8800GTS 320 vs 640!

[[Dr. V]]

Bottom line, is it worth grabbing double the memory? I'm not convinced it is. I want to know what you guys think, because I know there definitely isn't a significant improvement in any field with the 640MB - I just don't think it's justifiable. Also, oddly enough, it seems to me that the 320MB models OC better than the 640MB models.

Is it not true that RAM speed is much more important than amount of ram when it comes to gaming (especially at higher res)?

Thanks in advance!

[Tyreal]

The 640mb is necessary for people running larger screens and higher resolutions or games with lots of different textures. For smaller resolutions 320mb is fine.

[gvblake22]

Agreed, anything higher than 1680x1050 with AA and AF might start to benefit from the extra RAM and come close to justifying the extra cost of the 640MB, otherwise the 320MB should do the trick.

[Computer-Ed]

Okay so does 1680x1050 need the extra ram or is the the 320 enough, which side is it included in?

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Computer-Ed

Okay so does 1680x1050 need the extra ram or is the the 320 enough, which side is it included in?

Anyone maxing up the graphics with a 1680x1050 resolution should grab something with 512mb and over, in my honest opinion. Once you put the textures, anisotropic filtering and everything into it, most games will come pretty close to the 512mb limit. This should only increase with DX10 games and support for larger textures.
No swapping needed = happy HL'er.

Edit: This said, this only applies to the current video card (8800 GTS) and not to all video cards with 128/256/512mb variants or such. An ATI Radeon x1600 Pro with 512mb of integrated video memory is almost a waste of money as the GPU is not capable to run games at their maximum setting (anisotropic filtering at 16x is impossible if you want a decent framerate at 1680x1050).
You will benefit from it, but not as much as you would on a much more powerful video card such as the 8800 and HD2900 series.

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by Computer-Ed

Okay so does 1680x1050 need the extra ram or is the the 320 enough, which side is it included in?

I don't have a 640MB card on hand to compare to, but the 320MB 8800GTS cards I reviewed chewed through the benchmarks at 1600x1200 with the visual quality settings maxed out (Benchmarks Link).

We'll work on getting a 640MB card in for review, as this is a question that's going to be on people's minds for the foreseeable future. We'll also be expanding our gaming benchmarks a tad too.

[polobunny]

Games such as Dark Messiah and Rainbow Six Vegas really benefit from the additional video memory. It only seems logical to me to assume upcoming games will take advantage of this difference.
Still interested in a test/review from HL showing difference in performance between 320 and 640mb versions of the 8800 GTS. :)

[One4yu2c]

I actually own Dark Messiah, and if I get a free moment, I'll look at how the 320MB fares at higher resolutions. My hunch is that it would do fine, especially when looking around the web and seeing results posted at 1920x1200, albeit not with either of the two games mentioned.

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

I actually own Dark Messiah, and if I get a free moment, I'll look at how the 320MB fares at higher resolutions. My hunch is that it would do fine, especially when looking around the web and seeing results posted at 1920x1200, albeit not with either of the two games mentioned.

Oh don't get me wrong, the game is playable at high resolutions with a 8800GTS 320MB but the difference between the 320 and 640MB version is huge.
But yeah, look into those 2 games and I'm sure you'll see a difference. :)

[gvblake22]

Well, after looking back at some other benchmarks (primarily these), It looks like it takes 1920x1200 to bring the 320MB card to its knees. But that is also current games, the future is unclear for DX10 games, but I suspect the extra memory will help there too. Overall, if you are really having a hard time justifying the extra cost and are not running anything over a 22" screen (widescreen or regular), the 320MB should do you fine.