How much graphics memory do you really need?

@ 2008/02/28
When Nvidia first introduced the GeForce 8800 GT, the card came equipped with 512MB of memory. Shortly thereafter, in response to AMD's launch of the Radeon HD 3850 256MB, the green team filled out the low end of the 8800 GT lineup with a cheaper 256MB variant. The 8800 GT's memory size didn't scale upward until graphics board makers started fiddling with the design on their own. Palit put 1GB of memory on its 8800GT Super+, releasing it to market alongside some of the most subversively phallic promotional shirts we've ever seen.

Comment from jmke @ 2008/02/28
Given the relatively minor price gap between 256MB and 512MB versions of the GeForce 8800 GT, we see little reason to settle for the 256MB card. You really do need 512MB of memory to make the most of today's games, especially if you want to crank up the eye candy. That said, today's games aren't so demanding that they'll make good use of 1GB of video memory, at least not with the GeForce 8800 GT. Not even Crysis saw a meaningful performance increase with the 1GB cards, suggesting that tomorrow's games may do just fine with 512MB, as well.

 

 

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