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4gb ddr3 or 2gb gddr5?

J

jamesgalb

Member
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Objection, leading the witness. :sneaky:

edit: But just to answer the original question anyway, 740 with 2 GB gddr 5 because DDR 3 is too slow for real gaming purposes, even if you can use the extra capacity.
 
Lol... Let's talk about the $100 price range and the 650+ price range in one thread!

Lol....

Can't wait to see how this thread goes.
 
Q1) 2GB GDDR5 without a doubt, the GDDR3 4GB card is never going to be able to utilize the 4GB in any meaningful way and will be slower than the GDDR5 card.

Q2) ask again in 2-3 weeks when answers can be based in reasonable fact instead of speculation.
 
2GB is fine for a slow GPU like GK107, 128bit DDR3 is not

go with the GDDR5 128bit card

but honestly, buy another card, not this GT 740 thing (GK107), the price is really close to far more decent stuff like 260x or GTX 750
 
lyssword said:
Don't buy gddr3 on anything that costs more than $30
Click to expand...

Pointless, derailing nitpick: GDDR3 isn't used by almost anyone anymore. It's an outdated DDR2 derivative. DDR doesn't become GDDR just because you stick it in a GPU, they are completely separate standards.



As to the original point of the thread, picking a card on specific individual details like these is almost always bad. The correct way is to look at the whole picture, through real benchmarks at the kind of resolutions you actually expect to use. HBM might provide Fiji with a real boost, or it might just add pointless bandwidth that the card can't use, like HD2900 back in the day.

There is some basis to buying more memory to be more future-proof because texture sizes will keep going up, but because electronics reliably keep getting cheaper, future proofing is usually a bad deal when comparing to filling your minimum needs today and buying again tomorrow. Seriously, based on foundry projections 14/16nm will be the biggest single node transition in GPU history, and assuming those projections pan out into real gains in performance, how many of the people who are willing to spend $600+ on a GPU are not going to buy a new card again when they come out?
 
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Lol, liking this thread... 😀
I'm not sure really...GDDR5 has a 5 in it, which is bigger than the 3 in GDDR3...but then 2 is is less than 4!! Man, you got me...I'm stumped.
 
I think as a rule of thumb, ddr3 will give you 33% less fps than gddr5. Anyways if it were me, I'd buy r270 for same price on ebay.. but I always get lucky on used parts 😛
 
soccerballtux said:
isn't the 740 a rebranded 640 which is a rebranded 540 or something
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640 was Kepler (GK107), 540 was a rebranded GT 430/440 Fermi (GF108)

I think this 740 is a rebranded 640/650 (Kepler)

I think only lower stuff from the 7 series, like 710, 720 are rebranded Fermi
 
jamesgalb said:
NVidia guys, which should I get?

GT 740 4GB ddr3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127853
or
GT 740 2GB gddr5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127795
Click to expand...

GDDR5 version but the 740 card itself is not good at all.

At that price point R9 260X beats it easily, since it provides 750Ti level of performance.

If you actually want a budget gaming card, look towards R9 270/270X as they are 30-45% faster than GTX750Ti for only $20-30 more. Alternatively, may be look for a used HD7950/R9 280.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...orebbr=1&cm_re=r9_260X-_-14-131-625-_-Product

If you prefer NV, maybe get this refurbished GTX750Ti that is $100 after rebate and still has a 1 year warranty.

jamesgalb said:
6GB gddr5 or 4GB HBM?
Click to expand...

Depends on how fast the cards represented by those specs are, what they cost and how many of these cards are in the same rig. Since there is no 4GB HBM card to test, this can't be answered right now.
 
I had a 2gb 7850 at one point and really never played a game with settings that exceeded 1gb.On a bargain hunt i would go for a 1gb card at least to 7850 performance and from there it must be 2gb+.

I do enjoy a higher fps over enabling eye candy.I stayed well under 1gb on my 7850 when i was playing BF3 on medium at 1080p and till recently has been the game i played most of till WOT.
 
skipsneeky2 said:
I had a 2gb 7850 at one point and really never played a game with settings that exceeded 1gb.On a bargain hunt i would go for a 1gb card at least to 7850 performance and from there it must be 2gb+.

I do enjoy a higher fps over enabling eye candy.I stayed well under 1gb on my 7850 when i was playing BF3 on medium at 1080p and till recently has been the game i played most of till WOT.
Click to expand...

BF3 is from 2011,

a lot of newer games will benefit from more than 1GB even at 720P.
 
SPBHM said:
BF3 is from 2011,

a lot of newer games will benefit from more than 1GB even at 720P.
Click to expand...

Do they? Its not ultra textures we are talking here. What is bf4 at med using at 1080p?
The point is the 7850 was and i agree actually balanced with 1GB. We have one for the kid in the house (colecting dust now). Playing fine bf4 at med/high at 1080p as i remember perhaps with a bit oc. Didnt work with mantle because of mem leaking but didnt have ang probs because of 1GB at all. Seemed balanced to me.
680/770 with 2GB seems balanced to me to. Its just nv neglecting old cards - and focusing on first time review impressions - its not the mem size. Looked fine to me.
I agree you need those 60fps comming consistently so shader power needs to be strong vs mem size. Mem is cost. Even if its ddr3.
I have a laptop in the house with a nv 555 or something like that and 3GB gddr3. Lol. 512MB gddr5 and a few more shaders had been far better for the cost.
 
SPBHM said:
BF3 is from 2011,

a lot of newer games will benefit from more than 1GB even at 720P.
Click to expand...

GTA5 worked well with my cousins 1gb gtx650,BF4 worked alright on it as well.I no longer have my 7850 but i figure if i did that card could allow higher resolution gaming but be limited still to low.The 650 really only allows 720p gaming if you want respectable performance.
 
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