Texture Memory Budget
How much memory textures use
Also known as: VRAM budget · Texture memory · Texture size budget · How much memory is a 4K texture · Texture pool · Memory budget art
Definition
A texture memory budget is the amount of video memory a game can spend on textures, and each texture's cost depends on its size and format. A 4096 by 4096 texture uses about 64 MB uncompressed, about 16 MB with BC7 or BC3 compression and about 8 MB with BC1, and mipmaps add roughly a third more. Texture memory is often the largest part of an asset's cost, so resolution and compression decisions matter more than most polygon savings.
In production
Choose the size by how much of the screen an object covers, not by habit: small props rarely need 4K. Pack several grayscale maps into one texture and use compression suited to each map. Share textures between assets with atlases and trim sheets, and use streaming so only the required mips are loaded. Check the totals with the engine's memory tools, and set a budget per asset type early in production.
