GPU Memory Question

[Realillusion222]

Hey there, I am abit of a noob to the component world and I have a question.

I'll take the 8800GT for example:

BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC2 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail

650MHz Core, 512MB 1900MHz GDDR3 Memory, 112 Stream Processors, SLi Ready, Lifetime Warranty with BFG Direct.

I understand that the 650mhz core is the clock speed on the card, and will ultimately affect how well the card performs, but what does the 512MB mean? How does this affect the overall performance of the card? I have seen 256MB 8800GT's, so what is the essential differance?

Thanks, and sorry it's a stupid question.

 

[Realillusion222]

512MB is the amount of Memory the card has same as the sticks of Memory inside your PC sloted into the Motherboard, ok now ?

Yeah, I understand that I was just wondering how the amount of memory the card has actually affects it's performance.

Thanks for the help Mishima