Comparing low end GFX cards before buying, How important is 64-Bit vs 124-Bit?

[Captain_Aizen]

29$, GeForce GT 610 2GB 64-bit DDR3 - (Core Clock=810MHz l Shader Clock=1620MHz l CUDA Cores=48)

37$, GeForce GT 520 1GB 64-bit DDR3 - (Core Clock=810MHz l Shader Clock=1620MHz l CUDA Cores=48) SILENT

40$, GeForce GT 610 1GB 64-bit DDR3 - (Core Clock=810MHz l Shader Clock=1620MHz l CUDA Cores=48) SILENT

50$, GeForce GT 630 1GB 128-bit DDR3 - (Core Clock=810MHz l Shader Clock=1620MHz l CUDA Cores=96)

59$, GeForce GT 640 1GB 128-bit DDR3 - (Core Clock=950MHz l Shader Clock=??? l CUDA Cores=384)

A couple questions, comparing the cards above, will the 128 bit cards be MUCH better than the 64 bit? Also, if I go with the 64 bit how much difference will there be between 1GB of ram vs 2GB. Also how much difference will 384 cores make vs 96 vs 48. I did compare the cards by rank at benchmark websites but i'd like to know in real talk what's more important, an extra GB of ram or 64 more bits. Thanks!

ps. I listed the 2 silent cards because I do prefer no fans if possible, even though I can see they are more expensive and 1GB less ram than the 29$ GT 610.

 

[Kari]

those cards won't really benefit from 2GB of vram, so that is a moot point. But having twice the bandwidth is going to make a difference so 128bit is preferrable. Also more cores are always better, but one has to know that the gt640 is based on newer microarchitecture (others are rebrands of older models) and the cores aren't the same anymore so straight comparison based on the core count alone is impossible, but 386 new cores are still a lot faster than 96 older ones (not 4 times as fast but maybe like 2.5 or there abouts). Also since it is newer tech it is going to have more advanced feature set making it better suited for HTPC usage etc.

edit some usefull links
the rebranding
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5845/nvidia-launches-fermi-based-geforce-gt-610-gt-620-gt-630-into-retail
and gt640 htpc review
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5969/zotac-geforce-gt-640-review-

 

[Captain_Aizen]

those cards won't really benefit from 2GB of vram, so that is a moot point. But having twice the bandwidth is going to make a difference so 128bit is preferrable. Also more cores are always better, but one has to know that the gt640 is based on newer microarchitecture (others are rebrands of older models) and the cores aren't the same anymore so straight comparison based on the core count alone is impossible, but 386 new cores are still a lot faster than 96 older ones (not 4 times as fast but maybe like 2.5 or there abouts). Also since it is newer tech it is going to have more advanced feature set making it better suited for HTPC usage etc.

Hmm, looks like my hunch was correct, 2GB on a 64-Bit card is probably the exact same as 1GB on a 64-Bit card. Also during my comparing cards, I noticed that the specs on the 600, 500, and 400 series nVidia cards all looked similar, after reading the articles you linked, it looks like basically they are the same cards just renamed with newer packaging, but it's all the same technology. I guess the bottom line is, it's all about the bit-rate for the class of card I'll be dealing in.

 

[Kari]

Hmm, looks like my hunch was correct, 2GB on a 64-Bit card is probably the exact same as 1GB on a 64-Bit card.

well yeah and the fact that the gpu chip in those cards isn't really powerfull enough to run anything so heavy that would use more than 1GB or vram anyways...
the 640 is actually 'new ' chip, less than a year, so it would be the best choice, thou it is also the most expensive but I'd go for it.

 

[Captain_Aizen]

Yea I've decided to do the 640 for sure. Even though I have no interest in the latest and greatest FPS games like CoD and MW, I do want MORE than enough power to run photoshop, music players, blizzard games and video conversion software quickly and at the highest settings. I'm almost able to do that now with my GT 9500, but it's reached the end of it's life span (it's beginning to make strange noises and frequently overheats), with a slightly more powerful card I'm set for years to come. Thanks for the advice.