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RTX 3070 16 GB mod tested in latest games, shows what we can expect from the upcoming RTX 3070 Ti

PRO Hi-Tech testing the modded Palit RTX3070 Gaming Pro OC with 16 GB VRAM. (Image Source: PRO Hi-Tech)
PRO Hi-Tech testing the modded Palit RTX3070 Gaming Pro OC with 16 GB VRAM. (Image Source: PRO Hi-Tech)
Besides storing more high-res textures and boosting the ray tracing performance, the 16 GB mod can also help improve framerate stability. Some games like Watch Dogs Legion can be less stuttery on the 16 GB mod, as the 0.1% Low and 1% Low framerates see considerable improvements, but other games like Godfall do not seem to take advantage of the increased RAM capacity and even perform slightly slower.

A few weeks ago, youtuber VIK-ON demonstrated the possibility of adding 8 more GB of VRAM to the Nvidia RTX 3070 by replacing the original 8x 1 GB chips with 8x 2 GB chips for a total of 16 GB. The procedure cannot be done without proper equipment and extensive PCB knowledge, so it does not really help the average gamer. It does, however, offer a glimpse of what we can expect to see from the RTX 3070 Ti with 16 GB that is rumored to launch soon. VIK-ON did some initial testing to ensure that the card is running stably, but did not post any game comparisons with an 8 GB model . The modded card was later borrowed by youtuber PRO Hi-Tech who performed some side-by-side comparisons between the 16 GB mod and the 8 GB default configuration.

Modern AAA games running in 1440p and beyond seem to be needing more than 8 GB of RAM these days, and the requirements can only go up for future titles. Even the 10 GB capacity on the RTX 3080 seems a bit on the low side, especially when AMD’s new RX 6000 cards feature 12 or 16 GB. It is generally agreed upon that a bigger memory buffer can help store more high-res textures and boost the ray tracing performance, yet PRO Hi-tech also proves that framerate stability can also benefit from increased VRAM capacity.

For instance, 1440p Watch Dogs Legion appears to be running a lot smoother with 16 GB, whereas the 8 GB card often stutters and freezes. Even though the average fps count is barely increased by a few frames, the 0.1% Low and 1% Low counts are considerably increased by more than 50%.

Unfortunately, not all games seem to see the same benefits from the increased VRAM capacity. Cyberpunk 2077, for example, shows minimum gains across all three fps counts, while Far Cry 5 only shows real improvements with the 0.1% Low fps counts. Then there are special cases like Godfall, which shows benefits across the board while running the included benchmark, but when actually playing the game, the 8 GB card seems to be slightly faster than the 16 GB mod.

If rumors are indeed right, Nvidia will not just slap 16 GB on the RTX 3070 Ti and increase the price accordingly. From what we hear, the memory chips on the RTX 3070 Ti will be upgraded to GDDR6X for increased bandwidth, and Nvidia will also add two more Streaming Multiprocessors that can hopefully improve the average fps count over the increased stability offered by the 16 GB mod.

 

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 03 > RTX 3070 16 GB mod tested in latest games, shows what we can expect from the upcoming RTX 3070 Ti
Bogdan Solca, 2021-03-31 (Update: 2021-03-31)