I don't spend a lot of time on PC games (the only game installed on my PC
now is Half-Life, which I haven't played in about 2 years). I am wondering
if it is worthwhile to spend the $100 to upgrade the ATI 9600 video card
memory from 64MB to 128MB on my planned nc8000 purchase. I have heard that
most software (including games) doesn't really take advantage of the extra
memory. I mostly use MS Office, IE, and stats packages that aren't overly
graphics intensive. I sometimes get carried away and have 20-30 windows
open (does that much affect the amount of video memory used?). I don't
know if it much matters, but I will use UXGA (1600x1200) on the nc8000.
The only game I foresee getting in the next year or so is Half-Life 2,
which I know is supposed to be demanding in general, but is also supposed
to run (albeit not beautifully) even on really old systems. Would any of
the aforementioned software likely benefit from the extra video memory
based on how I will use the system?
I don't have tons of money (I am a student), but am wondering if it makes
sense to spring for the upgrade to 128MB considering I am already likely to
spend ~ $2500 for the system anyway. My impression (please correct me if I
am wrong) is that I cannot upgrade the video memory after the purchase (I
apologize for my lack of knowledge).
Thanks for your advice,
Karl
It is correct that you cannot upgrade the video card(actually, you
can, but it is beyond most everyone's capabilites). The benefits are
not just in the extra MBs. The 64MB card is using DX8 technology
whereas the 128 card you mentioned uses the next generation, DX9.
Games using DX9 are already out on the market.(check to make sure that
9600 uses DX9, I'm 99% sure that's correct but I would double check
before you spend the money). You can get the 64MB card and likely
never know the difference, since you don't play that many games, but
if you ever go to sell it, fall in love with a high end game, etc..
you'll wish you spent the extra $100.
RAM you can later upgrade, CPUs you can later upgrade(usually), OS,
etc... The video card you will be stuck with so I would get the best
offered. I would also go with a 7200rpm HDD if they offer it as that,
data transfer rate, is the really the main thing separating laptops
from desktops in terms of day to day performance.
Hope that helps,
Musashi
On 16 Jan 2004 23:00:37 GMT, Karl Magdono <km@nospam.nospam> wrote:
