confused about 1gb vga cards

[emofunster]

hi everyone,
lately i've been confused about vga cards that have 1gb gddr3
specificly speaking of R600 hd2900xt ..why isnt this card mentioned here at all?

i mean, i read that it's "almost good as 8800 gtx", how is it possible? how can a card that has 1gb of memory and a bus of 512bit be less strong the a card that has 768m of memory and a bus of 320bit (8800gtx) ?

thnx

 

[AdamJ]

clock speeds, shaders, and other things

 

[rayzor]

The benchmarks tell the story for this one: the 8800GTX is clearly dominant. No games at this time us all 1gb of memory, so it's still kind of useless.

By far, memory does not tell the whole story with video cards. The 8800GTX has much higher memory speeds and better architecture for current gen games. In all honesty, there's really nothing out yet that fully utilizes the 768 or 1gb configurations of ram. The 256mb cards a few years ago were a great example of this. You could go as low as (i believe) the radeon 9200 and as high as the x850xt pe, all with 256 mb or ram, yet there was a MASSIVE difference between the two.

The 2900 has the potential for better frame rates at ultra high resolutions (since this is the situation in which memory and bus really come into play) due to the huge amount of memory and the bus. However, there are no apps at this time in which those two features make a difference...so for practical purposes now, the 8800GTX is still the king.

 

[mactronix]

Its got a completely different architecture so you cant just compare like for like basically it is quite dissapointing given the numbers that you see on the specs.
Mactronix

 

[spuddyt]

yeah, since you can get an 8600 with a gig of memory, and that doesn't get anywhere NEAR the 8800 gts 320

 

[emofunster]

thanks alot guys

 

[kpo6969]

So which would be a more price/performance option:
256bit bus 256mb
or
256bit bus 512mb
at 1280x1024 max resolution (19" LCD)

Thanks

 

[rayzor]

So which would be a more price/performance option:
256bit bus 256mb
or
256bit bus 512mb
at 1280x1024 max resolution (19" LCD)

Thanks

We'd need a bit more information about what cards you are considering and what games you want to play if you want specific recommendations. If I were you, I'd disregard both of those measurements altogether. Look instead at the memory frequency and core clock speeds of the cards you are considering. A card with good numbers for both will automatically have enough memory.

 

[Hatman]

Wont make a diffrence 256mb is more then enough.

 

[kpo6969]

Thanks for the reply
current set-up
8600GT, Anthlon64x2 5000, 3GB DDR2 @ 667mhz, Vista Home Premium
I was considering the upcomming 8800GT or 8700GTS (or whatever it will be)
256bit 256mb or 256bit 512mb
My problem is I need a single-slot card and my case will only fit a card with 7" clearance for the fansink on the card.
The 9" length isn't a problem but the 7" heatsink is my limitation, so I could either:
get the G92 (if it would fit)
8600GTS
7950GT
1950Pro ? (low profile fansink?, not sure about this)
Silencer470psu @ 26amps

 

[mactronix]

As you are running Vista it would be a shame if you couldnt get a 8800GT or 8700 (or whatever)because having Dx10 would be nice but in my own opinion not nessecary yet.
I would think that Nvidea would stick to the 320/640 format for ram (but im only speculating)
But if they dont then it may well be worth while getting a 512 card if its DX10 as games seem to keep needing more over time and it would make the card viable for longer.
If you end up going back to a DX9 card then you wont need more than 256 at that res as has been said.
Mactronix

 

[kpo6969]

Thanks for the reply. It is supposed to be a 256/512 format. Maybe the 256 fansink wouldn't be as long as the 512 would? Who knows