should i get a new video card with 64meg or 128megs of video memory?

[TheNeck]

what do you think? is 128meg that much better than 64meg, when it comes to gaming? thanks

 

[Piano Man]

It depends on how long you plan on keeping your card. I don't know about ATI cards but with the Geforce TI 4200, the 64MB are faster and can be overclocked higher as a general rule, due to the 3.5ns memory instead of 4ns for the 128MB versions. However, there will come a day, probably the day Doom3 comes out, that the texture size of games becomes so huge that an additional 64MB of Ram will be helpful.

 

[AnAndAustin]

It does depend upon exactly what you plan to do with it, and how long you plan to keep it for.

There's no doubt about it, 128MB is very much worth having, the perf hit when more than 64MB is needed is quite substantial and this is already the case for some games and will certainly hold you back for forth-coming games. With the price diffs being so small between 64MB and 128MB it makes a lot of sense to go 128MB. Plus, when you come to sell your card on 128MB will certainly be the standard and as such you will find any 64MB card much harder to flog.

The biggest factors are with the GF4TI4200 cards where the 64MB version is clocked higher by default and as such there is the problem of deciding between the faster clocked 4200-64 (250/500) or the more future proof 4200-128 (250/444). The solution is easy, at default clocks the 4200-64 is only about 2% faster on average than the 4200-128, but the perf hit when a game requires more than 64MB is far more substantial. Not only that, but when you think of o/c'ing, it is the RAM type that dictates this far more than anything else. 4.0ns is standard for all 4200 cards and reaches about 300/550 which is 4400 speed. The faster 3.6ns RAM is found more easily on 4200-64 but is also found on many 4200-128 cards, with 3.6ns these 4200 cards should reach 300/620! That's VERY near 4600 speeds and perf from a $150 card! The 4200's, particularly 4200-128 cards are clocked far below their true potential to promote sales of the higher priced cards. Don't be fooled, and don't think you have to choose between clock speed and RAM amount.

 

[AnAndAustin]

So to put it simply with some proof:

GF4TI4200 128MB vs 64MB:

The only difference is default clocks, how far they o/c is 99% dependent upon the type of ns RAM used. 4.0ns is standard and gets to around 550mhz, 3.6ns can be found on both 128MB and 64MB cards and gets to 620mhz.

GF4TI4200 128MB: Default clocks of 250/444.
GF4TI4200 64MB: Default clocks of 250/500.

Both are still faster even at defaults than the GF3TI500 & full blown ATI Radeon8500. Both are identical in technology to the GF4TI4400/4600 the differences being; cost, shorter board (so fits more mobos), fewer layers, less power regulation and cheaper memory technology (TSOP rather than BGA), basicly nothing you would notice! Check out the links ...

Tech-Report
4200-64 has only a 1.5% advantage over 4200-128.
O/C 4200-64 to 275/550, reached 300/580 but a little unstable.

TomsHW
4200-64 (simulated 4200-128 with 4200-64 default clocks of 250/500) has a 6.5% advantage over 4200-128 (250/444) but bear in mind the simulated 4200-64 has 128MB.
O/C 4200-128 to 310/550.

AnAndTech
O/C Gainward4200-128 to 330/540.

FiringSquad
4200-64 has a 1% advantage.
O/C 4200-64 to 285/600 which was benchmarked and showed a nice increase except for Commanche4, it was still slower than the 4200-128 at default speed (250/444).

AnAndTech 4200 roundup
Roundup of 4200 cards and esp shows 128MB vs 64MB!
Shows a bunch of 4200 cards and how 64MB will become a limitation.

The FiringSquad example of Commanche4 showing the 4200-64 (o/c 285/600) slower than 4200-128 (def 250/444) could suggest the performance hit when a game requires more than 64MB. But also check out the last link which shows that 64MB cards will begin to lag behind 128MB cards, more likely sooner rather than later. According to FiringSquad regarding AA, 4200-64 is 8% faster at AA than the 4200-128, showing that RAM speed is more important than RAM amount for AA (unless RAM limit is reached).

Essentially it really comes down to the type of RAM implimented so forget fancy HSF and RAM HS. 4.0ns RAM o/c to about 550mhz, 3.6ns RAM o/c to about 620mhz (on all 4200 cards). This is regardless of whether the card has 64MB or 128MB, generally both come with 4.0ns RAM but this does vary from country to country. Be careful not to pay too much for the faster RAM, you may find the 4400 is within your reach and that would always be a better buy (unless the long design won't fit your mobo).

For 4200 cards (whether 64 or 128):
Core gets from 250 to between 280 - 320
5.0ns gets to 480mhz (never seen this used)
4.0ns gets to 550mhz
3.6ns gets to 620mhz
3.3ns gets to 620mhz

 

[TheNeck]

thanks, 128meg it is.

 

[AnAndAustin]

So more RAM is important, even for some current games, esp for cards like 4200 where you are likely to be playing with full details etc. However, RAM isn't everything, GF3TI200 128MB (if not GF3TI500) is certainly slower than a GF4TI4200 64MB, GF2MX200 64MB is certainly slower than GF2MX400 32MB. But when you are talking the same chipset then having more RAM is a definite advantage now, but even more so in the future, and now that you don't pay much extra for it, it makes sense.

 

[AnAndAustin]

JFMI JobLessOne, what gfx card are you considering?

That Athlon 1.2ghz would benefit from $100 card like a GF3 or Rad8500, but would still benefit from a GF4TI4200 if you can spare the extra $50. BTW, those LiteOn CDRW drives are great aren't they!

Just to give you a guide here's how diff gfx cards with your Athlon1.2 compare in 3Dmark2001SE (card: total marks, games1-4 FPS high detail):

1024x768x32:
Rage128: 600, 6, 5, 5, na
GF3TI200: 7000, 38, 62, 50, 42
GF4TI4200: 8500, 38, 95, 49, 54

1600x1280x32:
Rage128: no results
GF3TI200: 4000, 30, 35, 31, 12
GF4TI4200: 5300, 30, 57, 36, 19

 

[TheNeck]

yeah the liteon drive is awesome

what kind motherboard and video card do you have?

 

[alcopro]

Personally I like my nvidia card, but couldnt help but notice that the 128 Hercules Radeon 8500 is only $129 @NewEgg with Free Shipping, and excellent deal

 

[AnAndAustin]

KT266, needed the SDR & DDR support and my budget was very limited. Still it had the ability for AthlonXP CPUs which my old KT133 didn't. I have a Inno3D GF4TI4200 128MB 4.0ns, very happy with its perf at 250/500! I have the LiteOn 40x24x10 with smartburn, awesome compared to my previous Creative 32x8x4!