Decision: more RAM or higher clock speeds?

BizSAR · Jul 12, 2007, 08:21 PM

Hey all,

Help me make up my mind here, please. I need to get a new AGP card (can't afford to upgrade mobo, CPU, etc. to PCI-E for at least a year), and I'm stuck on which one to purchase.

Here's what I'm looking at:
BFG GeForce 7800GS 256MB (higher clock speeds) - $199.99
BFG GeForce 7600GS 512MB (more on-board RAM) - $179.99 - $50 rebate = $129.99

I'm pretty much stuck purchasing one or the other at the stated prices for various reasons. I am having a hard time finding definitive benchmarks for each so I can compare, and I don't know enough about each to make a good decision.

I'm looking at what card will be the fastest overall (I play everything from BF2142 to CS:S to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.), and also keeping in mind the intrinsic value of the card considering the prices. I'm "upgrading" from my EVGA 6800GT since it pretty much puked out on me.

Any thoughts/ideas/pearls of wisdom?

**kris23** · Jul 12, 2007, 09:15 PM

if you are willing to get an ATi card, get this one, it is so far superior to any of the cards you stated, i had one and it was an amazing device, returned it due to it being too powerful for my machine (HIS X1950PRO 512mb)

this is a Sapphire X1950PRO 512mb and it is just as good as the HIS just runs hotter.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102071

and if you are going to get the card, i am going to need the specs for the rest of the systm, PSU, RAM, CPU, MOBO, including brand names and model numbers if possible, PSU mostly just incase you may need to upgrade that too, (the X1950PRO best runs on a 12v 30A PSU)

lastly, the SOURCE engine in games like CS:S perfers ATi cards so you will most likely get a greater FPS boost with the card than if you were to buy say..... the 7950GT card

jp306 · Jul 12, 2007, 09:48 PM

If I had to choose between those 2 cards, I'd pick the 7800gs without a second thought about it. I would get a x1950pro over the 7800gs though and ram wouldn't matter to me there either. More ram would really only help you in resolutions above 1280x1024, so unless you're gaming in a higher resolution than that It wouldn't matter much.

**kris23** · Jul 12, 2007, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp306

If I had to choose between those 2 cards, I'd pick the 7800gs without a second thought about it. I would get a x1950pro over the 7800gs though and ram wouldn't matter to me there either. More ram would really only help you in resolutions above 1280x1024, so unless you're gaming in a higher resolution than that It wouldn't matter much.

what he said

, also what resolution monitor are you using?

BizSAR · Jul 13, 2007, 09:13 AM

Thanks for the responses!
I went with the EVGA 7800GS since I found out the 7600GS wasn't much faster then the 6800GT it was replacing. The BFG was $80 more AR (actually $229), and the EVGA still has the lifetime warranty and trade-up program, so it was most cost-effective for me.

The ATi X1950 was $279, quite out of my price range.

I was stuck at those prices and cards since I don't have the money to buy a card, but do have some "wiggle room" on my Fry's credit card. I'm not happy about it, but I was therefore at their mercy.

My feeble stats (can't upgrade majorly for a year...just bought a new car):
Processor:Intel 2.8Ghz OC: 3.07Ghz
Memory:2046MB DDR Dual-Channel RAM
Hard Drive:Seagate 7200RPM - 16MB cache - 250GB
Video Card:eVGA Nvidia 7800GS 256mb
Monitor:NEC 90GX2 (DDC/CI) 1280x1024
Sound Card:SB X-Fi Audio Elite Pro
Speakers/Headphones:Boston Accustics 5.1 surround / Plantronics
Keyboard:zBoard gaming keyboard
Mouse:Razer Copperhead
Mouse Surface:Razer eXactMat X Control

**kris23** · Jul 13, 2007, 10:48 PM

hey ur stats are very similar to what i had! before i blew it up.... but anyway, the 7800GS should serve you well as you are only using a 1280x1024 monitor and the games you play arent too demanding...

Matth · Jul 14, 2007, 03:41 PM

Even on some quite midrange cards, the difference between 256 and 512MB can be significant if things are texture-heavy rather than GPU processing heavy, but the price difference between the two, in this case, does reflect the fact that they are just not comparable - not just an in-series speed difference, but a different class. Between a fast 7800 model with 256 and a slower clocked version with 512, then maybe the 512MB would shade it.

jp306 · Jul 14, 2007, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matth

Even on some quite midrange cards, the difference between 256 and 512MB can be significant if things are texture-heavy rather than GPU processing heavy

I'd love for you to post some benchmarks that reflect this. Most midrange cards(like the 8600gts) are crippeled with a 128bit memory bus that make 512mb of ram pointless. Of course what you consider midrange and I consider midrange could be very different.

**kris23** · Jul 14, 2007, 07:32 PM

he's right, but ther are extremely few games that require 512mb of VRAM at 1280x1024, i mean FEAR at fullest settings with all the AA on doesnt use the full 512mb, it still uses 256mb of memory, there are hardly any other games more shader heavy than that besides Oblivion, but thats where a more powerful GPU matters more....

at 1280x1024 the need for more than 256mb of ram is rare, but say, 1920x1200 the amount of textures is so much higher and the need for more VRAM is greater, thats why people need 512mb of ram to run some games at 1920x1200

BizSAR · Jul 15, 2007, 06:15 AM

Yeah, I'm not replacing my killer LCD (for a regular 4:3) anytime soon. I'll likely be upgrading my PC in a year or so and the system I have now with the new 7800GS will be handed down to being the media center in the living room.
I'm slow to upgrade becuase I just bought a new '07 Eclipse GT a few months ago...now THAT was a car upgrade.

westsidebud · Jul 15, 2007, 06:44 AM

I was in a similar position recently and bought a HIS Radeon X1650 IceQ
from tigerdirect. It was fairly cheap and had worked perfect for a few months now but i have just received my new mobo (Evga 680i SE SLI TR) and im looking forward to buying a C2D E6600 & a Evga 8800 GTS..
pretty soon im gonna *try and sell my Radeon X1650 on ebay i think
i don't expect to get much for it but its money i can put toward a new system

i love the agp x1650 and playing CSS, BF2 etc have worked fine for me
but its time to upgrade my Barton 2800+ <-- old LOL

Consider saving your money and get something you REALY want

Matth · Jul 15, 2007, 03:31 PM

That is the one where I recall it (512 vs 256) from:
http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/his...ess_videocard/

http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/his...ard/index5.php

Quote:

As the sixth time 3DMARK 2006 has been deployed on Tweaknews, this card is showing how manufacturers should not make a fast videocard, and then drag it down with low amounts of onboard memory. This card is just begging for 256megs of additional memory. Luckily there is a 512meg option on the market. It did perform better than its relative competition, but with 512megs of memory it would have done on average about 10% better.

**kris23** · Jul 15, 2007, 05:14 PM

yea.... a FAST GPU...... not some crap 7600GS

BizSAR · Jul 16, 2007, 06:41 AM

Oddly enough, the BFG 7800GS OC card states that it's core clock is set to 400MHz with 375MHz being standard. It's memory is set to 1250MHz with 1200MHz being standard. The EVGA card is reporting that it's factory-shipped clock frequencies are 430MHz core and 1300MHz memory. EVGA has it OC'ed even more than BFG.
...just thought that was interesting...I really don't need to OC it much myself.

**kris23** · Jul 16, 2007, 07:46 AM

thats business, the best deal almost always wins!

Jul 12, 2007, 08:21 PM	#1
BizSAR HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Oregon, USA Posts: 35 Rep Power: 0	Decision: more RAM or higher clock speeds? Hey all, Help me make up my mind here, please. I need to get a new AGP card (can't afford to upgrade mobo, CPU, etc. to PCI-E for at least a year), and I'm stuck on which one to purchase. Here's what I'm looking at: BFG GeForce 7800GS 256MB (higher clock speeds) - $199.99 BFG GeForce 7600GS 512MB (more on-board RAM) - $179.99 - $50 rebate = $129.99 I'm pretty much stuck purchasing one or the other at the stated prices for various reasons. I am having a hard time finding definitive benchmarks for each so I can compare, and I don't know enough about each to make a good decision. I'm looking at what card will be the fastest overall (I play everything from BF2142 to CS:S to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.), and also keeping in mind the intrinsic value of the card considering the prices. I'm "upgrading" from my EVGA 6800GT since it pretty much puked out on me. Any thoughts/ideas/pearls of wisdom? __________________ BizSAR S/W Test Engineer Last edited by BizSAR; Jul 12, 2007 at 09:10 PM.

Jul 12, 2007, 09:15 PM	#2
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	if you are willing to get an ATi card, get this one, it is so far superior to any of the cards you stated, i had one and it was an amazing device, returned it due to it being too powerful for my machine (HIS X1950PRO 512mb) this is a Sapphire X1950PRO 512mb and it is just as good as the HIS just runs hotter. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102071 and if you are going to get the card, i am going to need the specs for the rest of the systm, PSU, RAM, CPU, MOBO, including brand names and model numbers if possible, PSU mostly just incase you may need to upgrade that too, (the X1950PRO best runs on a 12v 30A PSU) lastly, the SOURCE engine in games like CS:S perfers ATi cards so you will most likely get a greater FPS boost with the card than if you were to buy say..... the 7950GT card __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Jul 12, 2007, 09:48 PM	#3
jp306 DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 309 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	If I had to choose between those 2 cards, I'd pick the 7800gs without a second thought about it. I would get a x1950pro over the 7800gs though and ram wouldn't matter to me there either. More ram would really only help you in resolutions above 1280x1024, so unless you're gaming in a higher resolution than that It wouldn't matter much. __________________ "I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous - everyone hasn't met me yet." Rodney Dangerfield.

Jul 13, 2007, 09:13 AM	Thread Starter #5
BizSAR HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Oregon, USA Posts: 35 Rep Power: 0	Thanks for the responses! I went with the EVGA 7800GS since I found out the 7600GS wasn't much faster then the 6800GT it was replacing. The BFG was $80 more AR (actually $229), and the EVGA still has the lifetime warranty and trade-up program, so it was most cost-effective for me. The ATi X1950 was $279, quite out of my price range. I was stuck at those prices and cards since I don't have the money to buy a card, but do have some "wiggle room" on my Fry's credit card. I'm not happy about it, but I was therefore at their mercy. My feeble stats (can't upgrade majorly for a year...just bought a new car): Processor:Intel 2.8Ghz OC: 3.07Ghz Memory:2046MB DDR Dual-Channel RAM Hard Drive:Seagate 7200RPM - 16MB cache - 250GB Video Card:eVGA Nvidia 7800GS 256mb Monitor:NEC 90GX2 (DDC/CI) 1280x1024 Sound Card:SB X-Fi Audio Elite Pro Speakers/Headphones:Boston Accustics 5.1 surround / Plantronics Keyboard:zBoard gaming keyboard Mouse:Razer Copperhead Mouse Surface:Razer eXactMat X Control __________________ BizSAR S/W Test Engineer

Jul 13, 2007, 10:48 PM	#6
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	hey ur stats are very similar to what i had! before i blew it up.... but anyway, the 7800GS should serve you well as you are only using a 1280x1024 monitor and the games you play arent too demanding... __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Jul 14, 2007, 03:41 PM	#7
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 93 System Specs	Even on some quite midrange cards, the difference between 256 and 512MB can be significant if things are texture-heavy rather than GPU processing heavy, but the price difference between the two, in this case, does reflect the fact that they are just not comparable - not just an in-series speed difference, but a different class. Between a fast 7800 model with 256 and a slower clocked version with 512, then maybe the 512MB would shade it. __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread

Jul 14, 2007, 07:32 PM	#9
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	he's right, but ther are extremely few games that require 512mb of VRAM at 1280x1024, i mean FEAR at fullest settings with all the AA on doesnt use the full 512mb, it still uses 256mb of memory, there are hardly any other games more shader heavy than that besides Oblivion, but thats where a more powerful GPU matters more.... at 1280x1024 the need for more than 256mb of ram is rare, but say, 1920x1200 the amount of textures is so much higher and the need for more VRAM is greater, thats why people need 512mb of ram to run some games at 1920x1200 __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Jul 15, 2007, 06:15 AM	Thread Starter #10
BizSAR HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Oregon, USA Posts: 35 Rep Power: 0	Yeah, I'm not replacing my killer LCD (for a regular 4:3) anytime soon. I'll likely be upgrading my PC in a year or so and the system I have now with the new 7800GS will be handed down to being the media center in the living room. I'm slow to upgrade becuase I just bought a new '07 Eclipse GT a few months ago...now THAT was a car upgrade. __________________ BizSAR S/W Test Engineer

Jul 15, 2007, 06:44 AM	#11
westsidebud DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 64 Rep Power: 0	I was in a similar position recently and bought a HIS Radeon X1650 IceQ from tigerdirect. It was fairly cheap and had worked perfect for a few months now but i have just received my new mobo (Evga 680i SE SLI TR) and im looking forward to buying a C2D E6600 & a Evga 8800 GTS.. pretty soon im gonna *try and sell my Radeon X1650 on ebay i think i don't expect to get much for it but its money i can put toward a new system i love the agp x1650 and playing CSS, BF2 etc have worked fine for me but its time to upgrade my Barton 2800+ <-- old LOL Consider saving your money and get something you REALY want __________________ Megan and Max are tasty Monkeys!

Jul 15, 2007, 05:14 PM	#13
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	yea.... a FAST GPU...... not some crap 7600GS __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Jul 16, 2007, 06:41 AM	Thread Starter #14
BizSAR HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Oregon, USA Posts: 35 Rep Power: 0	Oddly enough, the BFG 7800GS OC card states that it's core clock is set to 400MHz with 375MHz being standard. It's memory is set to 1250MHz with 1200MHz being standard. The EVGA card is reporting that it's factory-shipped clock frequencies are 430MHz core and 1300MHz memory. EVGA has it OC'ed even more than BFG. ...just thought that was interesting...I really don't need to OC it much myself. __________________ BizSAR S/W Test Engineer

Jul 16, 2007, 07:46 AM	#15
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	thats business, the best deal almost always wins! __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!