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VRAM (Video RAM) Concerns
The main point of contention among gaming enthusiasts is the 8GB of VRAM.
Modern Game Demands: Some recent, poorly optimized titles can struggle with only 8GB of VRAM, even at 1080p resolution, often requiring users to lower texture quality and disable features like ray tracing to maintain smooth performance.
4K Goal vs. Reality: Valve marketed the Steam Machine as a console capable of 4K gaming at 60fps using upscaling technologies like AMD's FSR 3. However, many believe the 8GB VRAM allocation means that achieving consistent 4K 60fps will necessitate significant compromises in graphical settings, as the system needs enough raw frames to upscale effectively.
Affordability Compromise: Valve engineers stated that the 8GB VRAM amount was a choice made to control costs and keep the price down. This mirrors a common industry trend with mid-range GPUs.
System RAM Details
The Steam Machine comes standard with 16GB of DDR5 system RAM, which is generally considered the sweet spot for modern gaming and multitasking.
Adequate for System Needs: This amount of system RAM is sufficient for SteamOS and running most games without performance bottlenecks related to general system memory.
User Upgradeable: Unlike the VRAM which is part of the integrated GPU, the 16GB DDR5 system RAM is on standard laptop-style SODIMM sticks and can be upgraded by the user (as can the SSD storage).
In summary, the "deficit" is specific to the dedicated VRAM pool for the GPU, which can be a limiting factor in some demanding scenarios, rather than a lack of system RAm
____^^ Google
Interesting. So is the 16gb pool of normal RAM too slow for modern AAA gaming? Sound like a weird thing to cheap out on when they could just bump the VRAM to 12gb
That's a more powerful cpu but with reduced vehicles and a few less on screen character models it could look fine. Or smart changes to character model complexity. Hitman WOA Switch 2 has literally hundreds of moving on screen character models.
I wouldn't say the gta character models are that far above Cyberpunk main leads.
The city itself looks great on Switch 2 and the Phantom Liberty looks even better than that, albeit with a wavering framerate when driving in that specific area.
These are all switch 2 user screencaps from Gamefaqs
Wtf, a video just popped up in my feed for Tomb Raider, the 360 reboot one, on Switch 2 as a definitive edition.
I was kinda enjoying this game till the extended gunplay became a wall I didn't want to push over. With gyro I'd give any shooter a... shot.
Is this real though? Or the video mis labelled?
Oh shit, its real.
Really enjoyed the rebooted Tomb Raider trilogy. Cool to see them bringing them to the Switch 2.
Seems the Switch 2 version of Tomb Raider isnt based on the PS4 definitive edition and looks more like the OG version at a higher resolution and running at 60fps.
The PS4 version has more polygons and much better shadowing and more vegetation.
The switch 2 version still looks good on its own terms, but seems to be a higher resolution and higher framerate version of the Switch 1 version.
Also gyro controls seem broken at this point but mouse control works.
Aspr ported it, they do weird stuff like porting Wii Force unleashed to switch rather than the 360 version. I think switch 1 was their priority for Tomb Raider as switch 1 version wouldn't look as good as ps4 as its much lower spec.