Will the extra memory give me a boost?

[physx7]

Hey all,

I wanna know if the extra memory will give me a boost in gaming and animation.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133204

512 Vs 256

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150229

They are both Gddr3.

Thanks!

 

[Blacken]

Well, maybe. Depends on what games you play and how much detail you use. Newer (Crisis, ect), absolutely. Counterstrike Source and that era, 256. Or if you just like using a **** load of AA and ultra high resolutions, 512

 

[itotallybelieveyou]

In a few months when the new games starts popping up anything under 512 will be useless

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

I think you want to look more at core clock, etc. If you are running lower resolutions probably not a big deal, but if you want to run high resolution, etc. Then you need to look at memory. But if all things are equal, I don't think it'd be a bad idea to have the 512 mb instead of 256. But like for me, I low-med resolutions, and even though I'm probably going to get the 8500 gt, yea, everyone says bad for gaming I know, I am probably going to order the one with 600 mhz core clock and ddr3 memory vs regular 450 mhz core and ddr2 memory. My point? Watch what you buy, look at speeds on core and memory, like I could get an 8500 with 512 mb of ddr2 memory, but I'm going for the other b/c I think ddr3 will make the speed a little faster overall, even with only ddr2.

Have you looked at the ATI radeon 2900 gt's? Or the ATI 2600XT? Should be comparable to that 8600 you want, and you can get one with 512 of ddr3 memory for 114.99. Might be something to consider. Maybe even look at the ATI 3800 series if your will to spend about 150 or a little above. Just some ideas.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

If you are still looking at that 150 dollar mark, I would also consider the 8600gts, looks like it might provide better performance for your $$, even with lower memory.

 

[physx7]

Here is the prob. When I start staring $150-189-200 buck'ish in the face I start thinking that I should put that money into an 8800gt. And I have looked at and considered the ATI's but Nvidia seems to have the lead and I'm not a fanboy of either.I'll go for the best. Also aren't the 2900 gt's more expensive?

And I'll probably be gaming at 1280x1024 or 1680x1050 resolution. I also probably won't ever go above 4xAA and 8xAF.

 

[physx7]

I'll probably be playing Stuff like Battlefield 2, Assasins creed, Crysis, Age of Empires 3, Flight sims and whatever else gets in my way

As for animation I can't seem to find a program that doesn't cost over $1000. What about Nvidia Gelato? The free version. Has anyone had any luck with Gelato?

Read my sig for the rest of my specs.

 

[physx7]

I would also consider the 8600gts

I don't consider the extra boost from the GT to the GTS enough to justify the extra $$30-50. According to Tom's VGA charts