How do I check for the candidate cause ‘VRAM usage excessive’?

If there is no change in the first step, compare the steps in order, including ‘Ending background apps and downloads.’ If symptoms disappear immediately after certain actions or the conditions for their occurrence change, this can be an important clue in narrowing down the cause.

Out of Video Memory Error in Game: When Do I Need a Professional Check?

Even if you follow the above solution steps in order, if the out of video memory symptom recurs or hardware abnormal signals such as a burning smell, abnormal noise, overheating, or failure to recognize parts appear together, we recommend backing up important data and having a professional inspection.

PC FIX

Computer Troubleshooting Guide

Gaming

Problem with Out of Video Memory error in game

Q: What should I check first if I see symptoms of out of video memory?

First, proceed with the ‘Compare game graphic settings and lower resolution first’ step. You can quickly see if your settings are exceeding your GPU performance or VRAM capacity. We recommend that you avoid changing multiple settings at once and check to see if your symptoms change after each step.

Among gaming issues, “out of video memory” symptoms may be related to excessive VRAM usage or excessive texture settings. Distinguish between bottlenecks and throttling by performing comparison tests with lowered game settings and checking CPU and GPU usage.

Solving Order
We've organized the methods starting with the simplest and least expensive ones. Please check the solutions one by one, starting from the top.

Do you have these symptoms?

out of video memory
Insufficient video memory
Out of VRAM error

main causes

VRAM usage exceeded
Excessive texture settings
Background GPU memory usage

How to solve

Please check them in order from the top. If the issue is resolved, you do not need to proceed to the next step.

Compare game graphics settings and resolution by lowering them first.

You can quickly see if your settings are exceeding your GPU performance or VRAM capacity.

Difficulty Easy time 5-10 minutes cost 0 won

1Take textures, shadows, and ray tracing down a notch.
2If there is an upscaling option, test it in quality mode.
3See if your frames recover significantly.

confirmation point

After these steps, see if the “out of video memory” symptom decreases or disappears. If there is no change, the possibility of exceeding VRAM usage is also checked in the next step.

End background apps and downloads

Browser, update, and recording programs can use CPU, RAM, and disk at the same time.

Difficulty Easy time 5 minutes cost 0 won

1Check apps with high CPU, memory, and disk usage in Task Manager.
2Close unnecessary browser, launcher, download, and recording programs.

Check CPU/GPU usage and temperature

Distinguishing between bottlenecks and throttling allows you to check the correct component.

Difficulty Moderate time 10-20 minutes cost 0 won

1Check CPU/GPU usage and temperature during gaming.
2If the GPU is at 95-100%, the graphics load may be high.
3If the clock speed and FPS drop along with the temperature rise, solve the cooling problem first.

Update or reinstall graphics drivers

Outdated or corrupted graphics drivers can cause the symptom.

Difficulty Moderate time 10~30 minutes cost 0 won

1Check the device in Device Manager.
2Check your PC or component manufacturer's site for graphics drivers for your current model.
3If the problem started immediately after an update, consider rolling back to the previous stable version.
4After installing the driver, restart your PC.

Confirm power mode and dedicated GPU selection

Power saving mode or use of built-in graphics may result in lower-than-expected game performance.

Difficulty Easy time 5-10 minutes cost 0 won

1Compare Windows power modes towards Balanced or High Performance.
2Laptops are tested while charging.
3Check your Windows graphics settings to see if the game is using a dedicated GPU.

Frequently Asked Questions

We've put together a list of things we frequently check regarding this issue.

Related issues

If the symptoms do not match exactly, please check the issue below.

Gaming

Game FPS suddenly drops significantly

Among gaming issues, “fps drops” may be related to overheating, throttling, or background load. Distinguish between bottlenecks and throttling by performing comparison tests with lowered game settings and checking CPU and GPU usage.

View solutions →

Gaming

Problem with game FPS being low compared to computer specifications

If the current symptom is close to “low fps”, first check the power mode, use of built-in graphics, or driver settings. Distinguish between bottlenecks and throttling by performing comparison tests with lowered game settings and checking CPU and GPU usage.

View solutions →

Gaming

Game stutters or pauses briefly

This guide is designed to separate shader compilation and background task items into a safe order for “game stutter” situations. Distinguish between bottlenecks and throttling by performing comparison tests with lowered game settings and checking CPU and GPU usage.

View solutions →

Gaming

Severe stuttering problem in game due to shader compilation

If you are seeing “shader stutter” symptoms, candidates for the cause include shader cache generation or cache regeneration after a driver or game update. Distinguish between bottlenecks and throttling by performing comparison tests with lowered game settings and checking CPU and GPU usage.

View solutions →

Look for other symptoms too

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