Windows 10 4GB VRAM Limit

[Darkstyler35]

<When Skyrim consumes it's 4GB of VRAM it will continue to expand into "fake" VRAM - as in RAM that ENB provides under the disguise of VRAM. But as the RAM is not fast enough graphic problems start to appear in the game. It will not crash, but there would be problems.> Sounds logical.

 

<Quote Boris = Problem actually consist from two parts, first is limitation of real VRAM and second is available fake VRAM, which is summ of physical VRAM and some amount of RAM which driver can allocate and use (in old terms these are local and non-local VRAMs). Fix of the problem is very simple and do not require much effort from driver developers.>

I doubt something would be doable for the OS concerning the 4 GB VRAM limitation, but this been said if Boris asked for drivers modifications it's perhaps because there is another problem, relative to drivers / RAM allocation or something.

 

Here is further explanations on the Nexus wiki, concerning the RAM limitation, OS, hardware, etc...

[Gabby2805]

 

 

Simple enough,

 

 

 

You should also understand the VRAM has nothing to do with FPS that is determined by GPU and VRAM memory controller bandwidth.

 

 

TESV.exe has a well documented 3.1 Gig system memory usage limit.

 

enbhost.exe uses deferred rendering to break up the rendering workload on into another process, therefore able to circumvent the memory usage limit.

 

Direct X 9 shadows the frame buffer into the system memory,and virtual memory with a user/driver determined number of pre rendered frames that are shadowed prior to entering VRAM

 

VRAM acts as a FIFO (first in first out) buffer to the GPU, Do not think of these as static terms.

 

Good drivers effectively make use of what ever your physical System/VRAM happens to be.

 

This is why from a vanilla install I recommend that people put in Sheason's Patch and ENB boost.

 

On the bright side when you receive the the updated game in November, it will be 64 bit and should solve most issues.

 

 

 

 

Thank you! Its still quite complex but it all makes a little more sense now.

 

I do get 60fps in 1080p so thats not a problem anyway and I havn't had any issues with the VRAM so far, I was just a little concerned that I can't use half of my VRAM but if its not a problem then its fine.

 

I am using SSME and I'll have to try ENB Boost. I was probably being dumb but I didn't think you could use it with an ENB so thats why I've never tried it before.

[Darkstyler35]

Here is another topic that explains clearly things here, (see ENB haxx) Thanks to Thallassa. The rest of the topic is also very informative :wink:

[LogicZero420]

What is the VRAM limit for the 64 bit remastered Skyrim if you are using windows 10 and whatever direct x this new Skyrim makes use of? Basically what I want to

know is, is it worth grabbing an 8gb VRAM card so i can run all the mods I want in whatever resolution I want, or will my current 4G Card be able to handle anything

this new version + mods can throw at it?

[Project579]

There is no limit it uses DX11

[jonny6101]

To everyone experiencing the dx9 4064mb VRAM limit issue with Windows 10:

 

The ONLY known workaround for this issue that I have been able to find after a solid month of testing and research that will work is to either downgrade your OS to windows 7 64 bit OR to dual boot your system (recommended) with Windows 10 and Windows 7. You can find instruction on how to dual boot your system including setting up a new partition and setting up a USB stick to install an OS with a little bit of research online. The easiest way to do this is to PURCHASE the windows 7 install disk from ebay or amazon. You can find disk images and keys for Windows 7 online, but understand that it will install with only the basic drivers. Which means you will need to install all the drivers yourself (including the ones to use a USB mouse). I recommend the Intel Driver Update Utility (free) first as you can navigate this tool with your keyboard to get the drivers for your mouse. I used Driver Booster 4 (also free) to get the rest. This is a pain in the *** method, but it works. BACK UP YOUR FILES BEFORE YOU TRY THIS METHOD!!

 

My VRAM improvement

Windows 10 available VRAM: 4064mb

Windows 7 available VRAM: 13920mb

 

The alternative is to just wait a few months until enough mods get ported over by their respective authors to Skyrim SE as that version uses the dx11 framework which has no current issues running on Windows 10.

 

CAUTION: most users of Windows 10 on newer systems will have to change their UEFI settings (microsoft's version of BIOS) in order to get their machine to be able to boot using a custom made install disk or USB drive. The layout for each persons UEFI is usually different for each motherboard, so I cannot walk you through this process. You will need to do a bit of research in order to do this. Most likely you will have to disable a few security settings in order to get your computer to boot from USB. Microsoft has these settings set up like this to ensure that people are using their OS as opposed to installing a third party OS such as a LINUX based (Ubuntu).

[iBankai]

̶t̶̶h̶̶e̶̶ ̶̶p̶̶r̶̶o̶̶b̶̶l̶̶e̶̶m̶̶ ̶̶s̶̶e̶̶e̶̶m̶̶s̶̶ ̶̶t̶̶o̶̶ ̶̶b̶̶e̶̶ ̶̶s̶̶o̶̶l̶̶v̶̶e̶̶d̶̶.̶̶ ̶̶i̶̶ ̶̶p̶̶l̶̶a̶̶y̶̶ ̶̶a̶̶t̶̶ ̶̶t̶̶h̶̶i̶̶s̶̶ ̶̶m̶̶o̶̶m̶̶e̶̶n̶̶t̶̶ ̶̶a̶̶n̶̶d̶̶ ̶̶m̶̶y̶̶ ̶̶v̶̶r̶̶a̶̶m̶̶ ̶̶f̶̶i̶̶l̶̶l̶̶s̶̶ ̶̶u̶̶p̶̶ ̶̶t̶̶o̶̶ ̶̶5̶̶.̶̶5̶̶g̶̶b̶̶.̶̶ ̶(̶9̶̶8̶̶0̶̶t̶̶i̶̶,̶̶ ̶̶w̶̶i̶̶n̶̶1̶̶0̶)

 

lol i was to stupid to read the workload correctly. ^^ firefox used 1,5gb ob vram and i thought skyrim was working fine :D

 

But i tested last week the upcoming update for win10 and i can assure you that it really works fine there. But ENB's did not work for me, so Skyrim crashed beacuse i was reaching 3gb of ram. (Crash fixes installed)

[wernervsneo]

Nope, the problem still exist.

 

Having 2x sli 980ti the game experience still freezes for seconds when running on 1440p with many graphical mods installed and ENB

 

Lowering to 1080p solves the problem mostly.

 

VRamSizeDX9 still tells me 4064MB available.

 

So sad story!

[Mookeylama]

so are there things that can be done to circumvent this limit?

 

1. as mentioned above; dual booting w/ partition

2. or simply installing win10 on one ssd and win7 on another?

3. would an 11gb 1080ti let ENBoost use some of that 11gb vram?

4. is this problem with AMD gpus too?

[eric5949]

so are there things that can be done to circumvent this limit?

 

1. as mentioned above; dual booting w/ partition

2. or simply installing win10 on one ssd and win7 on another?

3. would an 11gb 1080ti let ENBoost use some of that 11gb vram?

4. is this problem with AMD gpus too?

1) That would work.

2) So would that

3) It would only use 4064mb, no more

4) It's a problem on my R9 390, so yes.