256Mb Video Card. What does it mean?

Yoonsi said:
I was looking to buy this videocard from this online store:
http://www.computerstore.co.nz/store/web/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=457&idproduct=4871

The Video Card is 256Mb but on the specs it says: 128Mb Video memory?

Why is this card not then called a 128Mb Video Card and would I be better off just buying a 128Mb card with 128Mb of Video memory?

I would appreciate anyone who could clear up my confusion.

Thanks
-Yoonsi
Click to expand...

The card has dual channel memory onboard. 2x128mb=256mb total. It goes the same when trying to figure out why you see 200mhz in the bios while the fsb is 400mhz. You apply the same rule for the dual channel there to see 2x200mhz=400mhz
 
Yoonsi said:
I was looking to buy this videocard from this online store:
http://www.computerstore.co.nz/store/web/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=457&idproduct=4871

The Video Card is 256Mb but on the specs it says: 128Mb Video memory?

Why is this card not then called a 128Mb Video Card and would I be better off just buying a 128Mb card with 128Mb of Video memory?
Click to expand...

You cant just look at memory of cards, and that card does stink, and is pretty old. What's your budget for the graphics card?

maroon1 said:
That card sucks and it is expensive.

Get geforce 6200 is much better and cheaper
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814170092
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that he's not ordering from an American website, and newegg doesn't ship to anywhere from the US.

PC eye said:
The card has dual channel memory onboard. 2x128mb=256mb total. It goes the same when trying to figure out why you see 200mhz in the bios while the fsb is 400mhz. You apply the same rule for the dual channel there to see 2x200mhz=400mhz
Click to expand...

Ok what!? You cannot do that to the amount of ram! :eek: Dual channel memory does not double your memory, it only makes it run faster.
 
Last edited:
The memory's probably a typo on that page... But the card's a pretty crummy one. I don't know how much that would be in USD, but you can find others for about $30 USD...
 
PC eye said:
The card has dual channel memory onboard. 2x128mb=256mb total. It goes the same when trying to figure out why you see 200mhz in the bios while the fsb is 400mhz. You apply the same rule for the dual channel there to see 2x200mhz=400mhz
Click to expand...

No its not!! DDR memory does not mean you double the amount of memory. Its screwed up print! You dont really know the difference between the MHZ that things run at and MB the size of memory do you!
 
PC eye said:
The card has dual channel memory onboard. 2x128mb=256mb total. It goes the same when trying to figure out why you see 200mhz in the bios while the fsb is 400mhz. You apply the same rule for the dual channel there to see 2x200mhz=400mhz
Click to expand...

HAHAHA. Wow. Just...wow.

Dual channel effectively doubles the memory bandwidth. How does that have anything to do with the speed? Wow...I REALLY want to see what whacked out "link" to "proof" you come up with today! HAHA
 
I was looking to buy this videocard from this online store:
http://www.computerstore.co.nz/store...idproduct=4871

The Video Card is 256Mb but on the specs it says: 128Mb Video memory?

Why is this card not then called a 128Mb Video Card and would I be better off just buying a 128Mb card with 128Mb of Video memory?

I would appreciate anyone who could clear up my confusion.

Thanks
-Yoonsi
Click to expand...

Pretty sure it's a missprint... The card has only 128mbs of memory anyway.

The card has dual channel memory onboard. 2x128mb=256mb total.
Click to expand...

That thinking is a bit backwards. The memory "amount" has nothing to do with the speed of the ram. Duel channel has to do with the speed.

Example: 128mbs at 200mhz DDR = 128mbs at 400mhz... 128mbs of DDR is still 128mbs of DDR.
 
you can get much better cards for about the same price.

make sure to check the standard graphics interface on your motherboard. Get a card to match the best the interface it can handle.
 
Blue said:
Pretty sure it's a missprint... The card has only 128mbs of memory anyway.



That thinking is a bit backwards. The memory "amount" has nothing to do with the speed of the ram. Duel channel has to do with the speed.

Example: 128mbs at 200mhz DDR = 128mbs at 400mhz... 128mbs of DDR is still 128mbs of DDR.
Click to expand...

I wasn't talking about memory speed there but making the comparison. Besides double bandwidth there is also shared memory where 128mb of system memory is used by the card. 128mb on two channels is equal to? 256mb
 
PC eye said:
I wasn't talking about memory speed there but making the comparison. Besides double bandwidth there is also shared memory where 128mb of system memory is used by the card. 128mb on two channels is equal to? 256mb
Click to expand...

or just 64MBx2
 
PC eye said:
I wasn't talking about memory speed there but making the comparison. Besides double bandwidth there is also shared memory where 128mb of system memory is used by the card. 128mb on two channels is equal to? 256mb
Click to expand...

That's turbocache or hypermemory, I'm pretty sure the 9250's dont have that.
 
PC eye said:
I wasn't talking about memory speed there but making the comparison. Besides double bandwidth there is also shared memory where 128mb of system memory is used by the card. 128mb on two channels is equal to? 256mb
Click to expand...

I was merely pointing out that you made a mistake. It is ok to own it. We all make them now and again.
 
Ah wow heaps of responses. Thanks guys. Um well, I can only buy from New Zealand as I haven't got a credit card (only 17) and I Have absolutely hardly any time to go to shops to buy stuff (Can't drive and have final exams in 4 weeks) so yeah that site is my only option.

Um here are the list of video cards they have:http://www.computerstore.co.nz/store/web/viewCat_h.asp?idCategory=351

And I'm on a budget of about NZD$200

What do you think? I have an 8x Agp slot on my mobo.
 
Oh, by reading some of the posts on this board I've realized that you cant look at the memory on a card alone to make judgement on it.

What are some of the other things you guys look at in judging a card? (and if you're not busy, maybe a small explaination as to what they mean?) :D :D

Thanks!
 
Yoonsi said:
Oh, by reading some of the posts on this board I've realized that you cant look at the memory on a card alone to make judgement on it.

What are some of the other things you guys look at in judging a card? (and if you're not busy, maybe a small explaination as to what they mean?) :D :D

Thanks!
Click to expand...

One of the things to look at is memory/GPU clocks, the higher the better. Also, what are you doing with this card? if it is heavier gaming, then you will need say an X700/6600 or better.
 
The "BIG WORD" often heard for gaming cards is "Pixel Pipelines". The more you have the better. Although the newer PCI-Express type cards are past that stage in most cases you will need to look over the newer model AGP cards the newest the better as well to see the best performance in gaming. If you are simply checking the mail and browsing the web you can do well with a larger number of cards. Your concern besides ATI or NVidia will be the brand of the card not the chip manufacturer.
 
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