FM I was told that the more gb of RAM on a GPU the better isn't the best way of measuring how good a graphics card is, this is correct yes?
Obviously the 7970 is high end as it is, but would you not think the 3gb of RAM is more a selling point than a performance point?
Also isn't the data going in and out of the RAM of a GPU quickly rather than sitting in there therefore making the large amount of RAM more a buffer than functional?
Ram is a minor way to judge a card, you have to look at number of cores, clock speeds, cooling on the card, power consumption, output options, all that is used to judge a card. 1gb is enough for a single 1080p monitor now, so more doesn't really help too much, but on bigger monitors and multi-display setups you want more memory.
Cool thanks for the clarification there :biggrin.gif:
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Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has one and some stink, now if someone says your armpits stink it isn't very polite to go rubbing it in their face, it isn't going to make them say yours doesn't stink it'll just make them dislike you and your armpit even more. Remember keep your armpits and opinions respectful.
FM I was told that the more gb of RAM on a GPU the better isn't the best way of measuring how good a graphics card is, this is correct yes?
Mostly, yes. But if you want the card to last longer than normal going for a tiny bit more VRAM would be a good idea. (EG when I bought my 9800GT most were 512MB, since I wasn't planning on upgrading for a long time I got the 1GB version, without the extra 512MB I would not be able to play modern games).
Obviously the 7970 is high end as it is, but would you not think the 3gb of RAM is more a selling point than a performance point?
Considering it's a "flagship" tier card, the extra RAM is there for spanning games across 2+ monitors, which requires a lot of VRAM. Similarly to the 9800GT (which was a flagship of it's time) many people who get flagship cards only upgrade once every 3-4 generations, hence the extra VRAM would help with staying power.
The 3GB of RAM is not much of a selling point because a card of that power would need 3GB of RAM to be on "tier" if that makes sense.
EG: a 7600GT will normally have 256MB or 512MB, and a similar tiered card from that generation from ATi would have the same.
Being that most new cards have 1-2GB of VRAM, the next "tier" is right around the corner, thus the increase in VRAM.
Remember, performance increases and RAM increases are largely linear.
Also consider that right now the max resolution is 2560x1600, 10 years ago the max resolution was largely 1600x1200-ish and it was very rare. In the future 2560x1600 would be the standard resolution and something like 4000x3200 would be the max resolution.
Also isn't the data going in and out of the RAM of a GPU quickly rather than sitting in there therefore making the large amount of RAM more a buffer than functional?
Depends on the data, textures and models for instance, tend to sit for a while and some games use unused VRAM as a cache for models/textures to cut down on loading times.
The problem exists with the SLI setup like I was saying was when something is on one card and the other needs access to it, it creates unnecessary traffic between the two, and depending on which pci-e you are using (2.0 x16 for instance) and depending on how the game/computer handles stuff it could cause a lot of lag.
BUT, the advantage to combining VRAM would be with CAD programs, the TL;DR is that it would massively increase performance and because of the way CAD programs work and use the technology it would not cause lag with traffic.
Of course this could be completely alleviated if we can 'expand' on the SLI/xfire bridge to maybe get it to split the traffic between the two cards rather than going through the mobo rather than just having it link the cards why not make it useful?
But now I'm rambling.
Ram is a minor way to judge a card, you have to look at number of cores, clock speeds, cooling on the card, power consumption, output options, all that is used to judge a card. 1gb is enough for a single 1080p monitor now, so more doesn't really help too much, but on bigger monitors and multi-display setups you want more memory.
Thanks for the info, I've found this stuff interesting ever since my bf was explaining to me more while he was helping me with my build.
Out of curiosity what do you think of my build?
It does everything I want fine, though I haven't tried any video editing on it yet, though I was able to do what I wanted to my Gateway NV58 laptop, so I assume I should still be able to do this fine.
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Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has one and some stink, now if someone says your armpits stink it isn't very polite to go rubbing it in their face, it isn't going to make them say yours doesn't stink it'll just make them dislike you and your armpit even more. Remember keep your armpits and opinions respectful.
Thanks for the info, I've found this stuff interesting ever since my bf was explaining to me more while he was helping me with my build.
Out of curiosity what do you think of my build?
It does everything I want fine, though I haven't tried any video editing on it yet, though I was able to do what I wanted to my Gateway NV58 laptop, so I assume I should still be able to do this fine.
It's not bad at all, it looks like it was built at a good time for budget PCs. I would think it'd last another 4-6 years with a graphics card upgrade in 2ish years easily.
Cable management is ಠ_ಠ though.
Maybe also add some more RAM between now and a year or so.
It's not bad at all, it looks like it was built at a good time for budget PCs. I would think it'd last another 4-6 years with a graphics card upgrade in 2ish years easily.
Cable management is ಠ_ಠ though.
Maybe also add some more RAM between now and a year or so.
Excellent, I am going to upgrade to the 6870 soon when my budget can afford so. Then I'll do the ram later in the year.
I know it is horrible, I'll get my hands on some cable ties and do a whole clean up when the graphics card goes in :biggrin.gif:
Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has one and some stink, now if someone says your armpits stink it isn't very polite to go rubbing it in their face, it isn't going to make them say yours doesn't stink it'll just make them dislike you and your armpit even more. Remember keep your armpits and opinions respectful.
@ fm87. I'd like to know what you think of my setup. :tongue.gif: Just cause your the expert on the forums and all.
Hah, hardly an expert.
It looks good overall, expect it to last a similar amount of time, maybe add a couple years (3ish) for the processor and need for a GPU replacement until a few years ahead.
But by the point that thing shows age you will more than likely have a new computer.
It's not terribly far above my 9800GT, which can still play modern games on medium to high.
Oh yes I know, runs Skyrim and portal on medium/high (modified high with some things slightly lower) with almost no lag, but it isn't actually my card, it is my boy friends and he had promised it to his brother when he upgraded. As with all his computer parts, but now I am on the scene and stealing his parts haha I have a conscious apparently. So his brother is still using a GT240, so I think he is in need of an upgrade :biggrin.gif:
Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has one and some stink, now if someone says your armpits stink it isn't very polite to go rubbing it in their face, it isn't going to make them say yours doesn't stink it'll just make them dislike you and your armpit even more. Remember keep your armpits and opinions respectful.
Oh yes I know, runs Skyrim and portal on medium/high (modified high with some things slightly lower) with almost no lag, but it isn't actually my card, it is my boy friends and he had promised it to his brother when he upgraded. As with all his computer parts, but now I am on the scene and stealing his parts haha I have a conscious apparently. So his brother is still using a GT240, so I think he is in need of an upgrade :biggrin.gif:
Don't go with that one it only has one fan and is way overpriced, here's the link to the one I have and suggested (http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127545) and it is 140 less.
Exchange rate plays a factor here :smile.gif: I am in NZD, the one you posted would cost me only $10 less and then there is shipping costs if I were to get that exact one from that site, so no it would not be cheaper :smile.gif:
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Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has one and some stink, now if someone says your armpits stink it isn't very polite to go rubbing it in their face, it isn't going to make them say yours doesn't stink it'll just make them dislike you and your armpit even more. Remember keep your armpits and opinions respectful.
Exchange rate plays a factor here :smile.gif: I am in NZD, the one you posted would cost me only $10 less and then there is shipping costs if I were to get that exact one from that site, so no it would not be cheaper :smile.gif:
I saw the $ and assumed USD, so yeah, I can see where the exchange rate would play a factor there.
I was going to get the 6850, but my BF got that, so of course I have to one up him by that little bit :biggrin.gif:
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has one and some stink, now if someone says your armpits stink it isn't very polite to go rubbing it in their face, it isn't going to make them say yours doesn't stink it'll just make them dislike you and your armpit even more. Remember keep your armpits and opinions respectful.
I have an Uncle that's a Tech and taught me most of what I know and I try to one up him, it doesn't work well when he has a cushy job and I don't.
He is doing a comp sci degree and has worked in IT and helped me build my current build, we are on similar budgets being students :biggrin.gif:
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has one and some stink, now if someone says your armpits stink it isn't very polite to go rubbing it in their face, it isn't going to make them say yours doesn't stink it'll just make them dislike you and your armpit even more. Remember keep your armpits and opinions respectful.
Exchange rate plays a factor here :smile.gif: I am in NZD, the one you posted would cost me only $10 less and then there is shipping costs if I were to get that exact one from that site, so no it would not be cheaper :smile.gif:
If you can find a model in NZD with two fans that is around the same price I would highly recommend it. The superior cooling means a longer lasting card.
I saw the $ and assumed USD, so yeah, I can see where the exchange rate would play a factor there.
We really need to modify $ with a little mark to signify the difference between:
I'm just thinking about the more moving parts, and more moving parts wear out more quickly. Also the heat from the fans, I think the Sapphire one has a better heat sink under its one fan.
Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has one and some stink, now if someone says your armpits stink it isn't very polite to go rubbing it in their face, it isn't going to make them say yours doesn't stink it'll just make them dislike you and your armpit even more. Remember keep your armpits and opinions respectful.
Ram is a minor way to judge a card, you have to look at number of cores, clock speeds, cooling on the card, power consumption, output options, all that is used to judge a card. 1gb is enough for a single 1080p monitor now, so more doesn't really help too much, but on bigger monitors and multi-display setups you want more memory.
i5 6600k 4.6ghz / MSI 280X / 8Gb 2666 DDR4 / Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 / TX550M / 500Gb 850 EVO / NZXT S340 / Corsair K65 / Corsair M60
Considering it's a "flagship" tier card, the extra RAM is there for spanning games across 2+ monitors, which requires a lot of VRAM. Similarly to the 9800GT (which was a flagship of it's time) many people who get flagship cards only upgrade once every 3-4 generations, hence the extra VRAM would help with staying power.
The 3GB of RAM is not much of a selling point because a card of that power would need 3GB of RAM to be on "tier" if that makes sense.
EG: a 7600GT will normally have 256MB or 512MB, and a similar tiered card from that generation from ATi would have the same.
Being that most new cards have 1-2GB of VRAM, the next "tier" is right around the corner, thus the increase in VRAM.
Remember, performance increases and RAM increases are largely linear.
Also consider that right now the max resolution is 2560x1600, 10 years ago the max resolution was largely 1600x1200-ish and it was very rare. In the future 2560x1600 would be the standard resolution and something like 4000x3200 would be the max resolution.
Depends on the data, textures and models for instance, tend to sit for a while and some games use unused VRAM as a cache for models/textures to cut down on loading times.
The problem exists with the SLI setup like I was saying was when something is on one card and the other needs access to it, it creates unnecessary traffic between the two, and depending on which pci-e you are using (2.0 x16 for instance) and depending on how the game/computer handles stuff it could cause a lot of lag.
BUT, the advantage to combining VRAM would be with CAD programs, the TL;DR is that it would massively increase performance and because of the way CAD programs work and use the technology it would not cause lag with traffic.
Of course this could be completely alleviated if we can 'expand' on the SLI/xfire bridge to maybe get it to split the traffic between the two cards rather than going through the mobo rather than just having it link the cards why not make it useful?
But now I'm rambling.
Pretty much.
Out of curiosity what do you think of my build?
It does everything I want fine, though I haven't tried any video editing on it yet, though I was able to do what I wanted to my Gateway NV58 laptop, so I assume I should still be able to do this fine.
It's not bad at all, it looks like it was built at a good time for budget PCs. I would think it'd last another 4-6 years with a graphics card upgrade in 2ish years easily.
Cable management is ಠ_ಠ though.
Maybe also add some more RAM between now and a year or so.
Excellent, I am going to upgrade to the 6870 soon when my budget can afford so. Then I'll do the ram later in the year.
I know it is horrible, I'll get my hands on some cable ties and do a whole clean up when the graphics card goes in :biggrin.gif:
Keep in mind the 4850 is still a great card. But the 6870 is definitely an improvement.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
It's not terribly far above my 9800GT, which can still play modern games on medium to high.
Try the R6870 by MSI it is an absolutely superb card.
2x Ati 5870 in CF | 120Gb Intel SSD | 1.5TB Storage | Noctua NH-D14 CPU cooler | Corsair HX1050W PSU
Hah, hardly an expert.
It looks good overall, expect it to last a similar amount of time, maybe add a couple years (3ish) for the processor and need for a GPU replacement until a few years ahead.
But by the point that thing shows age you will more than likely have a new computer.
Oh yes I know, runs Skyrim and portal on medium/high (modified high with some things slightly lower) with almost no lag, but it isn't actually my card, it is my boy friends and he had promised it to his brother when he upgraded. As with all his computer parts, but now I am on the scene and stealing his parts haha I have a conscious apparently. So his brother is still using a GT240, so I think he is in need of an upgrade :biggrin.gif:
I was going to go with http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=394673
this one when I do.
Don't go with that one it only has one fan and is way overpriced, here's the link to the one I have and suggested (http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127545) and it is 140 less.
Exchange rate plays a factor here :smile.gif: I am in NZD, the one you posted would cost me only $10 less and then there is shipping costs if I were to get that exact one from that site, so no it would not be cheaper :smile.gif:
I saw the $ and assumed USD, so yeah, I can see where the exchange rate would play a factor there.
I have an Uncle that's a Tech and taught me most of what I know and I try to one up him, it doesn't work well when he has a cushy job and I don't.
He is doing a comp sci degree and has worked in IT and helped me build my current build, we are on similar budgets being students :biggrin.gif:
If you can find a model in NZD with two fans that is around the same price I would highly recommend it. The superior cooling means a longer lasting card.
We really need to modify $ with a little mark to signify the difference between:
What a mess.
There is this one also available 8c cheaper.
I'm just thinking about the more moving parts, and more moving parts wear out more quickly. Also the heat from the fans, I think the Sapphire one has a better heat sink under its one fan.
I have this one.
Very difficult to get it to fit in a mid-ATX case.