Difference between 128mb and 256mb graphic cards?

[irenealan]

Through reading the forum I got a general feeling that a 128mb card is better and faster than the 256mb card of same type (i.e. 9800 Pro). Is that the case for all graphic cards, isn't it better to have more memory with the card especially for high end games?

Since I got the PNY GF 6200 128mb card, I wonder if I should switch to the eVGA GF 6200 256mb instead since it's only about $5 more! Any suggestion? Thanks!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

It depends on the card. Cards tend to be optomized for a certain memory amount. Getting a card with more memory wont add performance if the card can't effectively utilize the extra memory.

If you already have a 128mb 6200, how are you planning on "switching"?

I'm not sure if the 6200 would be any better in a 256mb configuration.

If it is...
If "switching" means RMA-ing it, then don't do it, that's not what RMAs are for.
If "switching" means selling your card and buying a 6200 256mb, I wouldn't to that... just wait until you can get a better card (6600gt or something).

 

[irenealan]

no not RMA, cuz I just bought the card from Fry's with a rebate. But looking at the fine print it seems the rebate requires a receipt with credit card name matching the submission name. But I did not use my card to pay for it so I don't know if they would disqualify my rebate.

Instead I found Amazon has the eVGA 256mb version of the card for less money (w/o tax and shipping) so I am thinking to return the card and get the eVGA card.

Is generally eVGA cards are in better quality then the PNY cards? Thanks!

 

[Munky]

The 6200 is not powerful enough to make full use of the 256mb. By that I mean if you crank up the detail enough to actually use the whole 256mb of memory (and only the latest games will make any use of it), chances are your frames will drop to a slideshow, because the gpu itself is not that fast to hadle all the added detail.

The point is, 256mb only makes sence if your gpu is fast.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I'm not an authority on this, but you might have a 6200 that can have its pipelines unlocked to mod it to a 6600. There are several threads about this. I'm not sure what cards it works on or how it's done, but you might want to take a look at them before you give up on your card.

I wouldn't suggest doing it and then returning the card if it doesn't work though... but if you read about it and it seems like something you want to try, if it works then it's going to give you much better performance from your card.

 

[irenealan]

Originally posted by: munky
The 6200 is not powerful enough to make full use of the 256mb. By that I mean if you crank up the detail enough to actually use the whole 256mb of memory (and only the latest games will make any use of it), chances are your frames will drop to a slideshow, because the gpu itself is not that fast to hadle all the added detail.

The point is, 256mb only makes sence if your gpu is fast.

I see no wonder more people recommend a 9800 Pro 128mb then the 256mb! So even with GF 6200, the GPU is not fast enough to handle the 256mb memory and would probably end up degrading the performance? Thanks for your comments!

 

[Munky]

Yeah, and dont forget that the 6200 is actually way slower than a 9800pro, so there's even less reason to buy the 256mb version.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I'm not an authority on this, but you might have a 6200 that can have its pipelines unlocked to mod it to a 6600. There are several threads about this. I'm not sure what cards it works on or how it's done, but you might want to take a look at them before you give up on your card.

I wouldn't suggest doing it and then returning the card if it doesn't work though... but if you read about it and it seems like something you want to try, if it works then it's going to give you much better performance from your card.

Hey, that bose article was kinda interesting. I always suspected those little wimpy speakers were nothing but hype.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: munky

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I'm not an authority on this, but you might have a 6200 that can have its pipelines unlocked to mod it to a 6600. There are several threads about this. I'm not sure what cards it works on or how it's done, but you might want to take a look at them before you give up on your card.

I wouldn't suggest doing it and then returning the card if it doesn't work though... but if you read about it and it seems like something you want to try, if it works then it's going to give you much better performance from your card.

Hey, that bose article was kinda interesting. I always suspected those little wimpy speakers were nothing but hype.

Bose is one of the best marketing successes of all time... gotta hand it to their advertising department

Too bad a lot of people wont even consider anything else if they have the budget for a bose system.

 

[Cheesetogo]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: munky

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I'm not an authority on this, but you might have a 6200 that can have its pipelines unlocked to mod it to a 6600. There are several threads about this. I'm not sure what cards it works on or how it's done, but you might want to take a look at them before you give up on your card.

I wouldn't suggest doing it and then returning the card if it doesn't work though... but if you read about it and it seems like something you want to try, if it works then it's going to give you much better performance from your card.

Hey, that bose article was kinda interesting. I always suspected those little wimpy speakers were nothing but hype.

Bose is one of the best marketing successes of all time... gotta hand it to their advertising department

Too bad a lot of people wont even consider anything else if they have the budget for a bose system.

3k for one of thier systems.. what a rip-off. Anyway, your not going to notice any differecnes between the 128 and 256 mb of ram. If it is easy for you to cancel your order and get the amazon 256mb 6200, it could be .5% faster, but nothing noticable. The 256mb 6200 will not be slower than the regular one as the ram is just as fast. Somtimes 256mb versions of cards use slower ram, but that's not the case here. How much is the 6200 on amazon anyway? You might want to consider a 6600.

 

[irenealan]

Originally posted by: munky
Yeah, and dont forget that the 6200 is actually way slower than a 9800pro, so there's even less reason to buy the 256mb version.

But what if I unlock the 6200 to 6600? Will that be a difference story with the 256mb memory? Thanks!

 

[Gentle]

Getting a 256 meg card in a 6200 or 6600 series won't make much difference...

Mainly because the memory may be 256bit (I know the 6600GT has 256bit memory, not certain with the 6200 and 6600 though and they don't offer a 6600GT with 256 meg of ram anyway...), but regardless, the memory controller is only 128bit.

The memory controller is going to be a limiting factor in these cases.

Gentle

 

[Appledrop]

Originally posted by: Gentle
Getting a 256 meg card in a 6200 or 6600 series won't make much difference...

Mainly because the memory may be 256bit (I know the 6600GT has 256bit memory, not certain with the 6200 and 6600 though and they don't offer a 6600GT with 256 meg of ram anyway...), but regardless, the memory controller is only 128bit.

The memory controller is going to be a limiting factor in these cases.

Gentle

?? 6600gt is 128bit..

 

[irenealan]

From what I heard the 6600GT is with 256 bit memory but not the 6200 or the 6600. That's why I don't know with a 6200 unlocked to a 6600, will it be able to make use of the extra memory and it will about the same performance as with the 128mb version!

 

[Appledrop]

Originally posted by: irenealan
From what I heard the 6600GT is with 256 bit memory but not the 6200 or the 6600. That's why I don't know with a 6200 unlocked to a 6600, will it be able to make use of the extra memory and it will about the same performance as with the 128mb version!

well its not, the 6600, 6200 are both 128bit. The 6200 non-turbo cache version may unlock to 8 pipes, but will not ever bring the same performance as a 6600gt, which uses DDR3 memory (so therefore higher freq), but a 6200 unlocked has a better price/performance ratio - however, it is a gamble.

BTW is yours a turbo cache? if not Keep it, as its not worth the hassle of returning etc, i am sure you would not be a difference. If it is a TC, return it! they suck!!

Go download RivaTuner and unlock the pipelines

 

[vshah]

all else equal, a 256 meg card will be faster at higher res/ with more aa/af than a 128 meg card. you just have to make sure the 256 isn't a crippled card slapped with a load of memory so it will sell

 

[irenealan]

Thanks I think I won't be playing games at high resolution but so I guess I can just picked up the 128mb version. But with only $5 difference, it seems very attractive to pick up a card with more memory (though it same stupid to say that =P)!

 

[SneakyStuff]

Originally posted by: irenealan
Thanks I think I won't be playing games at high resolution but so I guess I can just picked up the 128mb version. But with only $5 difference, it seems very attractive to pick up a card with more memory (though it same stupid to say that =P)!

Iteresting side-note, did you know that in order to keep prices down some cards come with 256MB of slower RAM? :Q Instead of 128MB of faster RAM? And like everyone else was saying, no way is a 6200 going to make use of 256MB of memory. The 6800/x800 series are the cards that actually need that.

 

[irenealan]

Thanks you guys are really nice! Not ony answered my question and gave me the detail I needed! I think I will get the 128mb to save a few bucks! =P With the unlocking 6200 to 6600, do you think that it will catch up the performance of a 9700Pro or even a 9800Pro? Thanks!

 

[Dough1397]

if one tries to unlock the 4 extra pipes ont he 6200 and fails is the card garbage? or is it idiot proof?

 

[hans030390]

Good choice on the 6200! Not only is it a decent performer for the price, it has Shader model 3.0! you won't find that with even an x800! but that is off topic.

Keep the 128mb version. It will handle it better, and you will noticed NO performance gain with 256mb.

Now, unlock the 4 pipelines on your 6200 (if it isnt turbocache...please tell me it isnt...if it is send it back) and Overclock it. It will then reach about, sometimes even higher than a 6600....sometimes its as good as a 6600GT (thats with extreme overclocking and custom heatsinks)
either way, you card is an underclocked 6600 with 4 pipelines closed off...so make it a 6600 again!

there is a good chance of it working (unlocking pipes) and it will then easily pass the 9800pro in performance...plus, it will last longer in 2006 games with that shader model 3.0 you have

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: irenealan

Originally posted by: munky
The 6200 is not powerful enough to make full use of the 256mb. By that I mean if you crank up the detail enough to actually use the whole 256mb of memory (and only the latest games will make any use of it), chances are your frames will drop to a slideshow, because the gpu itself is not that fast to hadle all the added detail.

The point is, 256mb only makes sence if your gpu is fast.

I see no wonder more people recommend a 9800 Pro 128mb then the 256mb! So even with GF 6200, the GPU is not fast enough to handle the 256mb memory and would probably end up degrading the performance? Thanks for your comments!

You are picking a bad example . . . . the 256MB version of the 9800p - the 9800xt with 256MB vRAM IS ~10% faster than the 128MB 9800p.

No the "extra" 256MB of RAM will not "hurt" or "degrade" anything . . . . it just won't take "advantage" of it. The 9800p is (pretty much) the minimum card where 128MB vRAM does make a difference (but even there the 9800xt's default core and memory speed are higher than the 9800p).

The reason most people don't recommend the 256MB version is because it is usually much more than 10% more expensive than the 128mb 9800pro.

 

[SneakyStuff]

Originally posted by: hans030390
Good choice on the 6200! Not only is it a decent performer for the price, it has Shader model 3.0! you won't find that with even an x800! but that is off topic.

Keep the 128mb version. It will handle it better, and you will noticed NO performance gain with 256mb.

Now, unlock the 4 pipelines on your 6200 (if it isnt turbocache...please tell me it isnt...if it is send it back) and Overclock it. It will then reach about, sometimes even higher than a 6600....sometimes its as good as a 6600GT (thats with extreme overclocking and custom heatsinks)
either way, you card is an underclocked 6600 with 4 pipelines closed off...so make it a 6600 again!

there is a good chance of it working (unlocking pipes) and it will then easily pass the 9800pro in performance...plus, it will last longer in 2006 games with that shader model 3.0 you have

What on EARTH are you talking about? the 6600 is slower than a 9800 pro, by a noticable margain, and SM3.0 doesn't matter because with a "6600" by the time games use it you're going to want a new card anyway, YEESH! I don't know how you can justify some of the things you're saying.. constantly.

edit: and sorry, until 6200's come with GDDR3 no way it's going to match a 6600GT.

 

[irenealan]

Thanks for all the help! Now I have a better idea on why some cards would take advantage of the 256mb memory.

Also I had unlocked the card and now it has 8 pipes activated. The 6200 had the same 3DMark 2003 score as my 9600XT but right after unlocking the pipes, it scored 1000 more points! I am happy with the card and will definitely keep it since as suggested the 256mb card won't do any good based on its speed!

Just wonder with my 6200 unlocked, the card is now basically a 6600 so other the 6800 series and 6600GT, is it basically the fastest nVidia card? Also just wonder what ATI card would the 6600 card match up with? Thanks for all comments!

 

[BFG10K]

general feeling that a 128mb card is better and faster than the 256mb card of same type

Uh, what? Given identical cards the 256 MB version will always be equal to or faster than the 128 MB version.