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    Max memory of a 128-bit graphics card

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by fred2028, Aug 1, 2009.

  1. fred2028

    fred2028 Sexy member

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    What is it?

    Also, what is the memory bus of a GeForce 8600m GT? I heard that because of this bus, this card can only use 256 MB of VRAM, and any additional would be just waste?
     
    fred2028, Aug 1, 2009
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  2. neilnat

    neilnat Notebook Evangelist

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    It's not a hard cap at 256 MB, but could be thought of as a general rule of thumb. I wouldn't completely disregard an upgrade to 512 MB on a newer 128-bit card like a 4650 or 130m, but 1 GB is definitely overkill.
     
    neilnat, Aug 1, 2009
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  3. TehSuigi

    TehSuigi Notebook Virtuoso

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    They were running 512MB on some 8600M GTs anyway - didn't make that big of a difference, if any at all.
    And yes, 1GB is without a doubt overkill.
     
    TehSuigi, Aug 1, 2009
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  4. fred2028

    fred2028 Sexy member

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    Would my ATI 4670 even be able to use all 1 GB dedicated, or 2.8 GB shared? Or is the 1 GB dedicated/2.8 GB shared just a marketing scam/
     
    fred2028, Aug 1, 2009
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  5. TehSuigi

    TehSuigi Notebook Virtuoso

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    The shared video is a worse-case-scenario gimmick for when you max out your dedicated video RAM...which will probably never happen.
    Not sure about the HD 4670 being able to use all 1GB you've got, but having it as DDR3 definitely helps.
     
    TehSuigi, Aug 1, 2009
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  6. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Doubt the HD 4670 would effectively use the 1GB. 512MB *might* be better than 256MB, but the difference would not be significant.
     
    sgogeta4, Aug 1, 2009
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  7. TehSuigi

    TehSuigi Notebook Virtuoso

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    I do believe that the reason they cram so much video memory onto these cards is to sucker users who don't know that the GPU's memory speed is more important than its size.
    256MB GDDR3 > 512MB DDR2 always.
     
    TehSuigi, Aug 1, 2009
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  8. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    More memory = higher resolution textures

    For notebooks 512MB is really max required, 256MB is probably more than adequate for mid powered cards like an HD 4670 or 9800m GTS. But for certain more than 512MB is overkill.
     
    HTWingNut, Aug 2, 2009
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  9. Soviet Sunrise

    Soviet Sunrise Notebook Prophet

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    The additional memory is advantageous for users that play with vsync and frame buffering. But yes, I would say 256MB is about right for a 128-bit GPU. It is true that a mid range GPU would be able to use more than 256MB of memory, however it just doesn't have the horsepower to output a decent framerate with huge textures stored in the memory. There simply isn't enough bandwidth.
     
    Soviet Sunrise, Aug 2, 2009
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