Radeon HD 7850 1GB vs 2GB

[RevBlueJeans]

Hey guys, I'm very close (slightly over in reality) of my budget for the pc i'm looking at building. The Radeon HD 7850 comes in a 1GB and a 2GB version. I was wondering what exactly kind of performance difference would I notice in these two versions?

I will mostly be playing games like Dark Souls, D3, Skyrim etc and I will be playing on a 32'' HDTV in 1080p (not sure exactly what resolution that translates to). With that in mind would I be safe to stick with the 1GB version?

Thanks,
-Rev

 

[oakcatton]

You should get the 2GB model for that screen size.
The memory on the gpu is for storing the image so it can process quickly, but if the image is too large(the larger the resolution, the larger the image) then it will have to load that image of the hard drive, which, as you can imagine, is much slower than the memory on the gpu. When this happens your frames per second absolutely tank to about 10fps if your lucky!

 

[co0ldown]

Go with the 2gb version if you have the money. 1gb is enough at the moment for everything exept battlefield at ultra settings and skyrim with highres textures, but in 1 year 1gb might not be enough for some games.

 

[Spaniard United]

Agree with the above replies ... go with the 2 gig version. 1 gig is good for 18"-30" screens give or take. Once you get above 30" or multiple screens, you're better off with 2 gigs, especially with the games you're playing.

 

[djangoringo]

screen size as per inches has nothing to do with performance of the cards or the memory required, only the resolution which in this case is 1080p.
As of it now the 7850 1GB has the same performance as the 7850 2GB at that resolution.

 

[jessterman21]

Go with the 2gb version if you have the money. 1gb is enough at the moment for everything exept battlefield at ultra settings and skyrim with highres textures, but in 1 year 1gb might not be enough for some games.

+1

To be able to use the highest texture settings in Skyrim, Max Payne 3, and Battlefield 3 at 1080p without any performance hit, you want the 2GB version.

 

[jessterman21]

screen size as per inches has nothing to do with performance of the cards or the memory required, only the resolution which in this case is 1080p.

For real. You'll get the same performance on a 13" 1080p laptop screen as you will a 27" 1080p monitor or even a 60" 1080p TV.

 

[Spaniard United]

True, but as a general rule for monitors as the screen size goes up so does the maximum resolution. Then again they said TV so yeah, scratch that.

 

[lycros]

If you're trying to save some money, go with the 1gb version. If you want to push it get the 2gb. You won't notice any difference, unless you use a lot of high resolution mods in Skyrim.

Also like others have said monitor size is not important, the resolution is. And at 1080p you're good with either choice.

 

[A Bad Day]

2GB is only worth if if you want lots of anti-aliasing or other high-resolution mods for games, or if you are playing BF3.

 

[jessterman21]

2GB is only worth if if you want lots of anti-aliasing or other high-resolution mods for games, or if you are playing BF3.

Or next year's games. I usually buy a card that will last at least 2 years, and I can't say the HD 7850 1GB will be up to snuff next year. More and more games are coming with tons of texture detail in the High-Ultra settings, so you'll soon need more than 1GB VRAM to max everything at 1080p.

 

[djangoringo]

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7850_RoyalQueen/images/perfrel_1920.gif
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7850_RoyalQueen/images/perfrel_2560.gif
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7850_RoyalQueen/images/bf3_1920_1200.gif

More than the extra GB, the important is the factory oc or the best card for oc and with proper cooling.