How much video card memory / which card for 1080p gaming?

[Zapotopaz]

Hello,

I'm upgrading my monitor from a 1280x1024 native lcd to a 1920x1080 native lcd. My current card is an nvidia 8800gts 320mb, and I'm thinking that 320mb is a bit low for 1080p gaming. I'm looking to upgrade to something better. How much video memory would be appropriate for 1080p gaming? Any card recommendations? The card is the only thing i'm currently looking to upgrade, I feel that the rest of my pc should be adequate as is. I'm hoping to spend around $150, $200 max. I'll list my pc specs below, if anything stands out as weak, let me know. No point spending $200 on a nice video card if I'll need to upgrade something else to fully harness it.

Current PC specs:
Processor - Intel E6850 (Dual Core @ 3.00 GHz)
RAM - 4 gigs ddr2 running at pc2 6400 speed
Video card - EVGA Nvidia 8800gts 320mb
Motherboard - Newegg Link

 

[rolli59]

What are your PSU specs? If they are OK I would say HD4870/90 1GB or geforce gtx260 or even HD5770 if you are on Win Vista or 7

 

[redwolfexr]

I would try it before you decide, I had an 8800GTS running a 1080p display with no issues. I only upgraded when I started running 2 displays. (and again when I moved to 3 displays)

 

[Zapotopaz]

What are your PSU specs? If they are OK I would say HD4870/90 1GB or geforce gtx260 or even HD5770 if you are on Win Vista or 7

Power supply is 500w, Newegg link
OS is Windows 7

I would try it before you decide, I had an 8800GTS running a 1080p display with no issues. I only upgraded when I
started running 2 displays. (and again when I moved to 3 displays)

How much memory did this card have, and were you gaming with it? I'm sure my card could run a 1080p display just fine, but I'm having doubts as to how it would perform when running newer games at 1080p.

 

[rolli59]

Power supply is 500w, Newegg link
OS is Windows 7




How much memory did this card have, and were you gaming with it? I'm sure my card could run a 1080p display just fine, but I'm having doubts as to how it would perform when running newer games at 1080p.

Your PSU would struggle with the HD4870/90 and GTX260 cards but work fine with the HD5770. At the moment the price is high on the new HD5xxx cards and I recommend that you wait until the new glare is of since your current card is still decent. But then again it is your money.