When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works .
YouTube tester NJ Tech has just shown that 4GB GPU users are not entirely left out of Valve 's recent VRAM hack. Earlier this month, we covered a literal game-changing VRAM hack by Valve’s Natalie Vock for Linux gamers that lets you give priority to current gaming tasks. The hack fixes long-standing issues where gaming tasks are evicted from VRAM to make room for low-priority background tasks when VRAM is running low. The announcement focused on 8GB GPUs — understandably so, as most modern games are graphically demanding, requiring at least that much VRAM for high-visual-fidelity gaming.
However, this left 4GB GPU users wondering where they stood. At the time, it seemed like the options were: upgrade (for the love of God!), stick to older games (or lower graphics), or keep dealing with the visual glitches. Fortunately, YouTube gaming tech channel NJ tech demonstrated, through extensive testing with some recent gaming titles, that the options are not exhaustive — the VRAM hack does offer some improvement in 4GB GPU gaming, at least in terms of FPS in certain games at low graphics settings.
The test setup was a 4GB Radeon RX 6500 XT running CatchOS, paired with 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a Ryzen 5 5600X with a stock cooler. The channel tested various recent titles in low- to medium-graphic settings, obtaining mixed results.
You may like Valve engineer shocks Linux community with game-changing VRAM hack for 8GB GPUs Valve says it misreported VRAM capacity on some graphics cards in Steam Hardware Surveys Nvidia RTX 5070 mobile GPU looks set to get more VRAM despite global memory crisis Alan Wake II saw the most improvement, with average frame rates nearly tripling from 14 FPS to 41 FPS, while 1% lows significantly increased from 12 FPS to 28 FPS. Two other titles, Resident Evil: Requiem and Silent Hill, showed more modest improvements. Conversely, a bunch of other titles showed little to no improvement.
FPS Performance Comparison: Valve VRAM Patch Enabled vs Disabled (4GB GPU) Game Title
Avg. FPS: Patch Disabled | Patch Enabled
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/valve-vram-hack-may-improve-gaming-on-4gb-gpus-testing-showed-mixed-results-in-select-titles-with-fps-almost-tripling-in-certain-games#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- Cerebras files for IPO — company remains unprofitable despite 20x revenue growth
- Score this epic 1440p Samsung gaming monitor back at its lowest-ever price, now just $159 — limited-time discount nets you this 27-inch IPS display with a fast
- No Need for Space Gear — Capcom’s ‘PRAGMATA’ Joins GeForce NOW on Launch Day
- Ransomware negotiator pleads guilty after leaking victims' insurance details to 'BlackCat' hackers — perp gave attackers a precise picture of exactly how much e
- Anthropic nuked a company's access to Claude, stopping 60 employees dead in their tracks — support via Google Form is the only recourse for vague usage policy v
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.