Vortex Gaming

· The AMD Vega 64 is hot, power-hungry, and noisy, but with 8GB of HBM2 (High Bandwidth Memory), it still offers a decent 1080p or 1440p gaming experience in 2026.
· While VRAM capacity can be a limitation, the HBCC (High Bandwidth Cache Controller) feature within Radeon software allows system RAM to be used as additional video memory.
· HBCC is supported on Vega 64, Vega 56, and Radeon 7 cards, and activating it can increase memory capacity by utilizing system RAM as VRAM.
· Previous tests showed average frames remaining similar or slightly decreasing, while 1% low frames improved, enhancing game consistency. Performance gains were also reported in VRAM-intensive software like Blender.
· This test focuses on how HBCC actually impacts gaming performance in modern 2026 titles.

· The test system used an Intel i5 12400F processor and 32GB CL32 6400MHz DDR5 RAM.
· HBCC was enabled, allocating approximately 16GB of system RAM for the graphics card.
· With this setting, Windows recognizes the Vega 64 as a 16GB card (original 8GB + 8GB system RAM), and games with VRAM monitoring, like Resident Evil Requiem, display the same.
· Tests were conducted at 1440p resolution with max/high settings to exceed the Vega 64's native 8GB VRAM capacity.

· Performance was measured in an outdoor scene of Resident Evil Requiem (1440p, max settings) with HBCC enabled.
· In this game, enabling HBCC actually resulted in a performance decrease.

Category	HBCC Disabled	HBCC Enabled
Average FPS	Not Measured	45
1% Low	Not Measured	36
0.1% Low	Not Measured	27

· Tests were conducted in an open village area of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (1440p, High preset).
· When HBCC was enabled, average FPS slightly increased, but 1% low frames significantly dropped, leading to a much choppier gameplay experience.

Category	HBCC Disabled	HBCC Enabled
Average FPS	40	41
1% Low	32	10
0.1% Low	31	9

· Performance was compared before and after enabling HBCC in Battlefield 6 (Eastwood map).
· Average FPS slightly decreased, but 1% and 0.1% low frames saw a minor improvement. However, it was difficult to perceive a smoother gameplay experience.

Category	HBCC Disabled	HBCC Enabled
Average FPS	54	53
1% Low	43	44
0.1% Low	38	41

· The effect of HBCC was checked in VRAM-intensive Oblivion Remastered (1440p, Medium preset, High reflections).
· Average FPS remained the same, but 1% low frames slightly decreased, and 0.1% low frames slightly improved. This was also a negligible difference that was hard to perceive.

Category	HBCC Disabled	HBCC Enabled
Average FPS	37	37
1% Low	28	26
0.1% Low	17	19

· Tests were conducted in The Outer Worlds 2 (1440p, High preset) after 20-25 minutes of gameplay, where VRAM usage exceeded 8GB.
· With HBCC enabled, average FPS slightly decreased, and low frames showed almost no change.

Category	HBCC Disabled	HBCC Enabled
Average FPS	25	24
1% Low	19	19
0.1% Low	17	17

· Overall, the HBCC feature had little to no positive impact on game performance, and often had a negative effect.
· Especially in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, 1% low frames significantly dropped, severely hindering the gaming experience.
· The speed difference between system memory and video memory, along with the latency incurred during data transfer via the PCI Express bus, seems to offset the benefits of additional memory.
· While HBCC appears to increase VRAM capacity, it contributes little to actual game performance improvement and is more likely to worsen average or 1% low frames.
· Excluding the HBCC feature, the Vega 64 itself still offers decent performance, but reference models suffer from noise, heat, and high power consumption. Therefore, non-reference products like 3-fan models are recommended.
· The current market offers many alternatives that provide better price-to-performance than the Vega 64, and if power efficiency is a priority, it's best to avoid the Vega 64.
· In conclusion, as of 2026, HBCC is not a reasonable option for improving game performance, which explains why this technology has not been widely adopted.