Why are some 256 cards faster than 512 ?

[silverback]

I have just had a system built by Cyberpower.I had to return it as there was some problems with it.Any way to stick to my budget i had to go for a middle of the range graphics card Geforce 7600Gs 512Mb.I think this is ranked around 54 on Wiki.I have been told it is not a bad card and should be fine untill i have the money to upgrade.
I am a bit confused as i have been told some 256 cards are quicker why is that ? Also when Cyberpower sent out my new system it had Vista on it (i wanted XP) i have the install disc could i install it at a later date ?
I have also heard there has been some problems with systems running 800Mhz which mine will be is this true ?

[azzey]

Please post your system specs.

There are many many determining factors when choosing which graphics card is best. I'm not the expert (Saphalline is the resident hardware god) but you need to look at architecture (what GPU it is using), core clock speed, memory clock speed, and what type of memory is being used (DDR2, GDDR2, etc)

You will be able to install XP if you pop the disk in at any time... as long as you boot from it and do a clean install you will have no problems. Be sure to back up your data.

And as for the 800Mhz question, I have not had any problems whatsoever... and if you are buying a custom Cyberpower PC they should make sure everything is stable before you even see it.

[silverback]

Please post your system specs.

There are many many determining factors when choosing which graphics card is best. I'm not the expert (Saphalline is the resident hardware god) but you need to look at architecture (what GPU it is using), core clock speed, memory clock speed, and what type of memory is being used (DDR2, GDDR2, etc)

You will be able to install XP if you pop the disk in at any time... as long as you boot from it and do a clean install you will have no problems. Be sure to back up your data.

And as for the 800Mhz question, I have not had any problems whatsoever... and if you are buying a custom Cyberpower PC they should make sure everything is stable before you even see it.

Spec is
CPU Intel core 2 duo E6600 2.4Ghz 1066 fsb L2 cache
HDD 320Gb sata2 16Mb cache
Mobo Intel DP965LT LGA775
DDR2/800Mhz 2.48Gb Corsair extreme w/heatspreader
Power supply 420w
They are putting in the XP as they installed Vista but i still have the Vista disc
Thats what i was wondering could i install Vista from the disc at a later date?

[jlreich]

As Azzey said there are many things that makes a v-card faster than another. But generally ram size will only make a difference when running at very high resolutions. The higher the resolution, the more space a given frame will take up in memory.

256MB is still enough for most games at common resolutions. The cards with more ram than that is just being wasted for the most part. This will change in time, but for now 256 is enough for most people.

You can have a card with 256MB ram that will perform better than one that has 512MB but it has an older core, older ram type, lower core/ram speeds etc...

The 512MB card may edge out the 256 if you are running 1600x1200 resolution on certain games.

If you had two cards of the exact same spec with the exception of one had 256 and one had 512, you wouldn't see a difference unless you are running at a very high resolution.

[saphalline]

The amount of RAM on a vid card has very little bearing on its performance. It can make a difference, but only when comparing two vid cards with identical or nearly identical architectures. For instance, if your co-worker brags about his new vehicle being able to seat 6 people, what did he get? A new Hummer H2, a 1986 station wagon, or a 2002 limousine? These are all very different vehicles, yet technically they can all say "seats 6 people".

If you can give us a specific architecture, we can give you more details. But there are no blanket conditions in the graphical world. On the PC gaming side of things, the vid cards to get are:

ATI

Radeon X550
Radeon X1300 XT
Radeon X1600 Pro/XT
Radeon X1900/X1950 GT
Radeon X1950 XT

NVidia

GeForce 7300 GS
GeForce 7600 GS/GT
GeForce 7900 GS
GeForce 7950 GT
GeForce 8800 GTS/GTX

Keep in mind these are merely vid card chipsets. VPU's and GPU's and the like, so the specific vid cards for sale will often have varying specs. If you need some buying advice, all we really need is a budget.

[silverback]

The amount of RAM on a vid card has very little bearing on its performance. It can make a difference, but only when comparing two vid cards with identical or nearly identical architectures. For instance, if your co-worker brags about his new vehicle being able to seat 6 people, what did he get? A new Hummer H2, a 1986 station wagon, or a 2002 limousine? These are all very different vehicles, yet technically they can all say "seats 6 people".

If you can give us a specific architecture, we can give you more details. But there are no blanket conditions in the graphical world. On the PC gaming side of things, the vid cards to get are:

ATI

Radeon X550
Radeon X1300 XT
Radeon X1600 Pro/XT
Radeon X1900/X1950 GT
Radeon X1950 XT

NVidia

GeForce 7300 GS
GeForce 7600 GS/GT
GeForce 7900 GS
GeForce 7950 GT
GeForce 8800 GTS/GTX

Keep in mind these are merely vid card chipsets. VPU's and GPU's and the like, so the specific vid cards for sale will often have varying specs. If you need some buying advice, all we really need is a budget.

I got Cyberpower to upgrade me to Geforce 7600GS 512Mb as they completely cocked up building my new system i dident know the Gt version was so much better.Seems to work well though.