First-person shooter fans have been enthusiastic about the release of Doom: The Dark Ages. This latest entry into the long-running demon-pulverising extravaganza has pulled out all the stops to create an immersive and expansive world, but the upgraded visuals had some users worried that their graphics cards might not be enough.

Those who own older graphics cards like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 8GB, or those who bought one of the new RTX 5060 Ti 8GB models, may have concerns that their card might run out of VRAM under the demands placed by Doom: The Dark Ages graphics. The good news is that Doom: The Dark Ages can run fine on 8GB of VRAM. There are some caveats, however.

Even at 1080p on low graphics preset, VRAM usage is close to 8GB

Graphics cards sporting 8GB of VRAM might run out of VRAM in some intense scenarios. Users with these cards will have to use low settings to get the best framerate when not using upscaling. According to TechPowerUp, even at max settings, 8GB is (just about) sufficient for 1080p and 1440p.

However, with the maximum Ultra Nightmare preset, especially with frame generation enabled, the VRAM demand goes way up. This is according to testing done on Nvidia’s flagship RTX 5090, the only GPU right now with a massive 32GB of VRAM to utilize.

Users of these lower-specced graphics cards must be prepared to compromise on settings and resolutions if they want the best experience. In order to reach 60FPS at 1080p, a minimum of an RTX 4060 Ti or RX 6800 is needed. Thankfully, upscaling can help for users with older or lower VRAM cards using 1440p monitors.

Thankfully, even if Doom: The Dark Ages does run out of VRAM, it is configured to use the system’s main memory as overflow, providing a backup. This does mean that the game will run slower, but it prevents the game from crashing outright like similarly demanding Unreal Engine 5 titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle tend to do in similar circumstances.

About the Author

Rebecca Hills-Duty

Writing and journalism experience at VRFocus, UploadVR, The Escapist, HTC, PC Gamer, Tech Radar+ and Dexerto. Can sometimes be found playing with retro tech.