Is a 7800gtx's 512mb the same as if i had 2 7800gtx 256's?

[knifemyglitter]

taking sticktly about memory size here. im wondering if its more worth it to spend 400 on a new 7800gtx for SLI or just sell mine and get a 512mb version for 600 bucks. obviously, ill get more speed with 2 7800gtx 256mb cards, but will i be able to take advantage of games that will soon utilize over 256mbs at super high res settings? which is a better choice and why...

 

[Matt2]

I would go for the 512mb GTX if you've got the cash.

2x256 is not he same as 1x512 AFAIK. ALthough you have two cards that are 256mb, your frame buffer is still limited to only 256mb.

At least wait till the 512MB is released and we see some benchies. you never know, a G70 Ultra just might be fast enough to compete with G70 SLI. Especially since you'd be saving at least $200

 

[aatf510]

256MB + 256MB in SLI != 512MB single card.
Two 256MB cards in SLI would result an effective frame buffer of 256MB since each card would have to store the exact data of what the other card is storing.
Two 256MB GTX in SLI would probably faster in benchmark and such.
However, from my two time SLI experience I would rather go with one super fast 512MB GTX.

 

[Cookie Monster]

It depends. The new 512mb GTX, is no doubt the ultra. I heard its default clocks are 550/1800. (but can vary such as XFX which increased the coreclock but decreased the memory clock hence 580/1730).

Well if you buy the 512mb GTX, its going to take less room. Less heat, less power, less noise. Not sure about performance but I am predicting the card is going to break 10k easy.

Dual GTX is nice, but lets just wait for the benches first

 

[Sentry2]

Dual 512MB GTX's

 

[m21s]

Originally posted by: Sentry2
Dual 512MB GTX's

YES!

 

[Polish3d]

I'm going to buy one but I dont see any games coming out that will even use the ****** thing now with ES Oblivion delayed... nothing else decent is coming out as far as I can tell until 2006.

 

[knifemyglitter]

frackal, this is true. thats pretty much the only game im really looking forward to as well. but ghost recon and unreal 3 look cool too. is 512mb really practical for OBLIVION?

 

[aatf510]

I don't know about the 512MB, but 550MHz/1800MHz vs. 430MHz/1200MHz sounds promising.

 

[CPlusPlusGeek]

I'd like it so I can squeeze out 10-15 more FPS out of COD2 MP.

 

[knifemyglitter]

well my card is at 510/1400 now so is it THAT big of a deal? im really concerned about the memory. i just dont want to be limited to options in games that have like an ULTRA setting.

 

[knifemyglitter]

anyone?

 

[Sentry2]

Just get one You know you want to...

 

[Sentry2]

I'd say just go for the 512MB GTX. We'll see the difference in performance when it comes out but I'm sure you wouldn't be dissapointed if you got one.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

Originally posted by: knifemyglitter
anyone?

It's hard to say whether that extra 256mb ram helps on Ultra or not with today's games. See here for what I'm talking about.

Quake 4 16x12 4xAA 8xAF UltraQ
XT......65
GTX....55

Quake 4 16x12 4xAA 8xAF HighQ
XT......79
GTX....65

Going from HQ to UQ, the XT loses 18% performance. The GTX loses 15%.

Quake 4 20x15 4xAA 8xAF UltraQ
XT......47
GTX....35

Quake 4 20x15 4xAA 8xAF HighQ
XT......55
GTX....43

Going from HQ to UQ, the XT loses 15% performance. The GTX loses 19%.

Now, obviously the XT is faster (in OpenGL mind you!), but that's not the point. They both lose similar % points in performance going from HQ to UQ. This makes me wonder if the 512mb truly helps in this game.

Even in a game like FEAR, this review compares a 256mb XL to a 512mb XL and shows no difference across the board with settings all the way up to 16x12 2xAA 8xAF where you would think the extra ram would kick in.

Yet, go check out this article on COD2, showing how a previous gen x800xl with 512mb stomps all over everything else in its class.

So, it appears to be a mixed bag. If you had something like 6800gt or an x850 or something, I would say get the 512mb GTX. But you already have a GTX. I don't see you being hampered by any game within the next 6 months as it is. Once you sell your GTX and buy a new 512mb, you'll be out around $200 out of pocket. If you buy another 256mb GTX, you'll be out of pocket $450, but have a lot more power than just a single 512mb GTX. You just need to decide if the price is right for you.

 

[knifemyglitter]

still want a more straightforward answer...wheres rollo?

 

[VERTIGGO]

Actually I wouldn't expect much difference in an X800 simply because it's already quite overpowered by the FEAR engine. The limitation is mostly the shader and filter computation.

 

[CaiNaM]

256mb sli does not equal 512mb (sli setup is still seen as 256mb frame buffer).

512 would certainly help in those cases where there's > 256mb required (the 256mb cards would have to swap with system mem while the 512 would not). at this point however, there doesn't seem to be any game with requires more than 256mb ("ultra" quality or not) according to benchmarks, however i can certainly say it there's a huge performance difference (hitches or pauses) which are there when running ultra quality on my 256mb card, while there's visually no differences (there's little if any compression loss at "high" quality in d3/q4).

so from my exp, you rally gain nothing from running in "ultra", however if you really desire to do that, go for the 512mb card.

 

[VERTIGGO]

well, whether its "required" or not, when I ran the FEAR demo, for benching, I watched my VRAM fill up, and then dump, and there was a slight stutter, which would be eliminated if I had 512. However, you're right that overall, a 256MB buffer has little trouble during most gameplay.