User-modified NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti upgrades to a monstrous 44GB of VRAM
Should we cram more VRAM into our older GPUs?
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What you need to know
NVIDIA graphics cards are renowned for the sheer processing power behind some breathtaking visuals rendered in real-time for video games. It also develops ultra-powerful workstation cards for rendering complex CGI, withNVIDIARTX 6000 Ada Generation GPUs pushing for around a mind-melting 48GB of GDDR6 VRAM. Naturally, these industry-focused cards carry a similarly eye-watering price tag of around $6,800, excluding most folk from ever coming close.
That hasn’t stoppedАлексей (Alexei) from sharingtheir outrageous attempt at upgrading the VRM on an RTX card from two whole decades ago from a measly 11GB all the way up to 44GB. Yes, you read that right. AsTom’s Hardware covered all the intricate details, this GeForce RTX 2080 Ti had its memory expanded into such ridiculous proportions, thanks to its physical similarities toNVIDIA’s Titan RTX, though even that was capped at 24GB of GDDR6 VRAM.
pic.twitter.com/sW5hcS9cLXJune 11, 2023
What does any of this mean? This brave (yet relatively fruitless) project bumps theolder GeForce RTX 2080 TiGPU up to 48GB of total physical modules. However, it can only access 22 of the available slots due to limitations with its GDDR6 memory interface setup, so it caps out at 44GB. Still, GPU-Z and DxDiag (DirectX diagnostic tool) screenshots show that Windows does detect all 44GB of VRAM, even if the question of using it for benchmarking or playing games yields a disappointing answer.
“Does it work with games?” - @VideoCardz
What a shame. Without proper BIOS or driver support, this roided-up RTX 2080 Ti is nothing more than a fascination, but it’s nonetheless impressive. Considering the price tags attached to some of thebest graphics cardssail far and above the supposed MSRP, it’s admirable to see hobbyists pushing older cards to their absolute power limits.
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Ben is a Senior Editor at Windows Central, covering everything related to technology hardware and software. He regularly goes hands-on with the latest Windows laptops, components inside custom gaming desktops, and any accessory compatible with PC and Xbox. His lifelong obsession with dismantling gadgets to see how they work led him to pursue a career in tech-centric journalism after a decade of experience in electronics retail and tech support.
