Question about gpu memory speed.

[boozzer]

does it affect gaming performance at all if I downclock or overclock it? for example, 280x 1500 default, I DC it to 1250, or OC it to 1600. there is a guy who wants to sell his asus 280x for 140$ but he had to downclock the memory to 1250 to 100% get rid of artifacts. It is the reasons he is selling it so cheap.

 

[Yuriman]

Memory speed does have an impact on framerates, but how much depends on the game. Most are more GPU bound, so a 10% decrease in memory clocks will not generally equal a 10% decrease in framerate.

Checking eBay, you can probably snag a 280x that doesn't need to be downclocked for about the same price on there, or an HD7950 (close to the same card) for ~$25 less. I'd also suggest hitting up the classifieds on here to price check, you might be able to get another $40 or so off if you show him what others are going for.

 

[Flapdrol1337]

You could get a fully functional 280X (or 7970) for that price. I'd look for another.

 

[Carfax83]

Memory speed definitely has an impact on performance, because it affects the GPU's available bandwidth..

That being said, different GPUs are more sensitive to memory speed than others. For example, before I upgraded to my GTX 970s I had a pair of GTX 770s, and I remember that overclocking the memory actually gave me better gains than overclocking the core!

Now for the Radeons, I don't think overclocking the memory would provide similar gains as to the GK104, as the memory bandwidth is already high courtesy of it's wider 384 bit memory bus..

 

[Cerb]

does it affect gaming performance at all if I downclock or overclock it? for example, 280x 1500 default, I DC it to 1250, or OC it to 1600. there is a guy who wants to sell his asus 280x for 140$ but he had to downclock the memory to 1250 to 100% get rid of artifacts. It is the reasons he is selling it so cheap.

I wouldn't buy it. I would expect artifacts to creep in at lower speeds over time, if it couldn't work correctly at stock speeds.

In general, RAM speed gives less benefit than GPU speed, but the more effects that need bandwidth that you use, or the higher res you play at, the more RAM speed will make a difference.

 

[boozzer]

ok, so it does affect fps. thanks for the answers you guys.