

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Now see, I have his same problem sometimes... and my current card as a Radeon HD6950 2GB.... I know there is not a problem with my current card, nor any problem with my system Ram either... so its a problem with SL...

Hence why I am trying to figue out if SL would really benefit from more VRam.