video card ram

[hercules71185]

this seems to me as it should be in the video card section. But, it doesn't directly pertain to nvidia or ati its a memory question too.. you pick where you want it. BUT,
does video card ram matter? I saw a chart on fear. But, the results were unfair because what they compare is a lack of total ram. 1gb of ram with a 256 card and 512 card. obviously if you are using 1.3gb of ram 0 1.5 the 256 will plateau and the 512 will run it. soo... LEGITIMATELY!! if you have a 512 card vs 256 with sufficient ram will you notice?
For example. I plan on upgrading my video card sooner or later. no need yet since the only game I can't max out is crysis and sorry guys I'm pretty sure drivers will fix this. but, I have 3gb of ram. thats plenty for gaming as of now. If I get a video card is it really worth paying the extra for vram? or spending it on something else such as a better mouse or whatever. The price difference is for the 8800gts is about 50 dollars for the 320 -640 and the gt is my next card.. altho they only have 512 as of now if they goto 1gb is this worth it. Basically this is where I want my understanding after this post. Or for any future GPU that comes out

[Apoptosis]

it really depends on what resolution you will be gaming at. The higher the resolution the more memory will be used as there is more data on the screen obviously. Gaming at 1024x768 doesn't require 1GB or 768MB of memory, so many can get by with less expensive GPU's. Start gaming at 25x16 on a 30" monitor and you'll need more memory. Not to mention the fact that games are getting more graphics intense.

[ibleet]

Excellent answer! Bigger monitors, higher resolutions require more VRam.

[vicaphit]

does it really matter what size your display is? I didnt think it took any more power to display to a 15" vs a 20"

[hercules71185]

highest I CAN EVER use is my monitor resolution thats 1920x1200 but, I see no visual difference over 1680x1050 with 2xaa I can't really do much with that since the 8600gt isn't powerful enough to push my res higher on games. But, my ideal would wish for 1680 x 1050 with 2 or 4xaa. but, I'm not upgrading till games max out my system at 1280x1024 and so far nothing aside the beta crysis. I played it on medium with light, water, shadows and I think 1 more thing on high. the rest on medium. It ran a constant 30fps at the lowest and the highest around 45 constant. jumps to 70 which is my refresh rate. But, I think drivers will fix this. Basically I don't wanna temp upgrade I have money but, not into wasting it. I wanna get a nice line 9 series nvidia or 3 series ati when it comes out, like the 8800gt is now, and a quad core or tri core amd. One made for overclocking like the brisbane. If nothing comes out thats decently better than the amd 6000 I'm going intel... lots of writing but, its me. I like getting the good budget systems. The one I use now was a 500dollar or less system case keyboard speakers and all for under 500 and the monitor was 200 :-\ haha 22in 1000:1 lcd I like it. My next one I wanna do the best total for under 1000. But, just learning till that day comes
PS I'm talkative and randomly slurring all the stuff because I'm messed up on pain meds from getting my wisdom teeth out.. please excuse the parts you want