No, 128MB VRAM is Nowhere Near Enough for PC Gaming in 2024
As an avid PC gamer and content creator focusing on the latest gaming hardware, I get asked a lot about whether older graphics cards with little video memory can still run modern games. And when it comes to 128MB GPUs, the hard truth is that they are completely obsolete for gaming in 2024.
Let me explain in more detail why 128MB VRAM is nowhere near enough for a decent gaming experience today.
VRAM Needs Keep Rising Each Year
Video memory requirements have been steadily rising for years as game developers take advantage of newer graphics APIs and hardware capabilities. Back in 2005, you could run many new releases with just 128MB VRAM. But nowadays, most AAA game titles require at least 2GB VRAM for 1080p gaming, if not more, as seen in this table:
| Year | Top VRAM Requirement | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 128MB | F.E.A.R, Quake 4 |
| 2010 | 512MB | Crysis 2, Metro 2033 |
| 2015 | 2GB | The Witcher 3, GTA V |
| 2020 | 4-6GB | Red Dead Redemption 2, Horizon: Zero Dawn |
| 2023 | 6-8GB+ | Spiderman Miles Morales, Resident Evil Village |
As you can see, VRAM requirements have grown over 16x higher in the last 15+ years! And this trend is expected to continue, with upcoming titles like Starfield rumored to ask for up to 8GB+ VRAM.
Clearly, being stuck back in 2005 with only 128MB VRAM spells doom for running modern games. But how much do you really need? Let‘s dig deeper…
Recommended VRAM for Gaming Resolutions
Here are rough guidelines on VRAM requirements for popular gaming resolutions in 2024 titles:
- 1080p: Minimum of 2GB VRAM, 4-6GB Recommended
- 1440p: 4-8GB Recommended
- 4K: 6-8GB+ Strongly Recommended
Of course, these do differ slightly depending on the game – some are better optimized than others. But in general, you‘ll want a good 4-6GB graphics card for smooth 1080p gaming at high settings nowadays.
Compare that to aging 128MB GPUs, which can‘t even meet the baseline requirements! Having just 128MB VRAM will completely bottleneck performance, giving you horribly low FPS.
Now let‘s talk about why higher VRAM matters for gaming…
Why VRAM Matters for Game Performance
Put simply, VRAM acts as your graphics card‘s dedicated video memory. The more complex a game‘s textures, shaders and assets, the more VRAM it needs loaded to process each scene smoothly.
Running out of VRAM means assets need to be offloaded and reloaded from slower system RAM instead. This leads to major performance issues like:
- Slideshow-like frame rates
- Long load times between areas
- Texture pop-in
- Crashes/freezes during intense scenes
Today‘s cutting edge games are pushing over 2GB worth of graphical data at 1080p max settings. So an old 128MB card literally can‘t keep up, causing a visibly disjointed mess.
While titles may load on such outdated cards, playability will be downright miserable. Now let‘s look at some real examples…
Case Study: Popular Games You Can‘t Play on 128MB VRAM
To demonstrate why 128MB won‘t cut it, here are VRAM usage stats from various bestselling modern games at 1080p High Settings:
| Assassins Creed Valhalla | 4GB+ VRAM |
| Call of Duty: Warzone | 4-6GB VRAM |
| Elden Ring | 3-4GB VRAM |
| God of War | 4-5GB VRAM |
As you can see, all of these blockbuster games demand at least 3-4GB VRAM for ideal 1080p gameplay.
Expect stuttering, lag, and frequent crashes if you try running them on an old 128MB relic! Many newer titles flat out refuse to boot without enough VRAM as well.
So in closing, I really can‘t recommend retro 128MB graphics cards for modern gaming whatsoever. As we charge ahead into 2023 and beyond, VRAM requirements are only climbing from here!
