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How much video RAM do I need?

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pwnerx

Member
I have a 19" monitor at 1280x1024 and a x6800 processor. I will either be getting a 8800GT or 3870 or 3850. I'd like this card to last me for 3 years. Should I get a 256mb or 512mb card to game at my resolution? Does DX10 use more VRAM than DX9?
 
If you want the card to last 3 years you should definitely go 512 MB if not more. 320 MB can already get squeezed in today's games.
 
There's no difference in memory usage between DX10 or 9, and the memory size is fairly irrelevant, you want a graphics processor (GPU) that is powerful enough to last you three years. Heck, I could pick up a 7300GT 512MB right now, but it wouldn't even come close to being powerful enough to run any of today's games at that resolution. A 8800GTS 320MB, on the other hand, runs today's games pretty well, though it's showing its age (you'd want the updated 8800GTS SSC 320MB).

Since you're wanting this thing to do well for quite a while, I'd wait until the 8800GT 256MB is released, and then compare (through benchmarks on tech sites like this one) how it matches up against the 8800GT 512.
 
Modern games currently use more than 256mb even on 1280 resolution. You can definitely get away with 256mb vram but you need a fast gpu to do it.
 
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