Avowed Out of Video Memory Error on PC – 8 Proven Fixes

Many PC users report that Avowed keeps crashing to the desktop with an “out of video memory” error. The game would crash while in-game or when compiling shaders, or even at startup. If you are also seeing this error, don’t worry, this guide will help you resolve the Avowed Out of Video Memory error on your Windows PC.

Methods to Fix Avowed Out of Video Memory Error on PC

The “out of video memory” is a common problem with games using Unreal Engine 5, and Avowed also seems to fall victim to this. The error can occur for a number of reasons, such as the game not running on a discrete GPU, small shader cache size, higher GPU and memory clocks, and more.

Below is a list of fixes that have helped many players resolve Avowed’s “out of video memory” error on their PCs.

Fix #1 – Make Sure Avowed Runs on a Discrete GPU

Gaming laptops have both an integrated GPU (iGPU) and a discrete graphics card. When gaming, Windows uses the dedicated NVIDIA or AMD graphics card, and for minimal desktop tasks, it uses the iGPU. Meaning, the OS keeps switching between the two GPUs depending on the load to conserve battery power.

But if Windows fails to switch to the dedicated GPU, it leads to Avowed crashing at startup with the “Out of Video Memory” error. You can get rid of the error by forcing Avowed to use the dedicated graphics card. Here is how to do it:

1. Open Windows 11/10 Settings.
2. Navigate to System > Display > Graphics.
3. Look for Avowed in the list of apps and programs and select it.
4. Click on “Options”.
5. Check the “High Performance” option and save the changes.
6. Launch the game and check if it fixes the Out of Video Memory error now.

Fix #2 – Increase NVIDIA Shader Cache Size

As stated before, Avowed runs on Unreal Engine 5, which relies heavily on shaders. So if the crash happens while compiling the shaders, it’s most likely caused by a small shader cache size. You can fix the error by increasing the NVIDIA shader cache size as follows:

1. Open the NVIDIA Control Panel and go to “Manage 3D Settings” under 3D Settings”.
2. Click on the “Global Settings” tab.
3. Click “Shader Cache Size” and select the “Disabled” option.
4. Apply the changes and restart your PC.
5. Open NVIDIA Control Panel and go to “Shader Cache Size” again.
6. This time, select “10 GB” or a higher value.
7. Run Avowed now, and it should automatically recompile shaders while launching.

Fix #3 – Lower In-Game Graphics Settings

According to some players, lowering in-game graphics settings fixed the out of video memory problem right away. This is probably because this step reduces the VRAM used in-game, which helps bypass the system memory limit. Especially for those who have a GPU with 6GB or lower VRAM.

To see if this does the trick for you, try to lower the in-game graphics settings. For this, adjust the Avowed’s display properties as follows:

1. Lower settings for Texture quality, Shadows, and Anti-Aliasing.
2. Set V-Sync to OFF.
3. Run the game in Fullscreen mode instead of Windowed mode.

For Those Using Intel 13th, 14th Gen CPUs…

As per community feedback on Steam, the “Out of Video Memory” error is more prevalent among PC users with an Intel 13th or 14th generation CPU. Even Intel has acknowledged the issues with these CPUs: they are known to cause errors and crashes, and in Avowed’s case, this “out of video memory” error in particular.

Fix #4 – Update BIOS

If you constantly encounter the “out of video memory” error when playing Avowed, the first thing you do is apply a BIOS update, also called the 0x129 microcode update. You can refer to this guide on how to update BIOS in Windows.

Fix #5 – Tweak Performance Core Ratio

If there is not yet a BIOS update available for your motherboard, you can try to reduce the Performance Core Ratio to 54x or 53x in Intel XTU to see if it helps. To do so:

1. Download and install Intel’s Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU), then launch it.
2. Go to the “Advanced Tuning” section.
3. Scroll down to “Performance Per-Core Tuning”, and change all Ratio Multipliers to 54x. Then click Apply to save the changes.
4. If 54x doesn’t work for you, turn the ratio down to 53x or even 52x.

Fix #6 – Switch To Windows’ Power Efficiency Mode

This is another workaround that has helped many players with the Avowed crashing problem. To see if this is also a fix for you, try switching to energy-saving mode on your Windows by following these steps:

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows+I keys simultaneously to open Settings.
2. Click System and go to Power & battery.
3. Select “Best power efficiency” for Power Mode.
4. Launch Avowed, and now shaders should compile without crashing.

Fix #7 – Enable Sysmem Fallback Policy (For Nvidia Users)

Noticing how widespread the “Out of Video Memory” error is, NVIDIA decided to introduce its workaround – the Sysmem Fallback Policy – for gamers running on Unreal Engine 5. To enable the Sysmem Fallback Policy on your Windows PC:

1. Open NVIDIA Control Panel, and click “Manage 3D Settings” under 3D Settings.
2. Go to the “Global” tab, then “Program Settings” and choose Avowed from the dropdown list.
3. Look for “CUDA – Sysmem Fallback Policy” setting and click the dropdown button next to it.
4. Select “Prefer Sysmem Fallback” and apply the changes.
5. Launch Avowed, and it should now run smoothly without errors.

Fix #8 – Underclock Your AMD Graphics Card

Even though overclocking enhances PC performance for better gameplay, this can also cause overheating, which leads to crashes and other related issues.

Especially graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia board partners are often overclocked and use higher GPU and Memory clocks than the base model. The difference in clock speeds is usually not too much, but reverting the graphics card to its default clock values can fix the out of video memory error for you.

If you are an NVIDIA user, you can simply use the “Debug Mode” to force your graphics card to use the recommended GPU and Memory clocks. However, the AMD Adrenalin Software provides no such options, like Debug Mode, to do the task.

Instead, you’ll have to manually underclock your AMD graphics card to achieve the default clocks. To do that:

1. Open AMD Adrenalin Software.
2. Navigate to Performance > Tuning.
3. Click “Custom” under “Manual Tuning”.
4. Turn on the “GPU Tuning” and “Advanced Control” options.
5. Just below these options, you’ll see three sliders: Minimum Frequency, Maximum Frequency, and Voltage.
6. Go to the slider for “Maximum Frequency” and move it slightly to the left to match the recommended GPU clock speed.
7. Apply the changes and run Avowed to see if it helps.

There you have it: our top 8 fixes for the “Out of Video Memory” crashes in Avowed on PC. If you have any questions or suggestions for us, please drop them in the comments below. Thanks for reading the post!