[DeadlyNinja]

I searched a bit and I can't seem to find the answer to these questions. Can someone please help me out?

1. The same graphic card can have different amounts of RAM depending on the manufacturer, but does the extra RAM matter? I know certain games require a certain amount of ram, of course, but if I find the exact same card (let say they have same memory speed and core clock) but with more RAM, does that make a difference in the performance?

2. I read about heat and power when people review video cards, but what I can't figure out is that whether the card generates the same amount of heat and draws the same amount of power no matter the settings of the game, or not? I have a feeling heat might be lower if you don't crank the settings to max, but I have no clue about power.

[oddfellow]

1: Very much depends on the game and how much you crank it up. More detail needs more ram. Pretty simple really.

Also, beware of midrange cards with more ram; it usually comes at a cost. For example, say a $100 card comes with 256mb of ram, and you found the same card elsewhere for the same price, but with 512mb of ram. Sounds good right? Not always. You can be sure the ram on the 512mb version will be cheaper and clocked much lower, meaning less bandwidth and much lower performance, despite having twice the ammount.

It's a fine balance between speed a quantity. Generally, speed is more important, but obviously having next to no ram will be slow too.


2: When the card is idle, it will consume less power, and therefore generate less heat.
When the card is working in a older game (even with minimal settings), it may not be using all of the it's resources, but it'll still be working at more-or-less full load, just churning the frames out at a higher rate. So it's gonna generate more heat than if it was idle.
This applies too to a modern game, with lots of shader useage and the settings cranked up. The card is still at full load, but is unable to complete a frame as fast, so it'll just churn out frames at a lower rate. It's still gonna be using pretty much the same power and generate the same ammount of heat though.

So in answer to your question, AFAIK, game settings generally won't affect power consumption or heat output.

[DeadlyNinja]

Thanks a lot!

You just reminded me something that I left out. What exactly is considered "idle" for a graphic card? Is it considered idle when I'm browsing the web, or is it when your computer is in sleep mode?

[oddfellow]

Sleep mode doesn't count since the video card is turned off. I guess displaying anything 2D would be considered as idle for a modern card.
I'd say, just displaying your desktop and nothing else is about as idle as you can get whilst still being turned on.

[DeadlyNinja]

Well, I figured your desktop still has "graphics" being displayed so I thought it wasn't as simple as that. Once again, thank you for answering my questions!