Ok im a total dunce when it comes to hardware so please bare with me. I want to buy some memory(RAM) to speed up my PC but I also want to buy my first graphics card. Im aware the graphics cards come with RAM so would it matter if i buy both things, or should i just buy a graphics card because it has its own memory? or is there a difference?
2007-01-28 10:54:29 · 9 answers · asked by scorch_override 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
Huge difference. Load up the RAM on your motherboard first. You should have at least 512MB. Check your system at http://www.coastmemory.com to see what it came with and how much it will take.
Some graphics cards can't take more RAM. IF you do not see empty sockets... it can't. So look for a video card with lots of RAM. Maybe 256MB of RAM is good enough.
Some motherboards let you assign regular RAM for the built-in video card. But usually this is not enough to make much difference.
Good luck and Happy Computing!
2007-01-31 10:45:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
there is a difference.
The RAM that you buy for the pc is used by the central processor to run the operating system (windows) and programs.
The RAM on the graphics card is used to run only the graphics rendering for the screen. It is a special type of RAM that the graphics processor can access while it is also being used to write to the screen as well as having some other features.
if you did not have a graphics card before, it is likely that your PC was sharing the system RAM with the graphics processor - definitely slow.
so buying both system RAM and a graphics card should be a major improvement. if you are running winxp you should have a min of 512MB of system RAM - if you think you might move to Vista you should have a min of 1GB
you should get a graphics card with a min of 128MB of RAM and preferably 256MB.
2007-01-28 19:04:44 · answer #2 · answered by elentophanes 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The graphics card's memory is used exclusively by the graphics card. Your computer's system memory is used by the CPU. Most games today don't require more than 256MB of video ram. 512MB of system ram is considered the minimum amount of memory you should have on a PC running Windows XP, but it will run smoother with more (eg 1GB). For Vista, the minimum is 1GB and it will run better with 2GB.
Video card ram is only one piece of the total performance of the card. Go to a hardware review site like tomshardware.com or anandtech.com and read some of their recommendations.
2007-01-28 18:59:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Regular system memory inserted in the motherboard slots will increase your overall system speed by a lot if you have less than 512MB. After that it will only speed overall up by another 10% or so going higher.
Graphics card memory should be at least 256MG for playing games. But newer games paly a ot better at higher resolutions with 512MB or the new dual graphic cards with 256 on each card.
The high powered graphics cards are really only needed for gaming or multimedia for most business users the motherboard integrated graphic chips which share your main system RAM are adequate.
2007-01-28 19:05:46 · answer #4 · answered by aiguyaiguy 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Basically: RAM is standalone and helps with CPU load and Graphics Card RAM handles the graphics processing. You'll need them separate.
2007-01-28 18:59:14 · answer #5 · answered by tomauty 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
PC RAM is what your computer can access (i.e. a game needing 512mb of ram and you only had 128 mb ram, the game wouldnt work right, if at all..
Video RAM is basically how good your video card can keep up with whats going on graphically, and how good picture quality is (sometimes)
They ARE two different things
2007-01-28 20:17:58 · answer #6 · answered by KingBeast 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
PC ram is your speed on the computer, graphics ram is the speed of the graphics and if it can catch up to the pc ram (if it can then it should be pretty smooth, if not you would lag )
2007-01-28 18:59:07 · answer #7 · answered by CoolMegg 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yeah .. u need system ram for sure ... and unless ur motherboard has integrated graphics that shares the system ram with the video then u need a videocard with its own ram ... which is way better anyway ...
2007-01-28 18:59:29 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
PC RAM RULES(ITS SO MUCH BETTER)
BUT FOR GAMING GRAPHICS CARD OVER RULES THEMM ALL <<< I USE THIS ONE
2007-01-28 18:59:27 · answer #9 · answered by sammy321 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋