Graphics Cards with 4 GB Memory Put to the Test in Modern Games

As the demands of PC games have risen sharply in recent years, the amount of video memory has become increasingly important. Experts from Tom’s Hardware conducted practical tests to determine how devices with 4 GB of video memory perform today. This study was an important step toward understanding how GPUs with limited capabilities can handle modern titles. Ixbt.com reports .

A Radeon RX 9050 4GB graphics card with 4 GB of memory was announced recently. However, this model was not intended for open retail sale, so the well-known GeForce GTX 1650 Super and Radeon RX 6500 XT from its era were selected for testing instead. Although the authors did not conduct an exhaustive analysis, they tested several popular esports games as well as the demanding Cyberpunk 2077.

Synchronized Test and Gaming Results

According to the tests, AMD’s graphics card proved significantly faster than its rival, the GeForce GTX 1650 Super, in popular online games such as Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Counter-Strike 2. However, the situation changed dramatically in the graphically demanding Cyberpunk 2077, where the results were reversed.

The experts did not simply launch the games; they also selected optimal graphics settings for each model and precisely measured memory usage with HWiNFO64. The results showed that cards with limited memory can still deliver satisfactory performance with the right approach.

Graphics Settings and Memory Usage

In Fortnite, for example, performance remained solid in Full HD with XeSS Quality upscaling enabled and medium graphics settings, while memory usage only slightly exceeded 4 GB. A similar situation was observed in Apex Legends: high settings were possible even without any upscalers, and memory usage remained just below 4 GB.

In Cyberpunk 2077, however, the experts had to use low graphics settings and the XeSS 2.0 Balanced mode. Even then, memory usage exceeded 5 GB on both graphics cards. Nevertheless, the test authors emphasized that the overall gameplay experience remained comfortable.

According to the experts, these tests cannot fully demonstrate the capabilities of the new Radeon RX 6500 XT or similar models, because next-generation GPUs feature much more powerful architectures. Nevertheless, it is clear that 4 GB of memory will remain a major limiting factor for modern games in the future.