512MB DDR3 versus 256MB DDR4?

[hyrum]

I haven't followed hardware much at all over the last few years ut am looking to upgrade a video card for my wife and I. We've got our eye on the Radeon 2600 XT as it seems a nice jump up for us (we only play WoW and we'll be trying Age of Conan - to get a feel for our requirements).

However, we've found a couple of different cards and really haven't got the slightest clue what the difference is and what may be better or not. For example, these two links have a Radeon 2600XT but different spec:

http://www.canadacomputers.com...016169&cid=999.243.272

http://www.canadacomputers.com...014760&cid=999.243.272

Basically we're trying to get the best bang for our buck and don't want to go broke picking up a top of the line card but want to make a somewhat decent choice.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

The 2600XT is a good entry-level card for that price range (although you may be able to find it for closer to $110).

Don't confuse DDR3 with GDDR3...DDR3 is a new type of RAM standard; GDDR3 and GDDR4 are specific to video cards. GDDR4 is faster than GDDR3 but the amount of RAM is worth considering too - 256MB should be enough for that card.

Generally, more memory = same game settings but at a higher resolution. But loads of RAM on a slower GPU doesn't help at all.

So if you play at a smaller resolution, don't worry so much about the RAM; the GPU is more important. The 2600XT is more than enough for WOW; not sure about Age of Conan.

Also, you can get a huge step up in performance with a truly "mainstream" card such as the HD3850
if your budget allows. This would be helpful if you decide to try other "beefier" games.

 

[IlllI]

generally more ram is usually worthless in slower cards like that. simply b/c you wont be able to run games at a high resolution to take advantage of that extra ram. think of it more like a catch phrase. a person might see two identical cards. one has 256, one has 512. most people have been trained that they recognize a bigger number is always better, right?

(provided you live near one of the stores) this card is much better than the two you listed, and not much more than $129

or looks like theres one of these left in stock in the online store Text