Graphics card RAM article

[koala]

From How Much RAM Does Your Graphics Card Really Need? (10 page article)

Conclusion

We've been through a lot of different games, settings, and data. What's the bottom line? How much graphics RAM is the right amount? We've seen enough to formulate some general guidelines.

For the gamer, there are three main factors that have the most influence on how much graphics RAM you'll need: resolution, visual quality detail settings, and AA. For the most part, 512MB of RAM seems sufficient to push one of these factors to the limit, and in most cases, it can handle two of them at once. But if you plan to maximize all three--the highest resolutions, visual quality settings, and AA--then more video RAM than 512MB is a good idea.

The primary consideration should probably be resolution, because this is a hardware limitation for many of us. 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.

A 2GB card is probably only realistically useful for folks who push 1920x1200 resolutions and above, and who demand the highest visual quality settings in conjunction with AA. Since the price difference is substantial, a graphics card with 2GB of RAM is probably overkill for anyone who has a monitor with a native resolution lower than 1920x1200.

There are other factors to consider, too. Longevity might be a concern as games will inevitably require more and more graphics RAM as time goes on. More importantly, do not forget that the amount of RAM on a card does not indicate its relative performance--a 512MB Radeon HD 4870 or 896MB GeForce GTX 260 will always be faster than a 2GB Radeon HD 4670 or a 2GB GeForce 9600 GTS. The point is that the type of card is far more important than the amount of RAM onboard when it comes to raw performance. For a general idea about what cards are faster than others, take a look at our video card hierarchy chart.

In the final analysis, even 512MB of graphics RAM can provide excellent high-resolution service as long as the user is aware that lowering quality settings and AA will allow the card to perform at its peak potential. However, if you plan to use the highest visual quality settings in addition to AA, it's likely worth the extra money for a 1GB or even 2GB card.

[Mcninjaguy]

I use a GTX 260 with a monitor that supports 1920 x 1080 and I can run things on high resolutions but I cannot use much AA anymore. I know people who try to run a big 23 inch monitor like my own with a 8600 GT and they have to step it down to third or second highest resolution with low settings for quality too.

The speed of the card is paramount in gaming. I don't even know why a 9600 GT has 1 gb of ram if it more optimized to use probably 400mb of it at max.

[Aus_Karlos]

Following on from what Ninja was saying..
Heres a tip is about the low-end cards that have lots of VRAM.
Any card like a 9400GT, 8600, 9200, ect ect, that have +1GB of GDDR2 or GDDR3 is a waste of money, the card can not simply utilize all the RAM, never..
It just doesn't have the processor capacity to use it.

One of the reasons behind it is the fact that VRAM is cheap (DDR2 is anyway). So they get a low-end GPU and slap a lot of RAM on it to bump the price up and it does make the card more appealing to buyers.

[floop12444]

Aus Karlos is right about the manufacturers adding RAM just to bump up the price.
And for some reason, people seem to get really excited about the prospect of having GDDR2 RAM.

[Mcninjaguy]

Lets compare a 9600 GT with 1 gb of ram to a GTX 260 with 896 mb of ram shall we?

Comparison

With firm confidence I can say that the GTX 260 is about 65% faster than a 9600 GT.

[Rataru101]

Wow, Dual 9600s BARELY beat out the 260. Amazing...

Awesome site BTW.

[Mcninjaguy]

The new 5870's are faster than a GTX 295 and use a lot less power.

2 9600 GT's might beat out a GT 260 in artifical tests but if the game isn't built around Se LI and a motherboard doesn't have 2 x 16x PCI-E 2.0 slots then the 9600 still fall far behind. You may still pay more for the 2 cards too.

SLI is a luxury but when it does work and it is needed to get it to play high resolutions.

[wintersnow]

MSI N9600GT-MD1G GeForce 9600 GT,this is mine.so cool ,it is ,i never regreted to buy this one.high-definition and speed ,i fits me well, i enjoy it so much.