What is VRAM? How is it different than normal RAM?

 Most of us who use modern-day PCs or even laptops have seen and heard about the infamous VRAM in graphics cards, but how is it different. What are its speeds? What is the use? Are they extended versions of normal RAM sticks? Read below to find out.

VRAM

VRAM stands for Video Random Access Memory ( VideoRAM) which as the name goes is used for the purposes of visual enhancement. The original VRAM was used to store the framebuffer in graphics adapters and improved exponentially. 

Since VRAM is usually made for the purposes of short-term visuals, it does not retain itself in the computer memory and thus does not need to go simultaneously with normal RAM.

SPEED

Because of the fact that VRAM does not interact with normal RAM, the speed difference is justified, and using high speeds VRAM does not cause issues with the limits created by RAM. Normally GPUs are equipped with GDDR RAMs whereas normal RAMs are DDRs (Double Data Rate) which are usually slower as compared to the former. This is because of the fact that GDDRs are faster in bus limits i.e they can read as well as write on the memory at the same time whereas DDRs cannot.

WHY USE DDR?

After getting to know that GDDRs is much faster than normal DDRs, then why not use them in the first place? It is because of the fact that the GDDRs used on Graphics cards have a very short span of usage i.e after creating the visual effect in a game or an animation in a multimedia editor, it is erased from the VRAM and stored on the RAM instead. This is why we cannot use DDRs for everyday things.

USE OF VRAM

VRAM can be used for all sorts of things. They can be used while loading textures in a  videogame. The Nvidia's ray tracing support is because of the fact that graphics cards use VRAM. VRAM comes in clutch while using a heavy graphics-oriented program. Be it Photoshop or lightroom or final cut pro x or even while viewing videos on higher resolutions (1440p-4k).

HOW MUCH IS REQUIRED?

Now the question that comes to mind is what should be the amount of VRAM a typical person should use? Since the latest graphics cards come with whopping amounts and speeds of RAMs

The list below shows the latest and greatest graphics cards along with the amounts of VRAM they have.

After reading the above list it may seem that the Radeon RX 5700 or the RX 5600 series have low amounts of VRAM. This is actually not correct. For an average person gaming on 1080p with high resolutions, graphics cards with 6-8GB or VRAM are enough to give to more than 144 fps at all times. The above graphics cards are usually meant for people who either want exceptional qualities (1440p-4k) on games or professional editors and managers who need to work regularly on high performance.

Thanks for reading, make sure to check out my other informative blogs as well. Thanks a ton :)