Modders upgraded an RTX 2080 Super to 16GB VRAM and got noticeable performance gains

Brazilian modder Paulo Gomes and his team, known for their GPU experiments, have doubled the VRAM on a GALAX RTX 2080 SUPER HOF from 8GB to 16GB. Testing in Resident Evil Requiem shows a real gain in scenarios where the card was running out of memory.

According to YouTuber Paolo Gomes, via Videocardz, the team says they couldn't find an earlier example of this exact mod being done on a 2080 SUPER. The process involved desoldering all eight original 1GB Samsung GDDR6 modules and replacing them with 2GB chips, then adjusting the card's memory strap configuration so the GPU would correctly report the new 16GB capacity.

In Resident Evil Requiem, memory allocation on the 16GB card rose to roughly 11GB in a VRAM-heavy section. Frame rates went from around 25 FPS on the stock 8GB card to somewhere between 32 and 34 FPS after the mod, which the team calculates as close to a 28% improvement.

4

It's worth being clear about what this does and doesn't show. The RTX 2080 SUPER's TU104 GPU and memory bandwidth are unchanged, so this isn't a card that's suddenly faster across the board. The gain shows up specifically because Requiem was pushing past the original 8GB buffer and leaning on system memory to compensate. In games that already fit comfortably within 8GB, it seems unlikely you'd see anything close to this kind of jump.

4

We've previously covered similar efforts of increasing VRAM, including a Hong Kong seller who is pushing the RTX 2080 Ti up to 22GB for AI use. The underlying process, swapping in higher-density memory chips and correcting the BIOS-level configuration so the GPU recognizes them, looks about the same here.

4

Frequently Asked Questions

TweakBot answers common questions about this news using TweakTown's own coverage from this page and related content from our archive. All answers are generated from TweakTown content and not outside sources. Tap a question to reveal the answer, or type your own below related to this content.

Question #1

How did the team change the GPU so it correctly reported the new 16GB capacity?

They desoldered all eight original 1GB Samsung GDDR6 modules and replaced them with 2GB chips, then adjusted the card’s memory strap configuration so the GPU would correctly report the new 16GB capacity.

Answered

Question #2

In which Resident Evil Requiem scene did memory usage reach about 11GB and produce the reported FPS difference?

It occurred in a VRAM-heavy section of Resident Evil Requiem where memory allocation rose to roughly 11GB. The primary article does not specify which exact scene produced that memory usage and FPS difference.

Answered

Question #3

Why won’t this VRAM upgrade increase raw GPU compute performance or memory bandwidth?

Because the mod only replaces the memory chips and updates the card to report more capacity, the RTX 2080 SUPER's TU104 GPU and its memory bandwidth remain unchanged, so the card is not any faster in raw compute or data throughput. The observed gains come from avoiding swapping to system memory in VRAM-heavy scenes, not from increased GPU processing power or higher memory bandwidth.

Answered

Question #4

What skills, tools, or parts does the article say make this mod risky or impractical for most owners?

The article says the mod requires precise soldering to desolder and replace all eight memory modules and the correct, card-specific higher-density memory chips that are not easy to source. It also requires adjusting the card's memory strap or BIOS-level configuration so the GPU correctly recognizes the added capacity, making it a niche, risky mod for most owners.

Answered

Have a question about this content not listed here? Ask below and TweakBot will answer it.

Your questionAsk

Answering your question×

TweakBot is analyzing your question…

Could not get an answer

TweakBot is generating an answer

Read More

Was TweakBot helpful?Thanks for the feedback!

That said, this remains a niche mod rather than something most RTX 2080 SUPER owners should attempt. It requires precise soldering and card-specific memory chips that aren't easy to source. However, for owners of aging Turing cards hitting VRAM walls in newer titles, it's a decent theoretical look at how much headroom the extra capacity can unlock.