Soleron on 06 June 2009
| thetonestarr said: We need to know what resolution your monitor runs at to appropriately recommend a videocard. If your monitor is only a 1280x1024, for instance, you need no more than 512MB video RAM (GDDR3 or better, that is) to run Crysis on max settings. However, any higher resolutions and you'll want more video RAM. Also, you're going to need to pay attention to the type of RAM. GDDR2 is weak and you'll need larger amounts to compensate. GDDR4 and GDDR5 are pretty hardcore and you can utilize less and still do well. My videocard has only 256MB, but it's GDDR4 and has clock speeds around 1GHz, so it compensates for its low amounts. Also, I only do 1280x1024 resolution, so it's not too bad. They say that 256MB GDDR4 can outperform 512MB GDDR3, and since most games are designed for GDDR2/GDDR3 RAM, mine does well. =) My system I'm presently using just barely meets the "recommended" Crysis specs. 2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+, 2GB RAM, appropriate videocard, etc. I'm upgrading to a 2.6GHz Athlon 64 X2 5000+ though, and the system will have 4GB RAM. Will upgrade the videocard ASAP, though, and retire the one I'm presently using to my wife's system. |
VRAM is the least important spec. It's a marketing trap if you think otherwise. The shader count and architecture are far more important. Yes, 512MB for lower resolutions and 1GB for higher, but if you just buy cards based on VRAM it will fail.
1024x1280: Max card an HD4770
1680x1050/1600x1200: Max card an HD4850
1920x1200: Max card an HD4870 1GB
2560x1600: Max card a GTX295
Buying above those specs won't get real framerate gains on any card or game.
