How much video ram do I need?

[robucf4]

I would like to play WoW and other games at 1600x1200, will the 8800 320M version be enough or do I need 512M? I want to purchase one soon but I have been holding out for the new DX10 cards to come out, rumors have the date to be the 17th but who truly knows.

Also, will a Thermaltake tough power 650W be enough to power either an 8600 or an 8800?

Voltage +3.3V +5V +12V1 +12V2 +12V3 +12V4 -12V +5VSB
Max.
Load 30A 28A 18A 18A 18A 18A 0.8A 3A

 

[nightscope]

I would like to play WoW and other games at 1600x1200, will the 8800 320M version be enough or do I need 512M? I want to purchase one soon but I have been holding out for the new DX10 cards to come out, rumors have the date to be the 17th but who truly knows.

Also, will a Thermaltake tough power 650W be enough to power either an 8600 or an 8800?

Voltage +3.3V +5V +12V1 +12V2 +12V3 +12V4 -12V +5VSB
Max.
Load 30A 28A 18A 18A 18A 18A 0.8A 3A

1600X1200 is the borderline for a 320 MB version of the 8800 GTS, any resolution higher and you'd need the 640 MB version. I would wait to see what comes out in the next couple of weeks, but it's your decision really.

About the power supply, yes, it should power an 8800 or 8600 perfectly.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

I would like to play WoW and other games at 1600x1200, will the 8800 320M version be enough or do I need 512M?

Well there is no 512, just a 640 or 768. 512 would be the R600 card.

For games like WOW 320MB will be enough, for other games, especially elaborate FPSs you may hit a wall in the future.

If your future gaming requires that resolution you may have trouble, but you'll also likely run out of core horsepower too. Right now there is less effect of the memory size at low resolutions like 16x12 and below, than there is in memory speed (a faster 320 will do better than a slower 640), and when both are OC'ed the effect at that resolution is minimal, however above that or turn on high levels of AA and you start to hit a brick wall that no amount of OC'ing will make up for.

16x12 seems to be the sweetspot for current games with the 320, but future games may be different depending on their use of DX10 features to save memory or whether they use the more and more widely available large memory amounts to make megatextures more common.

You can always tweak things to make it playable, but it's just a question of whether it's worth the money.

For WOW and RTS games it won't matter, for tougher games, you may wish the security of 640MB if you aren't upgrading for a long time.

 

[chuckshissle]

You should wait on what ATI can offer with their DX10 card in a couple of weeks. At 1600x1200 you'll need the 640Mb and 2Gb of ram to play Wow and other with good performance.

 

[nightscope]

You should wait on what ATI can offer with their DX10 card in a couple of weeks. At 1600x1200 you'll need the 640Mb and 2Gb of ram to play Wow and other with good performance.

1 GB of ram would be sufficient if he's not using Vista, and a 320 MB 8800 GTS should yield very good performance for WoW at 1600x1200, but not more demanding games.

 

[randomizer]

With 52A available, that psu should be able to power 2 8600s and maybe 2x8800GTS (probably not 2x 8800GTX tho).

 

[nvalhalla]

I can play WOW at 1024x768 with all effects maxed on a 9700 pro. The 320 should do fine, WOW is not a very demanding game. Crysis and the future games will start having problems with AA at 1600x1200 with the 320 though. The 640 can be had for only a few dollars more (~$50). If WOW is your only concern, the 320 is good, but it will be a problem in future games.

 

[rammedstein]

lol, i had dual x1950xtxs come to a crawl on wow, i was playing at 1600x1200, maxxed AF and AA and terrain distance and everything, and was camping the dark portal the night before burning crusade, there were over 1500 people there, damn it looked cool but ran slow!

 

[robucf4]

Sound like the safe bet is to go with the 640M version, hopefully prices will start go to down with the release of all these new cards in the upcoming weeks. NV probaly has a price cut plannd to trump ATI.

 

[joewho]

I agree. Here is a question. How long before we know if R600, ATI Vista Drivers are working.

 

[sailer]

I agree. Here is a question. How long before we know if R600, ATI Vista Drivers are working.

The day that someone actually gets one of these cards and trys it while using Vista and a game that requires DX10.

 

[chuckshissle]

I agree. Here is a question. How long before we know if R600, ATI Vista Drivers are working.

The day that someone actually gets one of these cards and trys it while using Vista and a game that requires DX10.

ATI had plenty of time to play with the card and I'm sure they'll have a good driver for it by the time it is released. You should wait OP since it's not that long now, and besides what's to loose?

But if you want to an evil person them go ahead and find the 8800GTX/GTS whatever at your local store and buy it. Besides you can return it before 30days, not sure about your place. That way you can test the card on your system then do the same with the R600. Then pick the best one for you. :twisted:

No, I haven't than anything like that but I have return a card before because it was not working right on my system.

 

[robucf4]

I'll just wait and see what happens over the next 2 weeks. I wish I could hold out until Q3, but then again everything "new" will be overpriced for a few months.

These days with customer services reps you can return just about anything. At Circuit City I have even returned open and used software. The lady was a bit older so she did not know any better, I simply told her it did not work and she was like ok :twisted:

 

[sailer]

Sound like the safe bet is to go with the 640M version, hopefully prices will start go to down with the release of all these new cards in the upcoming weeks.

I would agree with this. I'm not sure why Nvidia went to 320/640 mb numbers instead of the 256/512 mb that were standard before. Maybe it was just to be different? In any case, with Vista and DX10 using so much power, I'd tend to look at the larger megabyte cards for future use, whether they are from Nvidia or ATI.

Just think, in a few months there will be people using ATI cards in Crossfire with 2 gb total of memory. I can remember years ago when people said that 2 mb of memory was more than would ever be used.

 

[randomizer]

There is never too much of anything. Think about terabyte gfx cards... 8O

 

[joewho]

That's like CompUSA's upgrade warranty. New every 2. Not that I would do such a thing. lol