8500LE 64MB or 128MB

[HJB417]

I originally posted this iat hardforums but I got no replies =(

I currently have a v5 and I want to upgrade it because it just can't cut it anymore. I want a radeon 8500LE but I don't know if I should get the 128 or 64mb version.
I know having more memory is good when playing games at a high res and you can play games at lower res w/o having to use texture compression which helps eliminate artifacts.

Is that all, is there anything else I'm missing? The only games I play are Tribes2, JK2, HL, RTCW and I have a 17inch monitor. Highest playable resolution is 1280x1024.

Below are the system specs. Do you think the cpu is still fast enough? I've checked out several reviews and the 8500LE was getting 220+fps using 1.5~1.8ghz machines using Q3 @ 1024x786x32. They were using cpus a generation higher than mine

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Abit KT7-Raid | T-Bird 1.3GHz | 512MB PC133 SDRAM

 

[microAmp]

I would get the 128 MB, extra memory might pay off for games of next year and/or year after that, depending how often you upgrade. Plus it doesn't seem a whole lot more from NewEgg prices.

 

[Operandi]

I would say it depends on how long you intend to keep the card. In today?s current games having 128 megs vs. 64 is going to give much if any benefit. That may start to change though as a few games/benchmarks are showing. It's hard believe but games are starting to use large enough textures that don?t fit within the 64 megs of onboard video mem. As for you CPU I would say it would pair up well with the 8500.

 

[BFG10K]

Get the 128 MB card - even in a lot of today's games it's significantly faster than the 64 MB version.

 

[paopao]

I may be wrong, but I heard a lot times on this forum that 64MB version is faster than the 128MB version due to faster ram.

 

[Aragorn992]

The extra 64MB RAM makes a significant difference on radeon 8500's, even at low res.