OdinHades said:
16 GB system memory, yes. But if we're talking about shared memory that would be something like 8 GB system memory + 8 GB VRAM. That wouldn't be enough for gaming in 4K for the next 6 years or so. |
My point was never what was required for 4K gaming; it was about mainstream priced hardware being able to pull it off. Proper 4K gaming on mainstream devices and with decent frame rates and effects is still a long way off. 20GB of GDDR6 will be expensive as hell in and on itself, especially given that the final build will need to be ready within 9-12 months, most likely, as it's unlikely that Sony will wait all that long before releasing a new PS.
And even if, by some miracle, one managed to pack a mainstream 500$ device with a heap of GDDR6 memory, shared or otherwise, the true bottlenecks would be the rest of the build where they'd inevitably need to save a ton on cheaper solutions, especially if rumors of BC are to be believed. A RTX 2080 with 8 GB memory currently sits at around 750-850$ alone, it can do 4K at good frame rates in most games (65-80 and above is good in my opinion). To get performance at nearly that level in a mainstream box for 500$ within a year or so is quite simply not happening.
Consoles aren't future proof, that's the whole point in all of this. Any console released today will be hopelessly outdated long before it's replaced. Seeing the state of streamed 4K content on TV right now, one can imagine the time it will take before games with rendered assets will reach an acceptable point on any mainstream device. Proper, stable 4K gaming has only been possible on high-end PC's for a couple of years as it is. The 1080 Ti struggled to creep past the 60 mark on fps in most titles.
Again, my point was never what will be required in the future, rather that what will be required in the future will not be met by upcoming consoles, not even close if they want any sort of approachable price point. As far as limits on video memory, it's hard to find ways to strain a modern high-end GPU with 11GB memory or more, even my aging 980 Ti with only 6GB is still doing okay, albeit at 1440p resolutions and not 4K. And, one last time; if high-end GPU's right now are getting on nicely with their allotted memory, there's no way that any affordable machine in 2020 or so will release with similar or better specs.
