Quote:
Originally Posted by CybaGirl
Sorry I forgot to add in my previous post what resolution are you running in?
1280 X 1024 being 4:3 or 1440 x 900 being 16:10 or something else?
But at this stage with having a 19" monitor 512MB of ram on a video card will be sufficient. Running in much higher resolutions requires more ram on your video card so as it does not affect performance. Buying a video card with 1GB of memory to run on lower resolution monitors is really a waste of money and you would be better off to put the money you save from not buying the 1GB version towards a faster 512MB video card. Unless of course there is very little price difference between the 512MB and the 1GB. At best you would only see a couple or few FPS difference between 512MB and 1GB video memory when using a 19" monitor.
The big difference comes in once you start using 22" and larger monitors running in higher resolutions.
BTW are you certain your motherboard has a PCI Express slot?
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I decided to go ahead and take a chance, and bought the HD 4650. The only place around here that carries in-stock graphics cards is Best Buy, and they don't exactly have a great deal of 'variety' with those. I figured, at worst, it wouldn't work and, at best, I'd get to see what sort of difference I'd see.
As it turns out, running GWX Gold, with full harbor traffic and 16K atmosphere, with 100% particle density and high texture, I get approximately an average, consistent, 25 fps. It doesn't stutter at all, not even when docked and doing an initial 360 around the harbor.
I'd already knew, for sure, I had a PCI Express slot. Being able to install the card, well . . .
But thanks for checking up with me and wanting to verify that; it is, after all, quite an important point to check on.
Vis-a-vis resolution: it's currently set at 1280 x 1024.
I paid, pre-sales tax, US $95 for the card. If there's little difference in performance at my monitor size between 512MB and 1GB, if you can suggest a comparably-priced Radeon that's signifigantly faster than the 4650, I'll order it and just return the 4650 once I get the newer.
I'll be getting a newer power supply later today. My stock one is only 300W, and the 4650 recommends at least a 400W one. I calculated my power consumption and, even with the new card, I should only be pulling a max of 270W, but I figure better safe than sorry.