How much graphics memory do you need?

[SamuraiCatJB]

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=21476

hmmmm... I was reading an article on the latest nVidia graphics card, NV48 internal code name, basically no change, but adding 512Mb of DDR3 memory.... and the article makes fun of most things (perhaps the graphics wars are stumbling? we're trading places ever 18months?). Anyhow... the article asks "Do you Need 512Mb of memory" (which it is quick to retract in the same breath with "You don’t want me to answer that question.").

So.... Do you need 512Mb of graphics memory. As far as I know only two games can utilize that many graphics textures, Doom3 and Half-Life2. Others fit comfortably in 256mb or even 128mb.

So... why would you need 512Mb of memory?
1st reason is obvious... textures for games, bigger textures, 3D textures, just plain many more textures. More is good, more is good. :) This is the Doom3 and HL2 justification. :)

2nd reason: big desktops! 1920x1200x32bpp is just shy of 10mb by itself (double buffered for smooth animation, that is 20mb, most games use shadow buffers and various other accumulation/clip buffers tricks... so lets just say 32mb and say that's okay)

3rd reason: dual desktops... err.. double that last one. :) wide desktop gaming isn't quite here, but players are pushing it! Business users have been the steady users of dual desktops for quite a while.

4th reason: High Dynamic Range displays.... okay, it isn't here yet. I saw the first 64bit color display in prototype 18months ago, I saw the commercial ready prototype 6 months ago (a few problems with exploding monitors when you left it on too long, but hey I am optimistic!). High dynamic range is 64bpp to 128bpp. nVidia is already capapble of 128/64bpp all the way through the rendering pipeline until it reaches the final rasterize stage, the final display memory... ATI is 96/48bpp. Either way... that's quite a trim to your 32bpp desktop display. HDR displays will hit medical first, military 2nd (or vice versa) depending on market at the time of production.... but eventually this will flow downward to consumers.... peek above and double or quadrouple again. :) as well as the fact that this now doubles or quadrouples the size of every texture that is HDR.... ouch.

Anyone for 1 to 2 gig on video cards? :)

so what is your feeling? ignore my diatribes on setting arbitrary memory limits... do you think you could actually use 512mb on a graphics card over the next 2 years? :) just where is "too much"? :)

[Cyker]

I want a graphics card that has a 4GB RAM buffer and a 200GB hard disk that can RayTrace at least 30fps in real-time instead of using the current primitive rendering system of our current generation of graphics cards.

This card should also double as a second slave computer system when not performing 3D apps :D

It should also be able to run on 3 volts and 1 amp and not require any active cooling.

HA! Lets see them do THAT! *evil grin*

[SamuraiCatJB]

raytracing 30fps is easy... it's adding a 2nd object or non-point light to the scene that makes it hard. ;) :p

1 amp? :) I wish. :)

[JackAxe]

200 GB HD Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek. :p :D

No chip made by Intel will ever meet those specs, not even an XSlug. ;)

You know that there has been an article about this subject every freaking time the video cards up their ram. First it was do we need 64, then blah blah blah and so on. And now 512, OK in 2 years will be reading about do we need 1 Gig. *LAME!!!* :D

I still plan on getting this (http://www.artvps.com/news.ihtml?page=article&pressid=69) for Ray Traycing. That plus 64-bit rendeing will give me a very nice boost for rendering. :)

<]=)

[SamuraiCatJB]

you buy me one, and a G5 and get me hooked, I might switch over... :) till then I will raytrace on a GPU. :) http://developer.nvidia.com/object/fx_composer_shaders.html

at least that I already own... I have bought too much for a year. :) need to let my pocketbook rest... still I don't think there will ever be an end, only more advanced capability. :)

[JackAxe]

Just buy a G5. :D Get the card later. I'm buying a 21" Cintiq before anything else, unless I ge a request to render out 10 animations in a week, then I'll get one of those cards to save time and sanity, since Xeon systems are too slow and expensive in comparison.

Where's Maya 7 with 64-bit rendering support??? I'm tired of this pansy 32-bit compromising. :)

Some 3D peep posted his specs the other day and he had a dual 32-bit Xeon system with 4 GB of ram. I though, well none of your programs will ever really be able to use it.

<]=)

[SamuraiCatJB]

actually they can... I have the code for accessing all of the off-windows memory... basically paging it. You define a virtual-memory page size for sharing. And then you request the page to pull from in virtual memory (outside of windows). Microsoft set up the algorithms in the API, its all there to use... Its just I did enough paging of graphics memory during the VESA years under dos that I haven't WANTED to do it. :)

Plus if you are accessing it often, your efficiency drops because you are effectly requesting copy->save->copy->save->copy save type operations on the page size, rather than true read-write on the byte level.

[JackAxe]

It sounds like an ATI deficiency with all of these extra steps to cheese something. :)


4Gb on a 32-bit PC is like wearing a fur coat on a Florida beach in the summer. Sure you'll look glamorous to all of your friends, but it just doen't really make sense. WTF did I just write. :confused:

<]=)

[zackepceo]

Eew.. virtual framebuffer. I would like my graphics card with 512MB GDDR3, 30FPS complex raytracer, dual DDL DVI, and free cupholder. :D

[SamuraiCatJB]

Of course you do realize that the quality of your non-polygonal rendering (aka raytracing, photon mapping, radiosity mapping, etc), is limited by number of rays per pixel depth search (how many times you follow a bouncing reflection, usually 8,12,16), number of objects and memory to hold all that. :) so as you increase complexity you increase memory.... :) that is why non-polygonal imaging remains on the CPU except for us silly people who are playing. :)

[JackAxe]

I second the cup holder. :)

<]=)

[SamuraiCatJB]

but those normally come with CD's....

though if you turned it right, you could have a very nice cup warmer! :)

[JackAxe]

I want my video card to have a detachable video card for the small tasks.

Those are coasters, I want one of those pop out cup holders.

This isn't a bad idea, tooo bad it's one of those horrid drip coffe makers though, instead of a glorious percolator;
http://www.boingboing.net/2002/12/08/coffeemaking_pc_case.html

<]=)

[Tam Hanna]

Lets get back to topic, dudes..
Currently I see little reason for 512MB-but as always, it takes up to two years until you have games that fully utilize your graphics card. But-who still has his old system by that time.

[SamuraiCatJB]

Lets get back to topic, dudes..
Currently I see little reason for 512MB-but as always, it takes up to two years until you have games that fully utilize your graphics card. But-who still has his old system by that time.

One of the problems is that who is going to write a game for a card that does not exist? Everyone kind of made fun of the "highest res" option in Doom3 because it required 512Mb. So if we are going to make fun of the games that write for cards that don't exist, and make fun of the boards that come out ahead of the games... when do we stop and let progress happen? :)

Well, I am already planning out how to utilize 512Mb at work, talked my boss into one as soon as they are released. :)

[JackAxe]

Dudes. Made me think of The Big Lebowski.

Here's one advantage of a 512 meg video card and that's more then one screen, since your system will split the video down the middle to accommodate both monitors. My card has 256 megs which seems fine for what I have now, but once I add a Cintiq, I would rather have 512. Especially since Maya takes advantage of what VRAM I have, along with OSX and how it composites the GUI with the GPU. I'll only upgrade if I see a performance hit when adding a second screen, or if the GPU provides a noticeable gain over my current card.

<]=)

[seraphim_9:11]

I think we should integrate Quantam physics with hardware to keep your PC always upgraded ... but thats just me :rolleyes: - I read an article that research was on - dont quite know what happened :confused:
Honestly - the only time when its "too much" is when the apes take over the planet - I kinda decided to stop chasing that kind of stuff - just buy the best suit to my needs and then use that for some time - then do the entire exercise again .. wheeee !!!!
I like the idea that Alienware came out with - changeable graphics cards on your laptop - helps .... really helps to have something like that ... :)
Games Cos. are always going to want to offer "more" to gamers simply to stay ahead of the competition which in turn means more hardware support - so they are always going to release these very high end games and once the gamers find that the "look and feel" is better than the last game they played - it will sell ... and so the cycle of requiring higher end games (vis-s-vis VRAM) will never stop ...

Lets face it - the gaming market does drive a large part of the hardware market ...:rolleyes: