RAM on Video Cards

[greasyhippo]

HI,

I was wondering how much of a difference 1Gb of ram makes on a 9800GT graphics card compared to 512Mb, and if it is necessary or any bit usefull.

I want to know because 512mb is $20 cheaper than the 1gb.
Thanks

 

[fmw]

It would matter for some 3D games but not much else.

 

[kookooshortman55]

The memory is just used for textures. The extra memory tends to help out on larger resoltions, I would only consider buying a 1GB model if you have a resolution that is larger than 1680x1050. I'm running Crysis on Very High/Enthusiast textures on a 22" (1680x1050) and my 512MB card works just fine. Of course, if you have enough system memory, the shared memory is used too.

 

[smoothjk]

What kookoo said. Then again, I noticed an improvement even at 1680x1050 when I went from a 4870 512mb to a 1gb. Average and max fps stayed about the same, but the MIN fps was a lot higher. I like stability and hate choppiness, so the price difference was worth it.

High-res or games with heavy textures (even games like Oblivion with QTP3 mod) need the extra memory. For most games like first-person shooters, 512mb is generally good enough.