8800GTS 320MB with a 22" monitor??

[fresh]

Hey just got myself a new system, and just got back from buying an Acer 22" monitor and had a feeling i might have cocked up having a 320MB 8800GTS. Basically will it be ok or do i need the 640MB version????

thanks

[Dorza]

If its 1680x1050 res then it aught to be fine for most games around at the moment. IIRC the 640MB version only makes a difference when the res is higher, but then you would be better off with a GTX.

[fresh]

yeah it is 1680x1050. glad it will be ok. thanx for the help

[usxhe190]

i agree with dorza, all current games should be fine with a 22" 1680x1050...not sure in the future though

[aidanjt]

Should be good enough for at least a year anyway.

[fresh]

so when you say it should be alright.....are we talking like it wont be able to run low end grapics in a years time??

[aidanjt]

No, we're talking wont be able to run high end graphics in a years time (max res and details). It'll be technically capable of running any game for 5 or 6 years, but you'll likely to have upgraded well before then I'd imagine.

[EarlGrey]

My brother has a 6600GT which he uses for Oblivion and he says it runs fine... It does, I guess, but I wouldn't consider it playable.

For some getting 25fps at native res (in your case this will be 1680x1050 I believe) is fine. I would say this is bare minimum. I prefer to turn down settings (detail, effects etc) to achieve a higher framerate and allow some Anti Aliasing.

Check out reviews/benchmarks at sites like HEXUS, anandtech and tomshardware, and see what your prospective card is capable of, pairing that with what setting you are happy with. (If unsure get FRAPS - and run it in the background to see what framerates you are getting).

I think the 8800GTS 320MB will be great paired with a 22inch monitor. And bear in mind nVidia release their new cards around xmas, so I'd stick with it and buy the new generation when it comes if you feel you need to

[Blitzen]

My brother has a 6600GT which he uses for Oblivion and he says it runs fine

I wouldnt have thought so.
I would expect it to run more like a greyhound with 1 leg tbh.

The 6600GT, even with low eye candy would struggle to limp through Oblivion.

[Andy3536]

Should be good enough for at least a year anyway.

A year?

If he's happy with the way the games look now, he'll be happy with the way they look in a year.
Some things won't be maxed out but they'll still look good.

You can always tweak the speeds of the clocks on the graghics card aswell with somthing like riva tuner and get some improvment that way.

[tony oh]

I read a few articles and benchmarks and the problem with the 320mb comes more into play when you are trying to use high AA or AF.

[Blitzen]

I read a few articles and benchmarks and the problem with the 320mb comes more into play when you are trying to use high AA or AF.

The 320mb doesnt inhibit the AA or AF at my res (1400x900).

[aidanjt]

A year?

If he's happy with the way the games look now, he'll be happy with the way they look in a year.
Some things won't be maxed out but they'll still look good.

You can always tweak the speeds of the clocks on the graghics card aswell with somthing like riva tuner and get some improvment that way.

I said "at least" didn't I?.. And that was going under the assumption that he buys new games regularly, and full eyecandy.

[Andy3536]

I said "at least" didn't I?.. And that was going under the assumption that he buys new games regularly, and full eyecandy.

Unless he's made of gold though he'll have to make do after a while and turn a few things down like the rest of us

[aidanjt]

Indeedy.

[Pob255]

The 320mb doesnt inhibit the AA or AF at my res (1400x900).

Yes be they've been talking about 1680x1050 which is roughtly 40% more pixels.

AA is almost always the biggie as basically the card is ether:
Effectively haveing to render each frame multiple times and the combineing the resaults (accumulation buffer or Object-based)
or
Rendering the image to twice that of the screen (or more) then scaleing it down. (super sampleing)

Ok accumulation buffer is used less and less, while it gives the best resaults it's very memory and processor heavy.
Also Object-based basically renders the sceen twice once normally and once as a pure polygon environment which is uses as a form of alpha channel