The Unreal Engine crash message “Out of video memory trying to allocate a texture” sounds alarming, but it means something specific: the game asked your graphics card for more VRAM than it could provide, and the driver gave up. It shows up most on 6 GB and 8 GB cards running high textures, ray tracing, or several demanding apps at once. These steps free the memory the game needs.
Reduce what fills your VRAM
Lower texture quality and view distance
Textures are the biggest VRAM consumer. Dropping textures from Ultra to High often cuts usage by 1 to 2 GB with little visible difference. View distance, shadows, and ray tracing add more, so trim those next if you are still tight.
Turn off ray tracing and frame generation on smaller cards
Ray tracing and some frame-generation features reserve extra VRAM. On an 8 GB card at 1440p they can be the difference between stable and crashing. Disable them to confirm, then re-enable selectively.
Free memory outside the game
Close VRAM-hungry background apps
Browsers with many tabs, video editors, and even multiple monitors consume VRAM before the game starts. Close Chrome, streaming previews, and wallpaper engines. A second high-resolution monitor showing video can hold hundreds of megabytes on its own.
Lower resolution or use an upscaler
Rendering at a lower internal resolution with DLSS, FSR, or XeSS in Quality mode reduces the framebuffer and related buffers, which lowers VRAM pressure while keeping a sharp image.
| Card VRAM | Comfortable target | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| 6 GB | 1080p High textures | Ultra textures, ray tracing |
| 8 GB | 1080p Ultra / 1440p High | RT + Ultra textures together |
| 12 GB | 1440p Ultra | 4K textures with heavy mods |
| 16 GB+ | 4K Ultra | Rarely a problem |
Rule out driver and file issues
A corrupted shader cache can inflate memory use, so update your GPU driver and, if the crash started after an update, do a clean install. Verify the game files to repair damaged assets. If you overclocked GPU memory, return it to stock, an unstable memory overclock can trigger allocation failures that masquerade as running out of VRAM.
Cap frame rate and mind multi-monitor VRAM
An uncapped frame rate in menus or light scenes can push the GPU to allocate more than it needs, so a sensible frame cap a few frames below your refresh rate reduces peak memory pressure as well as heat. Multi-monitor setups add a hidden tax: each extra display, especially a high-resolution or high-refresh one, reserves framebuffer memory before the game even starts, and playing video on a second screen can hold several hundred megabytes. On an 8 GB card that overhead is sometimes the difference between a stable session and the allocation crash, so close media on secondary displays when you push settings.
FAQ
Does adding system RAM fix a video memory error?
Not usually. The error is about the GPU’s dedicated VRAM, not system RAM. More RAM only helps in edge cases where the game spills into shared memory. Lowering textures is the reliable fix.
Why does it crash only after playing for a while?
Some engines leak or slowly accumulate VRAM as you move through areas. Restarting the game clears it. If it happens fast and often, lower textures a notch to give more headroom.
Bottom line
This error is a VRAM budget problem. Lower textures and ray tracing first, close background apps that steal memory, use an upscaler to shrink buffers, and keep drivers and files clean. Match your settings to your card’s VRAM and the crash disappears.
