TECH NEWS – For older Nvidia graphics cards, having more VRAM significantly improves performance – showing just how much being stingy hurts!

One of the simplest ways for modders to improve performance is shunt modding, which involves adding additional VRAM modules to the GPU’s printed circuit board. However, adding VRAM modules usually requires firmware modification, and the GPU chip may not support this operation. However, the task is straightforward if you only need to replace the existing memory modules with higher-capacity ones.

Since GDDR6 memory modules are available in 1 GB and 2 GB versions, it’s easier to expand the memory on GPUs with 1 GB modules by simply swapping them out. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 uses 1 GB GDDR6 memory modules, but not all GTX 1650 cards have them. There are several variants of the GPU; some are based on the TU117, some on the TU116, and some on the TU106.

The TU106 was later used in midrange RTX 2000 series graphics cards, as well as in the GTX 1650. This made it possible to use 1 GB GDDR6 memory modules. Paulo Gomes replaced the four 1 GB GDDR6 memory modules on the GTX 1650 with four 2 GB GDDR6 modules from Samsung’s HC16 series. This resulted in a GTX 1650 with 8 GB of VRAM instead of 4 GB. No firmware modifications were required, but Gomes first had to replace two defective RAM chips.

After the modification, Gomes ran a Unigine Superposition test. With 4 GB of VRAM, the card had scored 624 points, but with 8 GB, it achieved 1,245 points. This represents a nearly 200% performance increase by merely increasing the card’s memory capacity. Unfortunately, Gomes did not present any game benchmarks, which would have been more relevant to viewers since replacing the VRAM chips alone does not result in twice the performance in games.

For most games, however, the outcome would have been much more interesting since modern games require more VRAM.

Source: WCCFTech