8600GT 256 vs 512?

[noroom]

I have the choice between these 2 PCI-Express cards, both of which are passively cooled and have a core speed of 540 MHz. Here I listed the main differences.

MSI NX8600GT-T2D256EZ, NVIDIA 8600GT, 256MB

• DVI 2x, HDCP TV-Out (with HDTV-Adapter)
  
• 256 MB DDR3 @ 700 MHz
  

=========================== vs ==========================

Club3D 8600GT, NVIDIA 8600GT, 512MB

• DVI 1x, VGA 1x, TV-Out (no HD)
  
• 512 MB DDR3 @ 500 MHz
  

I'm pretty sure the MSI card is be better, especially after reading this on Wikipedia:

Manufacturers will sell budget cards with 512 MiB of memory because it makes the card sound more powerful than it is and so more people will buy it. Some analysts claim that low-end cards cannot even use all the memory available.

So, which would be the better card for my E6750 on an Asus P5K with 2 GB RAM? I'd like to see what you guys have to say. :)

Thanks in advance.

[Vice]

I would get the 256MB one because it has two DVI and is HDCP equipped which will become important when Bluray and HD-DVD optical drives are the normal purchase for most users. It's also possibly faster depending on the RAM it actually has.

[noroom]

Well, it's not so much about the HDCP, but it's a nice detail. It's more about the FPS they'll deliver in a couple of games. Would the 256MB beat the 512MB card?

[Vice]

Depends if the 256MB of RAM is faster then he 512 supplied with the other 8600GT. I personally would go with the 256. And that probably is the fastest.

[UKDarkJedi]

+1 to that Vice

[gwai lo]

More onboard memory is supposed to be designed for larger textures, however with that card you won't be able to run your games are very high resolutions anyway...thus defeating the purpose of the 512MB version.

and yes, it's all marketing. There are still a lot of people out there who think onboard memory == performance, which simple isn't true.

..and I would get the 256MB version because the memory is clocked faster than the 512MB version. I mean..just looking from stats alone.

[J400uk]

go for the 256mb msi

[shakey]

wait man, i heard the 8600 line of cards actually ran worse than the 7600gt that i have. Please do the research before hand to make sure that they fixed the problem. if not, get something else.

ill do the research for ya :D

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=139491

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/07/24/hd_...chmarks_results

http://www.tech-hounds.com/review33/ReviewsPage3.html

dont get the 8600gt man, it is horrible for its price.

Edited August 4, 2007 by shakey

[Brian M. Veteran]

The differences between 512 (unless gaming at very high resolutions) will be offset by the faster speed of the 256mb on the MSI card. I'd personally go for the 256.

[noroom]

Thanks for all your replies, guys. I don't think the graphics card market has ever been as confusing as it is nowadays. Especially after seeing the benchmarks shakey posted. :(

I did know however, that the 8600 series isn't top-of-the-line. I'm going for a budget card that can sustain my gaming needs until a better / more affordable DX10 series comes out, but since there aren't any DX10 games out there yet, maybe it would be a smarter move to stay with an older generation. :/

Does anyone know of a cheaper passively-cooled PCIe card that outperforms that MSI 8600GT?

[Peppers30]

If you cant afford an 8800GTS I would either go with a 7600GT or 7950GT. Both still very good cards. I have heard bad things about the 8600 series. I still am using my 7600GT and I am able to run newer games without a problem on Medium settings at 1440x900. BF2 and the older games I can run at max.

[SojIrOu]

the 8800 series can barely run directx 10 games so i would recommend sticking to the best of the previous generation (maybe a x1950 or 7950 series) then get the 9x00 series geforce come out directx10 games is more common.

[noroom]

Wow, thank you all for your posts, they were very helpful.

So, I decided to go for this config. Any comments/suggestions before I order it? :)

[gwai lo]

You guys pay too much for hardware. :p

[noroom]

Is there a way to get it cheaper?

[AimLXJ]

Find it a way to build your own video card? :|

[gwai lo]

Is there a way to get it cheaper?

I meant the build looked fine and no I don't know of a way for you to get it cheaper. ;)