Studio 1555 Radeon 4570 - 256meg vs 512meg

I'm almost ready to order my Studio 1555... just can't decide if I should pay extra for the 512meg card.

I read the Graphics Card FAQ here, which says 256 meg is enough to handle all modern games.... but that FAQ was written in 2006.

For today's games, is 256Meg of video memory enough to load up high-resolution textures in a game?

Nothing worse than powerful CPU + decent graphics card running a beautiful looking game that suddenly starts stuttering because more textures are being loaded into graphics memory!

With a nice card like the Radeon 4570, it would be a shame to have to lower my game's graphics texture settings to medium quallity.

Thanks,
Will

 

Go for the 512MB if you have the extra cash. If not, 256MB should do just fine.

 

honestly, the VRAM won't be that huge a factor since the GPU's rendering powers are already relatively low. Extra VRAM really comes in handy when you're playing at high resolutions(something the HD4570 can't even handle anyways regardless of VRAM) or if there are lots of physics to handle(which arguably only GTA4 and Crysis would be able to crank up that much).

A test on NBR was done with 128bit bus GPUs on most modern games and in 90%+ situations, the GPU never had to resort to more than 256mb of RAM for most casual gaming.

 

THIS.

For the 9600m GT in my notebook, I would have preferred to get a 512MB model, but my notebook doesn't have that option.. however, for the 4570 as said above, it might not be worth it, depending on the games you are going to be running.

 

Thank-You. That was very helpful. You just saved me $100! (I would have paid it if it was worth it)