HIS 4850 512 vs 1GB ICEQ4

ryanb213

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Ok the 4850 im getting is going to be paired with an ASUS P5Q PRO and a q6600 4gb ram etc. everyone has that stuff. My Resolution is 1280*1204 which is a 19". I want to get a dual slot cooler version to reduce heat o/c etc. at this resolution will the extra 512mb of vram be worth it? to maybe run a high aa and af?? take the load of the gpu etc. the 1gb version is about $50 more. would i just be better off saving that $50 and putting it towards another 4850? i know the p5q pro is only 8x/8x in xfire but its not much of a difference from 16x/16x) i AM on a budget HELP!

512MB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161244

1GB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161245

WHICH ONE?!?!?!?
 

M3d

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Normally I would agree that at that rez the more memory is useless. However,
If you plan on playing GTA4 at that res the extra memory will get you higher textures.
 

mtyermom

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m3d wtf are you talking about?

the texture size is dependent on the resolution. maybe xxx game has uber high resolution textures, but they're not going to be utilized fully except at the uber high resolutions.

the recommendation still stands, at 1280x1024 resolution you will not be utilizing 1GB of video memory, so no need to waste money on video memory that will not used. get the 512mb card if you know you will be using that same monitor/resolution for a while.
 

M3d

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What I am talking about is that according to R*, "Texture quality affects the visual quality of the content of the game. High setting for textures will require 600MB of video memory at a setting of 21 View Distance in addition to the memory taken by the Video Mode. A medium texture setting is recommended for most users."

Further, everytime you increase the View Distance it eats up more memory. I cannot comment on the differences between Medium and High quality as I only have 512MB of Vram and the High Render Quality option is not available.

For this particular game it seems that more memory is beneficial even at 1280*1024.

http://forums.slizone.com/index.php?showtopic=30840
 

spathotan

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The 512mb 4850 will do you fine justice OP. I personally own that card (see sig), and im completely satisfied, runs Fallout 3 at max @ 1680 x 1050, ditto for Oblivion. It also owns Red Alert 3. Not to mention it runs at 35c idle and never tops 45c under load with 80% fan speed, which cant be heard over system fans.

Never base your purchase off performance of ONE game. Also the cooler looks alot better in person heh, its a nice card.
 

ryanb213

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hey uhh spathotan, thats the exact same specs i was going to build (only g.skill ram) what kind of framerates do you get in crysis and have you played gta IV for the pc kind of curious wat kind of frames i might get. as for the card 512 vs 1gb in lets say 1 yr when game are more demanding will the 1gb come into play? i will only upgrade when i get start to get bad frames in the future (cough cough)my e4300 3gbram 8500gt 128mb) its terrible!
 

spathotan

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I havnt played Crysis with this card or GTA 4. However FPS in Fallout 3 and Oblivion are well over 60 with max everything @ 1680 X 1050, and they sit around 40-60 in Red Alert 3 with max settings, really depends on how busy the map is. The 1GB of memory isnt that important, espically at that resolution.