A question about video cards?

Question

I am building a new pc and can't decide which video card to get. I currently have a Radeon 1600 516mb that a friend gave me, but I am thinking about getting a directx 10 one, like a 2400 or a 8600. However, the 8600 I am looking at has only 256 mb of video memory. What does video memory actually mean? Should I get the newer video card with less memory or an older card with more memory? Basically, I am asking which video card is better.

Answer 1

256mb DDR3 will always beat 512mb DDR2. Do not get anything less than ddr3. You will regret it later if you just get ddr2.

8600 GTS is pretty good but pricey. 8600GT, especially the factory overclocked versions are best bang for the buck. They perform amazingly well on Core2 Duo that are clocked (or overclocked) above 2.5Ghz.

Answer 2

The memory is how many pixels you can display. So lower amounts cannot get like 1280x1028 lets say. So 32 MB video cards normally only reach about 800x600.

So when you buy a video card look at its maximum resolution. Now video memory also does a few other things and the speed of the video ram is also pretty important. 256MB is going to be unless soon. If newer games do not have support for lower resolution your graphics may be seriously messed up when playing future games. Right now 256MB is fine for even the most recent games. But 512MB is the new shift so within a year from now any serious gamer will need around 512+

Answer 3

Video memory on the card is used to load textures, and it affects the overall speed at which the screen refreshes, particularly at higher resolutions like 1600x1050, 1920x1200 and up. All other things being equal, more video memory is better.

But the amount of memory is *NOT* the most signigicant factor for choosing video cards. Look at the clock and core speeds, the shader model supported, the number of pipelines- these are all more important than video memory.

In some cases, affordable 512mb version of cards have slower DDR2 memory instead of fast DDR3 memory. In fact, when you see 512mb cards selling for what looks like an unbeatable price, that's why- they are loaded with slow memory. Having a 256mb DDR3 card is much better than having a 512mb DDR2 card.

DirectX 10 isn't a big deal yet, since it only works under Vista which many people are avoiding until the first service pack (at least) and no DX10 games have been released yet. It's nice to have, but not worth sacrificing a lot of performance for. A High-end DX9 card like a Radeon X1950XT is far superior to a midrange DX10 card like the 8600GT.

If you want to compare video cards head-to-head, take a look at http://www.gpureview.com

Here's the list of best gaming cards, broken down by price range:

Answer 4

The newer nVidia cards and the newest generation ATI cards are the only DX10 compatable cards. Pre-8800's and the pre-2XXX cards can NOT render/run DX10 codes.

Add (for the nVidia cards) the fact that they are still not 100% on the DX10 codes (they told Microslut off last year when they decided to do a new generation of Direct -X, and refused the *free* codes). ATI had about an 18 month headstart when you combine their work on the X-Box 360 and the DX10 coding that nVidia refused.

nVidia makes some good cards, ATI makes some good cards. ATI are easier to install - they are true plug-and-play.

Now...if you want to buy a card because you want DX10 specifically...If you want super high-end that appeals to less than 5% of the market, go for the 8800 Ultra. If you want a mid-range card, the HT2900 or HT2600 would be better for you.

Answer 5

Hmm.. I think a 256MB/256BIT video card is better than a 512MB/128BIT.

I think you should go and upgrade to a NVDIA 8600 instead of your Radeon 1600.

Or you can wait until the manufacturer produces a higher memory.

Answer 6

as for video cards, there is probably one way better than that just search for nvidia. I suggest an overclocked, because they are usually cheeper and do just as well, mine has done quite fine for the last 2 years. as for video memory, it makes a difference you can have 2 gigs of ram and still lag with 256mb video memory, (though probably unlikely). video memory can determine how fast something refreshes, or screen rate, or even amount of information that can come through all at once.

Answer 7

You should wait a month or two, right now many of the "DX10" compatible video cards arn't going to be compatible with Dx10.1a

Answer 8

buy a GF 8600GT with 256mb memory it will supported for 2 years

Answer 9

Go to http://www.tomshardware.com for computer component reviews and comparisons.

I trust them with all of my builds (for myself, friends, work).