video card question - which of these specs is most important?

[BrockLanders]

Hello everybody.

I'm looking at 8600 GT's at Newegg. There's more than 80 to choose
from. I need some help narrowing down my choices. The question is -
which has the biggest impact on performance

memory type
memory size
clock speed

All of the 512MB cards have a clock speed under 600mhz. I don't know
if I should go for a 512MB with a slower clock speed (most of the
512's have a clock speed of 540mhz) or 256MB with faster clock speed
(the highest clock speed amongst 256MB cards is 720mhz). Same kind of
question for memory type - is it worth it to go with DDR3 and slower
clock speed and/or 256MB memory instead of DDR2 with higher clock
speed /more memory? I mainly play fps games if that makes a
difference.

thanks for any help

 

[Dave]

Hello everybody.

I'm looking at 8600 GT's at Newegg. There's more than 80 to choose
from. I need some help narrowing down my choices. The question is -
which has the biggest impact on performance

memory type
memory size
clock speed

All of the 512MB cards have a clock speed under 600mhz. I don't know
if I should go for a 512MB with a slower clock speed (most of the
512's have a clock speed of 540mhz) or 256MB with faster clock speed
(the highest clock speed amongst 256MB cards is 720mhz). Same kind of
question for memory type - is it worth it to go with DDR3 and slower
clock speed and/or 256MB memory instead of DDR2 with higher clock
speed /more memory? I mainly play fps games if that makes a
difference.

thanks for any help

Yes, that makes a difference. The most impact on performance will be clock
speed. Go for fastest clock speed with minimum of 256MB of RAM, get 512MB
of RAM at same clock speed if possible. -Dave

 

[Matthew.Dalessandro]

if you can, go up to the 8800 GT. The 8600 GT is not really meant for
gaming in mind. The 8800 GT is a good price and out performs many
cards twice its price.

Dont worry about how much memory the card has as more memory only
helps in very rare situations.

In fact , I believe the 8500 GT is a better gaming card. Trust me,
spend the little extra and get the 8800 .

 

[John Weiss]

I'm looking at 8600 GT's at Newegg. There's more than 80 to choose
from. I need some help narrowing down my choices. The question is -
which has the biggest impact on performance

memory type
memory size
clock speed

All of the 512MB cards have a clock speed under 600mhz. I don't know
if I should go for a 512MB with a slower clock speed (most of the
512's have a clock speed of 540mhz) or 256MB with faster clock speed
(the highest clock speed amongst 256MB cards is 720mhz). Same kind of
question for memory type - is it worth it to go with DDR3 and slower
clock speed and/or 256MB memory instead of DDR2 with higher clock
speed /more memory? I mainly play fps games if that makes a
difference.

For fast gaming you will want the 512 MB VRAM before you need 5 or 10% extra
clock speed or DDR3. You can get 2 out of 3, at reasonable cost, here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127319

 

[Anna]

if you can, go up to the 8800 GT. The 8600 GT is not really meant for
gaming in mind. The 8800 GT is a good price and out performs many
cards twice its price.

Dont worry about how much memory the card has as more memory only
helps in very rare situations.

In fact , I believe the 8500 GT is a better gaming card. Trust me,
spend the little extra and get the 8800 .

BrockLanders:
Matthew is absolutely correct re his suggestion to consider the nVidia
GeForce 8800 GT graphics card, at least based on our experience with
installing the XFX model (with 512 MB of DDR3 memory) in a number of
machines. I'm not a gamer myself but all the users of that card reported
that they were thrilled with its performance. I think the XFX model that
we've used is now selling in the $275 range (newegg & zipzoomfly) so if you
can possibly swing for that price, give it some serious consideration.
Anna

 

[JAD]

Hello everybody.

I'm looking at 8600 GT's at Newegg. There's more than 80 to choose
from. I need some help narrowing down my choices. The question is -
which has the biggest impact on performance

memory type
memory size
clock speed

All of the 512MB cards have a clock speed under 600mhz. I don't know
if I should go for a 512MB with a slower clock speed (most of the
512's have a clock speed of 540mhz) or 256MB with faster clock speed
(the highest clock speed amongst 256MB cards is 720mhz). Same kind of
question for memory type - is it worth it to go with DDR3 and slower
clock speed and/or 256MB memory instead of DDR2 with higher clock
speed /more memory? I mainly play fps games if that makes a
difference.

thanks for any help

300$ for a video card, for a PC that is being left out of the gaming realm more and
more...Hmmm how much IS a playstation?

 

[BrockLanders]

if you can, go up to the 8800 GT. The 8600 GT is not really meant for
gaming in mind. The 8800 GT is a good price and out performs many
cards twice its price.

Dont worry about how much memory the card has as more memory only
helps in very rare situations.

In fact , I believe the 8500 GT is a better gaming card. Trust me,
spend the little extra and get the 8800 .

$150-200 is a little? What would be a lot? Don't take that the wrong
way I appreciate the suggestion and all but I have a budget I'm
sticking to.

 

[BrockLanders]

Yes, that makes a difference. The most impact on performance will be clock speed.

Go for fastest clock speed with minimum of 256MB of RAM, get 512MB of RAM at
same clock speed if possible. -Dave

If that was possible I would but as I said in my original post, all
the 512MB cards have slower clock speeds, that's why I asked the
question.

For fast gaming you will want the 512 MB VRAM before you need 5 or 10% extra
clock speed or DDR3. You can get 2 out of 3, at reasonable cost, here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127319

I already have that bookmarked.


I'm getting some conflicting opinions. I guess I need to do some more
research. Thanks for the answers guys.

 

[Dave]

I'm getting some conflicting opinions. I guess I need to do some more
research. Thanks for the answers guys.

Well, more RAM will help if you are running your games at extreme
resolutions. Higher clock speed will help regardless. Best to have high
clock speed and more RAM. If you can't do both, go for higher clock speed.

Another good way to figure this out would be to read the box of whatever
games you run, and are planning to run. Most software has minimums and
"suggested" (higher than minimum requirements). Go with the suggested
hardware. -Dave

 

[Anna]

BrockLanders:
Matthew is absolutely correct re his suggestion to consider the nVidia
GeForce 8800 GT graphics card, at least based on our experience with
installing the XFX model (with 512 MB of DDR3 memory) in a number of
machines. I'm not a gamer myself but all the users of that card reported
that they were thrilled with its performance. I think the XFX model that
we've used is now selling in the $275 range (newegg & zipzoomfly) so if
you can possibly swing for that price, give it some serious consideration.
Anna

BrockLanders:
Since you subsequently indicated that you have limited funds at your
disposal for a graphics/video card, consider this one...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150258

For $99.99 (after the $30 rebate) + about $6 shipping cost - this is a very
nice card at a very decent price.
Anna

 

[pcbldrNinetyEight]

300$ for a video card, for a PC that is being left out of the gaming
realm more and more...Hmmm how much IS a playstation?

When a Playstation can do everything a PC can I'll consider buying one
myself. Having said that I have to agree that $300 for a VGA is steep, too
steep for my wallet!

 

[pcbldrNinetyEight]

Hello everybody.

I'm looking at 8600 GT's at Newegg. There's more than 80 to choose
from. I need some help narrowing down my choices. The question is -
which has the biggest impact on performance

memory type
memory size
clock speed

All of the 512MB cards have a clock speed under 600mhz. I don't know
if I should go for a 512MB with a slower clock speed (most of the
512's have a clock speed of 540mhz) or 256MB with faster clock speed
(the highest clock speed amongst 256MB cards is 720mhz). Same kind of
question for memory type - is it worth it to go with DDR3 and slower
clock speed and/or 256MB memory instead of DDR2 with higher clock
speed /more memory? I mainly play fps games if that makes a
difference.

thanks for any help

You don't say what processor, MOBO and RAM you have. If they aren't well
matched to the new VGA then you may see little if any increase in
performance without upgrade them too. I agree with Dave. The best place
to find out what equipment you need to play your favorite games is from
the game boxes themselves. If your system is deficient then you'll see
more increase in performance by upgrading the processor (if MOBO
permits) than buying a new VGA.