Benchmarks of 128Meg Vs 256Meg 6800 cards

[BoboKatt]

Anyone know of any benchmarks I can refer to, for comparison between various 128 MEG video cards of 6800 or 6800 GT models like the Asus 9999 series (all with only 128 MEGS) and full pledged 256 MEG variants like the MSI? I was at my local retailer yesterday ready to buy the Asus 6800GT with 128 MEGS when I noticed it stated 128 MEGS of just DDR RAM... not DDR3 but the difference in cost was from say 399$ Canadian to well over 550$ for the 256MEG DDR3 versions from say MSI.

Also they had the BFG tech 6800 OC for $360.00 Canadian.. again with 128 MEGS and is this a crap card or what? I've read of some success to unlocking pipes and such but again why is there such a HUGE difference in price between this card (and the 6800GT with 128MEGS) and the 256 MEG versions from say MSI? Also for 30$ should I just get the Asus 6800 GT 128 MEGS over the BFG 6800 regular 128? Do the 6800GT also have a chance to unlock pipes or is that only for 6800 NU?

thanks

 

[Regs]

I've not seen a 6800GT with only 128 MBs. Maybe the GTO?

In either case, the video card companies did a very good job of obscuring the performance ratio between 128 MB and 256MB on the latest generation. For good reason, to try to push 256MB onboard memory. Most games don't even need that much now, except for maybe D3 and FC at high res.

That's the only time 256MB ram by itself has higher performance. When the resolution of the game is set beyond 1600x1200.

Some cards also use slower memory or have 128-bits instead of 256-bit's of bandwidth.

Some cards also come with packages and software, or aftermarket heat sinks for better cooling.

 

[PingSpike]

Generally, you need to be a high resolution fiend to see any benefits of additional memory. You're better off getting a card with more horses and less ram.

But don't tell that to the GF FX5200 256MB buyers! They will pwn your 6600GT!

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: BoboKatt
Anyone know of any benchmarks I can refer to, for comparison between various 128 MEG video cards of 6800 or 6800 GT models like the Asus 9999 series (all with only 128 MEGS) and full pledged 256 MEG variants like the MSI? I was at my local retailer yesterday ready to buy the Asus 6800GT with 128 MEGS when I noticed it stated 128 MEGS of just DDR RAM... not DDR3 but the difference in cost was from say 399$ Canadian to well over 550$ for the 256MEG DDR3 versions from say MSI.

Also they had the BFG tech 6800 OC for $360.00 Canadian.. again with 128 MEGS and is this a crap card or what? I've read of some success to unlocking pipes and such but again why is there such a HUGE difference in price between this card (and the 6800GT with 128MEGS) and the 256 MEG versions from say MSI? Also for 30$ should I just get the Asus 6800 GT 128 MEGS over the BFG 6800 regular 128? Do the 6800GT also have a chance to unlock pipes or is that only for 6800 NU?

thanks

digit-life benched a 6800NU with 128MB and 256MB of memory. There's really no difference between them at the same clocks. The Asus V9999 actually uses GDDR3 and is clocked higher, which makes some difference (but not that much). The extra memory only really helps at high resolution AND with AA/AF on -- and newer games still crawl on the 6800 at those settings, even with 256MB of RAM.

No major sites have reviewed the 6800GT 128MB (I can't figure out why...). I found this German site last week that had a review. As expected, it performs between a 6800(NU) and a 6800GT (closer to a GT than a NU). In bandwidth-limited situations (as with heavy AA and AF at high resolutions), it falls apart. As long as you don't care about AA performance (or don't want to use AA/AF at 1600x1200), it should be a very good performer.

Also, this was asked last week. Please search before posting threads...

 

[Todd33]

Wow, that digi-life write up is bad. They are either Nvidia fanboys or the go out of their way to make the review product look good. Their "comments" don't match their benchmarks.

ASUS V9999 Gamer Edition versus ATI RADEON X800 PRO ? almost parity, with the increase of resolutions the advantage of V9999GE is getting more obvious (Unreal II)

Yet if you look at the numbers at 1600x1200 4x/16x it's 75fps X800 pro vs 66fps Asus V9999GE. Ya, great advantage, -9fps! Then when the Asus edges out another card by a few fps they scream "victory", lol.

Then they bench HL2 beta? WTF was there a beta? The number don't match any other legit sites for relative numbers for 6800/X800 series. This article is dated Oct 7th, and from the looks of it isn't very trustworthy or just seriously out of date. He says the X800 pro is $500, ok..

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Todd33
Wow, that digi-life write up is bad. They are either Nvidia fanboys or the go out of their way to make the review product look good. Their "comments" don't match their benchmarks.

ASUS V9999 Gamer Edition versus ATI RADEON X800 PRO ? almost parity, with the increase of resolutions the advantage of V9999GE is getting more obvious (Unreal II)

Yet if you look at the numbers at 1600x1200 4x/16x it's 75fps X800 pro vs 66fps Asus V9999GE. Ya, great advantage, -9fps! Then when the Asus edges out another card by a few fps they scream "victory", lol.

Eh, I tend to pretty much ignore the writeups. Their English isn't great anyway. And they're clearly talking about the non-AA/AF numbers there, where the V9999 *is* actually faster. They said "with the increase of resolutions" (sic), not when you turn up AA/AF.

Then they bench HL2 beta? WTF was there a beta? The number don't match any other legit sites for relative numbers for 6800/X800 series. This article is dated Oct 7th, and from the looks of it isn't very trustworthy or just seriously out of date. He says the X800 pro is $500, ok..

That's the leaked HL2 alpha from over a year ago. They've been benching it for over a year (despite the fact that it's not very accurate). You've never seen one of their benchmarks?

They use actual HL2 in the more recent reviews and benchmark roundups.