Question Why does my vram usage is high when my gpu is do not exceed 20% usage?

[kurisu]

my setup: 15-8400 , msi gtx 1050ti 4gb.
I noticed that my vram usage is almost at 4gb and gpu usage is at 18% while playing valorant at medium settings. Is that normal or not?

 

[Oussebon]

It will depend on the game.

I don't know about valorant specifically but in general, it can be entirely normal. VRAM has a different function to the cores/shaders on your graphics card - like your system memory (RAM) has a different role to your CPU.

Also, programs that report VRAM usage tend to report VRAM allocation, rather than actual usage. i.e. it measures how much VRAM has been assigned, rather than how much is used or needed. Sometimes games ask for a lot more than they need. Which isn't a particular problem, it just means you often see high VRAM "usage".

If you're only at 18% GPU usage you can probably turn the settings up. As long as you still get framerates you are happy with, GPU load is not a problem. You don't need to keep GPU load low to keep it healthy or anything; the cards are intended to run at 100%