Many cards in the market now come with 2GB Video Memory and 4GB Video Memory variants, the 4GB Video Memory variants cost a bit more but is it worth the paying a bit more for it?
In this article I will be using the ASUS GTX 960 Turbo as the contender for the 2GB Video Memory while the 4GB Video Memory contender would be the ASUS GTX 960 STRIX with the core clock downclocked to match that of the ASUS GTX 960 Turbo.
By lowering the clock speed of the GTX 960, both cards now have matching processing speed. This will help identify the benchmark that takes advantage of the additional memory.
Test Setup
| Processor | Intel Core i5-4670K |
| RAM | AVEXIR Blitz 2x 4GB 1600Mhz DDR3 |
| Motherboard | ASRock Z87 Extreme4 |
| Cooler | NZXT Kraken X31 |
| Monitor | Dell UP3214Q |
| Power Supply | FSP AURUM S 700W |
| Casing | NZXT S340 |
| Operating System | Windows 10 64bit |
Benchmarks
Unigine Heaven 4.0
*NOTE : Details are set to maximum.
*NOTE : AA disabled in 4K test.
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| ASUS GTX 960 Turbo 2GB | 33 |
| ASUS GTX 960 STRIX 4GB (Downclocked) | 33 |
Metro Last Light
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| ASUS GTX 960 Turbo | 55 |
| ASUS GTX 960 STRIX 4GB (Downclocked) | 55 |
Bioshock Infinite
Settings are at
2 – UltraDX11_DDOF | 2 – Custom | 1 – 16:9 | 4 – FullHD / 4K
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| ASUS GTX 960 Turbo | 75 |
| ASUS GTX 960 STRIX 4GB (Downclocked) | 75 |
Shadow of Mordor
Settings : Set to ULTRA, V-sync off.
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| ASUS GTX 960 Turbo | 47 |
| ASUS GTX 960 STRIX 4GB (Downclocked) | 51 |
Grand Theft Auto V
Settings : Every option to the MAX setting available.
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| ASUS GTX 960 Turbo | 23 |
| ASUS GTX 960 STRIX 4GB (Downclocked) | 27 |
In Unigine Heaven 4.0 benchmark both cards show the same speed, same goes to Metro Last Light and BioShock Infinite.
Going on with newer games like say Shadow of Mordor and GTA Five, the benchmark goes in favor of the card with more Video Memory showing some 10 to 20% performance gain.
The Verdict
So is it worth paying a bit more for the additional Video RAM? Yes I think it’s worth it, especially if you have plans to add another GTX 960 into the setup for SLI goodness, you then have 4GB of Video Memory instead of just 2GB.