Diablo 4 On PC Requires 16GB VRAM To Match PlayStation 5 Texture Quality

This year 2023, has been loaded with highly anticipated video games for PC and console players. However, we have come across several titles that are beginning to ask for graphics cards with a lot of memory. 

It may be the standard these days, but with Diablo 4, they have gone further since although it is very well optimized in general terms if we want to play it in Ultra and have texture quality like the PlayStation 5 version, we will have to use a graphics card with 16GB of VRAM for the optimal experience.

When we discuss a graphics card with 8GB of VRAM being limited in current games, the playable experience will leave much to be desired. The lack of memory in a video game generally translates into a noticeable FPS drop, producing some annoying jerks and low texture quality.

This is represented by low minimum FPS, which happened in games like The Last of Us Remake for PC. Diablo 4 has been a very unusual release in these times because the game is quite optimized and works very well on PC and consoles like Steam Deck.

But that does not mean it is perfect because Digital Foundry has done one of its analyses, although this time, the author was Don Allen instead of Oliver Mackenzie. The PC port of Diablo 4 has been reviewed, and overall impressions have been quite positive.

However, we are going to start with the hardest and most difficult to believe, and that is that to achieve the same quality of textures that the PlayStation version has, you will need a GPU with 16GB of VRAM at native 4K. Though 1440p is also out of the question, you can get solid experience while making a few sacrifices at 1080p with 8GB VRAM.

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We are talking about an optimal gaming experience because, with 8GB, you can activate the textures in Ultra, but be prepared to see your FPS drop. Tests conducted with an RTX 2080 at 4K Ultra with DLSS ran at 60FPS but suffered drops below 30FPS. 

On the other hand, with the 16GB RTX 4080, the 60FPS remained stable without any problem. The funny thing is that RAM doesn’t seem to matter as much as we thought since using 16GB and 32GB of RAM gives the same results.

The decision to implement CGI cinematics at 24 FPS has also been criticized; the initial cinematic is indeed impressive in terms of quality, but deciding to only 24 FPS and with a low bit rate is something that we do not understand. 

Going back to the need for a 16GB GPU for Diablo 4 on Ultra with textures like on PlayStation 5, 12GB graphics cards have been tested to see if this is enough. Thus, it has been observed that a 12GB RTX 4070 performs slightly less than an RX 6800X, both in medium FPS and minimum FPS.

What do you think about this new scenario? Are graphics cards with 8GB VRAM now a thing of the past? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.