SoundSurge

After searching around on the forum for awhile, I couldn't find a real answer to this, so here goes... I know the basics about vid cards but I need a little more info from someone more knowledgeable.

I am stuck with an AGP slot only and need to upgrade from a lowly GeForce2 MX 400. Since options for AGP are getting more limited all the time, I am looking at either a 7600GT or a 7800GS and that price range.

My question is which one of these cards would be better if they were both 256MB? ....or if the 7600 was 256 but was DDR3 and 7800 256 and DDR2. I guess what I mean to ask is if it were you would you chose 256MB of DDR3 over 512MB of DDR2 anyday or the other way around? What should I go for?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Ralck

The type of memory on the card usually isn't that important. It can affect the overall speed of the memory, which affects the memory bandwith, but unless you are gaming at 1920x1200 or higher resolutions, it most likely won't make a difference for you.

What you should be more interested in, is the bus width of the memory. For example, 256-bit is better than 128-bit. The 256-bit will have the ability to have more memory bandwith as well as other advantages.

If you only have an AGP slot, you might want to consider a card like the 2600XT. It's DX10 GPU, faster than the 7600 and 7800 cards. It's also in the same price range or actually cheaper in some cases.

Here are some examples that Newegg sells:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...me=AGP+4X%2f8X

SoundSurge

thank you clearing that memory issue up for me, plus I don't really know too much about radeon cards but I will def give that option a look at now.

zaknafein72

With that type of high midrange card, I'm pretty sure 512mb of any type of memory is overkill, it simply cannot be efficiently used by the card. 256mb will be cheaper and will give comparable performance.

emosun

If the card has 512mb of ram then the card is designed to use all of it efficiently. In todays day in age 256 isn't going to cut it with new games. And since his agp slot has 512mb solutions it would be best to go for the higher ammount of memory.

Ralck's got ya on the right track . But there also is other things you must look for when buying a card. For example the core clock speed of the gpu and the gpu memory, highest is best. Also the number of stream processors. And as he said 256bit cards are faster then 128bit. Also your original question about ddr2 and ddr3.

Ddr3 actually runs faster (this is where the memory speed plays in) and consumes less power then ddr2. While YOU most likely won't see a difference, your machine will.

Now the 2600 is a great card for people that want that directx 10 gaming on there agp machine. Also in case your interested in the highest amount of speed for you pc and not directx 10, then have a look at the x1950 agp. And also the soon to come 3850 agp which will be the worlds fastest agp when released.