7300GT 256MB GDDR3 Vs 512MB DDR2?

[gtir666]

Alright guys, as these are still new i suspect its just gonna be speculation.
I have purchased a 256mb gddr3 version and as im in position to change mind i hadnt actually noticed the 512MB DDR2 evga jobs on ocuk and may switch.

What one would you have??

 

[4p]

surely the gddr3?

512mb is a bit too much for todays games?

 

[gtir666]

hmm, interesting response. You say surely gddr3, but then mention size of ram not type.

Why 512 too much for todays games? You must have posted in the wrong place this isnt the dx10 disscusion

 

[LanceCrossfire]

if your gonna play games @ high resolutions then 512mb is more then justified... BUT i wouldnt use 7300GT for high res gaming...so if your gaming @ low resolutions the game would benefit from faster memory, imho 512mb is wasted on such a card, not only that its slower DDR2... so in my conclusion, i would say the GDDR3 256mb version, but again it boils down to how you will use it...

 

[james.miller]

yes be reasonable. you wont be gaming at high res and you wont be runing ultra high detail that would require 512mb on a 7300gt. Further more, the 256mb ddr3 card is a good deal faster than the 512mb ddr2 card so when it comes down to it - it's a no-brainer.

 

[Defcon5]

the extra ram is no use when the card isnt fast enough to use it

 

[gtir666]

Norm resolution for me is 1280x720 on the plasma and sensible detail levels(i.e medium), i wouldnt expect anymore. As understand it this should better the performance of my old 6800 judging by 3dmark06 scores ive seen.

 

[gtir666]

By the way as soon as i get time ill be back to an8-32x and opty144 not old celery **** in my sig at mo.

 

[LanceCrossfire]

tbh i reckon 512mb versons of low end cards like the X1300 and 7300, are gimmicks to reel in the innocent buyers who dont have a clue and think that 512mb of graphics memory makes it a good card... a mate at work bought a alienware with a X1300 512mb inside and was curious as to why oblivion ran **** on his pc... because it had "512mb graphics"

 

[Semiskimmed]

the extra ram is no use when the card isnt fast enough to use it

 

[gtir666]

Obviously theres my answer, stick with the 256mb gddr3, review ive seen it clocks quite well so should be an interesting piece of low cost kit. It out performs 7600gs in this particular review, and not that far behind 7600gt at standard clocks (uses same pcb as 7600gt so guessing same gpu just 8 pipes instead of 12 pipes).

 

[gtir666]

Just ordered a zalman vfu900 cooler so well see what this puppy can do, ill post some 3dmarks standard oc'ed then same but zalman cooled etc. Should be interesting, well to the low budgeter types like me anyway

 

[Cyber-Mav]

the extra ram is no use when the card isnt fast enough to use it

not entirly true. the more ram the better always. but in this situation he is not just getting a capacity increase but he is getting a reduction in memory bandwidth as the cost. faster ram is better, more memory bandwidth allows for higher rez gaming and more quality features to be turned on.