Confused about video cards.. dumb question:

[jread]

Ok, I was trying to help my friend buy a new video card and we ran into some confusion about the RAM/Clock Speed ratio on video cards. There were some more expensive cards with only 128mb of RAM, and then cheaper ones with 256mb of RAM. However, the ones with 128mb seemed to have a faster processor.

So, what is better? More RAM or more processor on the video card?

BTW, we were looking for something reasonably priced that would run the graphics of World of Warcraft very smoothly. It is not the most graphically intense game, but it does look like ass on a 64mb video card.

Thanks!

 

[imported_fatal]

The 6600GT's are the best bang for the buck right now, most games can't use the 256 of RAM, except maybe Doom so 128 should be fine

What video card are you using now?

 

[airfoil]

Definitely the chip. You could put a gig on a cheaper card and get nowhere near or better performance.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: fatal
The 6600GT's are the best bang for the buck right now, most games can't use the 256 of RAM, except maybe Doom so 128 should be fine

What video card are you using now?

Click the "Video" tab at the top of the page to see why this is true.

 

[jread]

Thanks guys!

Right now is just a generic 64mb card. I dont' even remember who makes it. I used to have a Geforce 4 ti 128, but it decided to die

 

[jread]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons

Originally posted by: fatal
The 6600GT's are the best bang for the buck right now, most games can't use the 256 of RAM, except maybe Doom so 128 should be fine

What video card are you using now?

Click the "Video" tab at the top of the page to see why this is true.

Ah, found a good link in there as well: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2381&p=4

Still, though, I don't know enough to really understand those charts, lol.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: jread
Ah, found a good link in there as well: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2381&p=4

Still, though, I don't know enough to really understand those charts, lol.

Well, they show the speed at different screen resolutions.

If you want to run at 1024x768 or even 1280x1024 then a 6600GT is a great card, but it's a little slow for a 1600x1200 screen.

If $200 is out of your price range, you might need to run at 800x600 and get something like a $102 geforce 6200 or another used geforce4 ti4200 - 4600.

PS I know this sounds silly, but be careful to buy a card that says "AGP" and not "PCI-E" or "PCI-Express." The cheaper cards will be PCI-E but you need a new motherboard to use them.

 

[jread]

Thanks for your help 1024x768 definitely works for me!