Graphics Card Memory. 512MB or 1GB - Use?

First off, my PC isn't anything fancy. I bought it from Best Buy in late 2006 but it's a good Desktop. It's RAM has been upgraded to it's limit of 2GBs.

I recently bought a GeForce 9400 GT 1GB. I've been told that 1GB is the amount of memory it's using from my RAM. So would that mean it's hogging 1GB of my PC's 2GBs?

I did a little research and it seems there isn't much of a difference between 512MBs and 1GB as far as frame rate goes. So far the only issue I find is that my PC lags if I try to browse sites while playing City of Heroes. This I can deal with. Sometimes while not playing, I might notice some minor "PC is thinking" lag but again nothing that annoys me.

Still, it's only been a few days. I'm curious if I should exchange my GeForce 9400 GT 1GB for something with 512MBs... that is only if the fact my PC only having 2GBs of it's own RAM is an issue. Not that I really do anything heavy.

Dedicated graphics card have their own memory; the "integrated graphics" cards you may have seen around are part of the mobo and *don't* have their own memory. So, yes, some graphics cards steal system memory, but yours doesn't.

However, it is a little underpowered for CoX. If you thinking about exchanging it, look for a Nvidia card with at least a '6' as the second digit--my understanding is once you get past 512 MB in graphics memory, the amount doesn't matter as much as the graphics processor.

As I read it your card would have 1GB onboard so it will not use system memory, but we would need to know the exact model to be sure.

IIRC the game uses 256MB max for textures but you will benefit from more as a frame buffer. And Finduilas is correct there are diminishing returns as you go higher unless the game in question uses more texture memory than this game for example.

So 512MB is a good choice and 1GB will generally not net you any more FPS than 512MB for this game.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218071137169

That is what I have. I also know it's not as powerful as I'd like but it does run CoX on recommended. Only time I lag is just as I'm heading to an AE building or a zone in Villains but it soon smooths out.

This card was only $70 so I got it as a "Default." I'll be saving up for a better card like maybe the 9800... but until then, this 9400 will work and if the new one I buy ever dies/fails/breaks I can have the 9400 as a backup. You know, cheap default one.

Also, I'm not too sure what my PC can handle Graphics Card wise... like anyone know if I have a limit? Below is my Desktop specs.

Also, as said before I have 2GBs of RAM and I also have an Antec 650 Watts Power Supply

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...173&dlc=en

Looks to me like it has 1GB onboard and its equivalent to an 8500GT so its OK for the $$$ spent.

Oh? Alright. Thanks for the reply, I'm just not that knowledged on PC parts and I've had so much drama with GFX cards in the past, heh.

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Looks to me like it has 1GB onboard and its equivalent to an 8500GT so its OK for the $$$ spent.

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I would disagree. Seventy bucks for this? I would look at a 9600GT for around that price, rather. It's an actual gaming card.

To answer the OP's question, video RAM works just like system RAM: once you have enough of it, adding more doesn't really help you any. In the case of City of Heroes, anything with 256MB or more will do fine at max settings, so no difference between 512MB and 1GB. What will make a difference is the horsepower that the card's GPU has, and the 9600GT is going to have a lot more horsepower than the 9400GT, which is designed more for desktop photo/video editing and DVD playback than anything else.

If you can still return that card, I would do so, because (sorry to say this) you got ripped off.

Maybe the first link just changed, but if not..

9400 GT: Free shipping, after rebate price of 47.99
VS
9600 GT: After rebate price of 79.99 + 7.00 shipping = 86.99

Going with the first one is a no brainer.

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Maybe the first link just changed, but if not..

9400 GT: Free shipping, after rebate price of 47.99
VS
9600 GT: After rebate price of 79.99 + 7.00 shipping = 86.99

Going with the first one is a no brainer.

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I want to do video encoding. A Core i7 costs almost $300, but I can snag a Pentium 4 off Ebay for $25. Is going with the P4 a no brainer? The OP bought his card at Best Buy for $70. I threw the Newegg link in for the sake of comparison.

Whoops, my mistake.

Posting while still slightly hungover from the previous evening's festivities, not such a good idea.