How Much RAM Does Your Graphics Card Really Need?

[talakitok]

Typically, 20" or smaller monitors will cap out at 1680x1050, so in this case, spending extra on 1GB of graphics RAM might be frivolous. Conversely, if your monitor is 21" or larger with a 1920x1200 native resolution, purchasing a graphics card with 1GB of RAM might be a wise investment for only a little extra money.

hmmm...i get it now?...uhm correct me if i am wrong the RAM most likely do really take effect unto what resolution you want it be used in playing?.....
so..
for example i have only a 16" LCD monitor w/ a max resolution of 1360x768?...would it be better to have a 512mb graphic card than a 1gb of graphic card??

 

[neiroatopelcc]

It wouldn't be better to have less memory, but it wouldn't make any reasonable impact on performance.
Graphics memory and system memory have the same characeristics really. It doesn't matter how much you have, as long as you don't have too little. Only with graphics memory, speed actually makes a performance difference. Not so with system memory.

 

[talakitok]

nice article but am still confused....guyz?... this is the monitor that i would be playing?... a samsung 633 nw Screen Size: 15.6" Wide
Resolution: 1,360 x 768 ..... can u suggest a good graphic card with this???

 

[neiroatopelcc]

Would depend on what you intend to play I suppose, but since the resolution is fairly low I'd say any cheap midrange product would suffice.
See the most recent best graphics cards for money article on tomshardware.com to find out which card would be best.

 

[Guest]

Thank you so much for writing this article. I am currently looking for a laptop to buy in stores and the only thing that's on my mind right now is what type of video card it has lol

I really want a 1 GB video card so when ever I would see one in store that has about 512 MB I would just cross it off my list but this article made me change my mind about laptops with those things in it.

Now I just need to find out what type of graphics card it is and not just the RAM of it.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

[citation][nom]BlueKnight[/nom]Thank you so much for writing this article. I am currently looking for a laptop to buy in stores and the only thing that's on my mind right now is what type of video card it has lolI really want a 1 GB video card so when ever I would see one in store that has about 512 MB I would just cross it off my list but this article made me change my mind about laptops with those things in it.Now I just need to find out what type of graphics card it is and not just the RAM of it.[/citation]

If you're looking at full hd resolution laptops (most aren't), then 1GB is important. Otherwise just go for the best deal you can find.

 

[moritzdave]

I am currently looking to replace my Diamond HD5770 which is a 128bit 1gb DDR5 card. I am on my second HD5770 after sending in my 1st card back to Diamond and getting a different tested card back instead of a new card!

My Current PC
AMD Phenom II X2 3.1GHz
G Skill DDR3 1333 4GB Ram
MSI NF750 G55 Motherboard
Seagate 400GB SATA 3mb/s
Diamond HD 5770 128bit 1gb DDR5 Video Card
Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit

I want to be able to play games like GTA 4, Crysis 2, Home Front at max settings! Will a 256bit card with 1GB of DDR5 do the job? One of the things that irritated me with the first card that is still happening now with playing GTA 4. Is that after killing a certain number of people or blowing up a certain number of cars, object will start disappearing the more I kill. I am thinking about at min going with a GTX-460 256bit 1GB or 2gb video card. Or should I bit the bullet and save up and get a GTX-470 384bit 1.5GB DDR5 card? I want to get the most out of the graphics and do not want to have the game slow down. Can I get a reasonably price card or is that out of the question? I do not make alot of money and seriously do not see myself rolling the dice on another Radeon card especially after the Diamond card being a dog.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

Without a mention of your resolution or monitor model it'd be hard to recommend anyhting. And in any event, go to the forums and ask your question. The odds of a reasonably useful answer are much higher in a forum thread where people actually read stuff - this article is from 2009

 

[Guest]

i have 8gb ram and 2 gb vga memory i made a test dirt3 high details 4xmsaa 1600x900 game used max 740 mb dedicated vga memory and 980mb ram call of duty high details 4x aa 1600x900 game used max 570 mb dedicated vga memory and 1260 mb ram it seems 1 gb vga is enough with 8 gb ram

 

[neiroatopelcc]

[citation][nom]_mustafa_[/nom]i have 8gb ram and 2 gb vga memory i made a test dirt3 high details 4xmsaa 1600x900 game used max 740 mb dedicated vga memory and 980mb ram call of duty high details 4x aa 1600x900 game used max 570 mb dedicated vga memory and 1260 mb ram it seems 1 gb vga is enough with 8 gb ram[/citation]
1GB memory is enough if you stick to a relatively modest resolution. If you're gaming at full HD or higher, or using multimonitor gaming, the situation might be different.

 

[Guest]

Well I was ready to cuss the crap out of you and you'r article early on since you went on about how numbers didn't effect computer parts like we though they did but gave no explanation as to why :| but you did show what the GB rating on a graphics card meant and that its performance is mostly determined by how much information it can process and that is more important then the GB rating. Of course I still have no idea where to find those numbers but oh well.

 

[Raj Nagvenkar]

Loved ur article!
Thanks a lot... I learnt new things 2day