Video memory hogs , get in here and fight.:) 6950 2gb a waste unless crossfiring

[badb0y]

No mods or aftermarket texture packs allowed, unless released by the game makers.

Sorry happy but the console forums are bit below this one.

Why wouldn't PC gamers use mods and aftermarket texture packs? That's a big part of the PC gaming community...

 

[tigersty1e]

why even oc your chip over 4.0 to 4.8?

why even get an ssd?

why even upgrade?

why even get a sound card?

 

[jacktesterson]

I think Happy is correct, 95%, in this regard. My opinion.

 

[Creig]

Sorry happy but the console forums are bit below this one.

Why wouldn't PC gamers use mods and aftermarket texture packs? That's a big part of the PC gaming community...

Because then he could be proven wrong. As long as he can choose what he will and will not allow as a valid argument, he will always be right.

There are many mods out there that attempt to improve the graphics of games, new and old. And they're primarily aimed at the enthusiast gamers who typically have higher end rigs which are more powerful than the mainstream computers that the games were originally targeting with their stock graphics quality. Thus a 2GB card in the right machine can noticeably improve framerates over a 1GB card when these mods are utilized.

 

[Vesku]

Yeah, it's true that no one is going to suffer much with current PC games if they have 1GB of GPU RAM at 1080P. BUT, if they have 2GB the nature of PC gaming means that there will be titles and mods, official and un-official, that can stretch their systems legs. If someone is offered more same speed RAM for no or very little extra cost while not sacrificing GPU power, why not get it?

 

[NTAC]

Is this really that big of a deal... are we talking like $20 extra for 2 GB 6950 vs 1 GB 6950? Big whoop, better safe than sorry for only $20.

 

[ErickMaga]

Go play eyefinity resolution and you'll think otherwise.

 

[AtenRa]

99% of past and today's games dont take any advantage of more than 1GB Vram. That doesn't mean future titles will not need it.

For $20-30 more, I would get a 2GB card even if my games would not see any performance increase today.

 

[SirPauly]

Added Ram may be deemed more future proof for titles that may take advantage of the added ram.

Added Ram may be useful for higher levels of anti-aliasing including hybrid modes.

Added Ram may be useful for higher resolution gaming

Added Ram may be useful for multi-monitor gaming.

Added ram may be useful for Stereo 3d gaming.

Added ram may be useful for adding mods to favorite titles.

Added ram may be useful for multi-GPU.

It was great to see more ram from nVidia with their higher end sku's; to AMD raising the bar with ram with 2 gigs; to nVidia's partners doubling the ram for their sku's from the GTX 560 to the GTX 580.

 

[jackstar7]

I think Happy is correct, 95%, in this regard. My opinion.

Since he's not coming back, can you explain why you think so?

 

[toyota]

happy is in timeout for a few days.

 

[Leyawiin]

Generally speaking no, more than 1GB of VRAM on an upper midrange card for most situations isn't needed. By the time it is needed you've more than likely would have upgraded your video card if you're like most people in this forum.

 

[thilanliyan]

GTA 4 at max settings uses >1gb IIRC.

 

[toyota]

GTA 4 at max settings uses >1gb IIRC.

you cant even select all max settings without at least 1.3 gb of vram.

 

[Grooveriding]

happy is in timeout for a few days.

? I didnt see him make any ban-worthy posts, maybe I missed it. Just saw him getting worked up about another nvidia release.

I thought he was MIA because the 560ti 448 turned out to be overpriced and not worth it so he couldn't come in and bang its drum.

 

[toyota]

? I didnt see him make any ban-worthy posts, maybe I missed it. Just saw him getting worked up about another nvidia release.

I thought he was MIA because the 560ti 448 turned out to be overpriced and not worth it so he couldn't come in and bang its drum.

it was something he said in the cpu forum that the mods did not like.

I am sure he is reading all of this thread and is preparing for a multi quoted firestorm upon his return.

 

[MarkLuvsCS]

I thought he was MIA because the 560ti 448 turned out to be overpriced and not worth it so he couldn't come in and bang its drum.

$30-40 savings to be within 5% of the 570 seems to be a pretty good deal for consumers. If you're on a strict budget, having that little savings could potentially change the 560 ti to the 560 ti 448 cores. I think it's great having more options for consumers, but I can see how this value may not be received by all.

 

[dguy6789]

Are you talking about never dropping below 40fps ever? As in 40fps as the minimum frame rate? I think that is an entirely unreasonable qualification that throws a whole lot of bias into trying to prove your point. Games can be played perfectly fine and thoroughly enjoyed with much much lower minimum frame rates than 40.

Disregard this if you were talking about 40fps as an average frame rate.

 

[MrK6]

$30-40 savings to be within 5% of the 570 seems to be a pretty good deal for consumers. If you're on a strict budget, having that little savings could potentially change the 560 ti to the 560 ti 448 cores. I think it's great having more options for consumers, but I can see how this value may not be received by all.

The problem is anywhere it's in stock it's $300 when GTX 570's have been able to be purchased for <$280 for awhile now. Furthermore, the price-conscious consumer would have gotten a 6950 2GB anyway.

I was testing some video card settings in BF3 and took a glance at my memory usage and I was at 1550MB the whole time (half-full 64 player Kharg Island map). And this is without even MSAA on.

 

[Concillian]

No mods or aftermarket texture packs allowed, unless released by the game makers.

Okay, so why would someone buy a 2GB vmem card if they weren't going to USE it?

Textures take up VMEM, no developer is going to create a game that only runs on a small percentage of a small percentage of the market (discrete cards > 1GB). They are going to tailor their textures to comfortably fit in 1GB. If every card out there had 2GB, then developers would usee larger textures regularly. In a way it's a chicken and egg thing that many video card advancements face... Developers won't develop for hardware that hasn't been adopted, but nobody should adopt the hardware unless developers are developing for it.

Texture packs and mods are the main reason someone would buy such a card. Since they aren't a ton more than a 1GB card, it's reasonable that someone would pony up $20-30 for an extra GB to play around with if they're modding games.

It's not like the extra GB of memory costs $200, it's a pretty small cost adder.

 

[Throckmorton]

People need to stop acting like the horsepower of a card has anything to do with how much VRAM gets used... The two are completely separate. If a game uses more memory than the next lower card has, then you're benefiting.

I bought an 8800GT 1gb back when everybody said you don't need more than 512mb. According to Rivatuner, several games exceeded 512mb. I think even Battlefield 2 reached 600mb.

 

[Subyman]

I've already stated in the other thread that his arbitrary rules are not realistic. This debate doesn't apply to me, and I would argue, wouldn't apply to most of the PC gamers on this website because I use high resolution texture packs all the time. Hell, even Crytek released high resolution packs for Crysis 2. I've used them in GTA4, Oblivion, and Skyrim just to name a few. If his argument doesn't apply to a significant number of PC gamers, then what exactly is he trying to argue?

 

[eztarget]

Minesweeper?

 

[Arkadrel]

Im actually hopeing the 7xxx series only comes with 1.5gb.

Because that way they probably save abit on production cost of card => cheap consumer prices.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Memory is cheap, no reason not to load up the cards with plenty of VRAM.