Proven: 8 GB of video memory is not enough for a video card in 2025

The PC Games Hardware resource conducted comparative testing of AMD Radeon RX 7600 series video cards. AMD’s assortment includes two almost identical models: the Radeon RX 7600 and RX 7600 XT have the same graphics processors with an equal number of cores, but different amounts of memory. This makes them ideal subjects for comparison.

The test results are obvious: a video card with 16 GB of memory performs significantly better than its counterpart with 8 GB, especially in tasks with ray tracing. More memory provides a more comfortable gaming experience, eliminating problems such as degraded textures and low memory warnings that are increasingly encountered in new games. Reduces the likelihood of the level of detail being automatically reduced when video memory resources are exhausted.

Image source: pcgameshardware.de

The authors of the study conclude that when buying a new video card in 2025, you should take into account that 8 GB of memory is no longer enough. Such video cards can still cope with old games, but when launching new games, even at low settings, problems are possible. For acceptable performance and some reserve for the future, it is recommended to choose video cards with a memory capacity of at least 12 GB.

Image source: pcgameshardware.de

Luckily, most graphics cards released since last December offer 10GB or more of memory. For example, the Intel Arc B570, which will go on sale soon, is equipped with such a volume. AMD and its partners have announced that the first wave of Radeon RX 9070 series graphics cards will include models with memory capacity of 16 GB or more. At the same time, Nvidia did not hesitate to release the mobile GeForce RTX 5070 with 8 GB of memory, which has already raised doubts about its prospects.