video card

On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 17:12:55 +1100, "john townsley"
<johntownsley RemoveThis @optusnet.com.au> wrote:

 >I believe extra Video Ram will mean more graphics can be handled by the PC
 >what does the video card specs mean exactly
 >
 >eg 32mb, 64mb card, 128mb card
 >whats the difference in performance with these different sizes.


It depends on the size of the "graphics" in the app your
trying to run. For basic office, email, web surfing,
there's no need for more than 32MB, but otherwise there's no
way to generalize the performance difference without a
target use.

A graphic artist may find that (depending on the sizes of
images dealt with) substantially more memory allows zooming
and panning seamlessly.

A gamer may find at least 64MB beneficial for games of the
past 1-4 years, but any modern 3D games benefit a lot from
128MB. 256MB isn't very useful unless it's on a very fast
card, and likewise if the use is demanding 3D, a lot of
memory on a relatively slow (GPU) card won't offset the
other bottleneck of video processing. On the other hand
many games allow reducing the special effects or quality
somewhat, reducing the amount of memory needed.

A better way to determine how much memory is beneficial is
to take the opposite approach, consider what you'll be doing
with the system and what requirements those uses have...
and how much additional $$ you want to put into getting a
little bit longer viable lifespan out of the card.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->