Question about the Vid card FAQ

[Stinkfinger]

I was reading the faq about the 256 version cards against the 128's. I know the performance is no different with the games right now, but was wondering if the 256 cards will outperform the 128's with the newer games that will come out, like Half Life2 and whatnot. My concern is longrun. If i buy a 128 Radeon 9800 pro now, will it be obsolete when newer games that require more performance come out?

 

[coolsquirtle]

Nah, by the time 128mb become obsolete, there will be 512 versions 😛

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[Stinkfinger]

Kool Deal, Thanx

 

[cleeve]

Video card memory has no impact on performance in most cases.
Although it does have a limited effect on performance at very high resolutions when AA is enabled, the largest impact the amount of memory has is on the level of texture detail you can view in games that support higher resolution texture sets.

There aren't even many games out there now that suppoort 128 megs of textures. I believe a couple that support 256 megs of textures are coming out soon.

But even new games will have lower resolution texture sets for cards with less memory for years to come. Most newer games still support 32 meg texture sets for older cards.

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ w/143Mhz fsb)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b></font color=red>

 

[bandikoot]

1238 megs of textures are quite a bit. However, yes, 128 is plenty for the moment and by the time you get unhappy it will be time for a new card anyway. And don't forget to check the quality of memory in some 256 vs. their 128 counterparts.