Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > 8800GT 256mb vs 8800GT 512mb - which on 1280x1024

8800GT 256mb vs 8800GT 512mb - which on 1280x1024

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - 8800GT 256mb vs 8800GT 512mb - which on 1280x1024

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
qmalik   10-26-2007 at 12:23:18 AM

People these days talk about how great 512 mb is on a gfx card...but all the benchmarks i see comparing 256mb and 512mb show the 256mb performance just as well (maybe 1% less on my resolution) unless you are using some crazy resolution (the benchmarks I am referring to are NOT for the 8800GT but just tests I have seen used on recent games with recent graphic cards). Can someone discuss the true noticeable differences between the 2 versions and which version of 8800GT will truly be worth it for me - I plays max settings on 1280x1024. Thanks.


Message edited by qmalik on 10-26-2007 at 12:26:59 AM
Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
aadamszc   10-26-2007 at 12:29:47 AM
- 0 +

I don't think it would make too much of a difference at your resolution with the games that we have currently, but I think when we start getting some more demanding games, the lack of VRAM might start to show a bit.

Reply to aadamszc
itotallybelieveyou   10-26-2007 at 12:32:29 AM
- 0 +

As soon as DX10 starts really kicking anything short of 512 is gonna get laggggggg

------------------------------ It's a theater of love stories.
 Reply to itotallybelieveyou
Hatman   10-26-2007 at 12:55:45 AM
- 0 +

Indeed, 512mb is a must.

------------------------------ Na na na na na na na na HATMAN!
 Reply to Hatman
erloas   10-26-2007 at 01:00:38 AM
- 0 +

As the reviews have shown and you yourself have noticed and pointed out, the increase in memory on the video cards only really makes a difference at higher resolution.

If you are playing at 1280x1024 then there is almost no difference.

Reply to erloas
smokedyou911   10-26-2007 at 01:09:41 AM
- 0 +

some cards with lower amounts of ram of ram actully preform better than the same card with higher amounts of ram, due to the ram filling up slower. An example would be the frames would look slightly better but you would have a loss in performance. This applies to some, not all cards and the difference verys.

Reply to smokedyou911
pauldh   10-26-2007 at 01:29:52 AM
- 0 +

Wait for the launch and some real 8800GT reviews to see how similar the two versions are in specs and performance. If we say the two cards are identical except the amount of RAM, well it looks like the 8800GT is a beast of a card, powerful enough to remain playable with settings that will need more than 256MB. I wouldn't be suprised if crysis at 12x10 could chew up more than 256MB. But available 256MB versions may end up being lower clocked (at least the RAM) than the 512MB versions and costing quite a bit less.

Reply to pauldh
nytevizion   11-01-2007 at 03:04:20 AM
- 0 +

YES, without a doubt get at least 512meg. And even at 1280x1024 it matters. Take the Crysis demo for example. I am running an 8800gts with 320meg, and I can't turn everything on high and run with more than 2xAA because of video memory limitations. It wont even let me choose higher and even at those settings I get alot of memory hashing and swapping. (hense the random quick pausing in the game occasionally).

Another example is World in Conflict, I've only played the demo but with all settings on high with AA enabled 1280x1024 and you get alot of excessive hashing and it even tells you "Video memory overload"

This site gives some specs on how much memory is used with Crysis.

http://www.incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=11614

Reply to nytevizion
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > 8800GT 256mb vs 8800GT 512mb - which on 1280x1024
Go to:

There are 1093 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.448 seconds
Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
Related Topics
See all relatives topics
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them
How do I win badges?