GTX 460 768mb vs 1gb??!!?

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neo4102

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Feb 21, 2008
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Ok so ive been doing some shopping around and video card prices have been dropping like crazy; im currently on the tried and true nvidia 8800GT (may it rest in peace) but its nearing the end of its life as i see higher requirements coming up in the future (not to mention dx 11 compatible titles and such.)
SO ill get right down to it; on newegg i found gtx460 768's near 110-130 range which is DIRT DIRT CHEAP; my 8800 cost around 180 and thats when the 9000 series was out; however the 1gb versions almost jump immediately too the 180-220 price range.
My question is this: is the extra 200mb of memory worth the umm 80 dollar jump (when you're looking at midrange cards that is alottt; im practically paying double)

just some backround im a huge fps guy: COD MW2, black ops, crysis, BF BC2, and TF2 are more or less the only games i play im running all of them at around 1900x 1080 (max settings obv except for crysis) whichhh is the only reason why im worrying about memory being an issue; ive looked at the benchmarks and such and depending on where you look its almost the same performance or upto an 8% inc due to the added memory...these convulted facts piss me off....oh and one more thing; any possibility of a bottleneck w this GPU (probably not right; i mean 3.4 ghz isnt exactly on the lower end these days lol)

Thanks alot guys =]

current system:
msi P43-c51 mobo
Q6600 B3 @ 3.4 ghz + xigmatek hdt s1283
8gb ddr3 G skill ram @ 1066
24" asus monitor @ 1900x 1080
 
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lol the name of the game is cost effectiveness; is another potential 80 bucks wrth it?
 
I got in on the galaxy gtx 460 768mb deal on tigerdirect. $150 - 40-30-20= $60 per card when all said and done but 3 rebates per card. I bought two and have them in sli. I game at 1920x1200 and so far black ops and sc2 run perfect. I only set aa to 4 though so you might have to sacrifice some aa for the lower memory cards. Those cards in sli for $120 is crazy. If you plan to keep the card for several years it would probably be worth it to get the 1gb but if you are just looking for a decent card to last a year or so the 768 will run fine.
 
yea im not huge on AA its usually not wrth the performance drop for me; i typ leave it at 2x tops
 
while on on this; someone find me the cheapest 460 possible lol i found one for 90 on tigerdirect now; thanks for the heads up
 
neo4102 said:
while on on this; someone find me the cheapest 460 possible lol i found one for 90 on tigerdirect now; thanks for the heads up
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That should be the same one I got if it's the galaxy. The rebates do come in the form of pre paid visa cards just so you know. There should be a $40 and $20 rebate listed but check here http://galaxytech.4myrebate.com/Claim/FindaRebate to see if there is still a $30 that is not listed. That is what I was able to get. Look for one that says channel wide or tigerdirect.
 
neo4102 said:
while on on this; someone find me the cheapest 460 possible lol i found one for 90 on tigerdirect now; thanks for the heads up
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I would say a 1gb would be a better choice at your resolution but it is hard to argue with that price.
 
I have a GTX460 768mb, It's a great card, I got it for $135, but if a 1GB model was only $20 more would have gone that way.
 
given the prices you quoted above, i wouldn't hesitate to get the 768MB version if you're on a budget. it's still a great performer. i play at 1920x1080 and thus far the only games i've played where my 1GB has come in handy is Crysis with any amount of AA and Black Ops with 8xAA. other than that i would be fine with 768MB. if i recall correctly i'm running BC2 max settings 16XAA and i still only push ~700MB vram.

edit: that being said, it's worth noting that this Galaxy GTX 460 1GB is currently $145 AR
 
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I got one EVGA 768 for about $120 AR, and a Palit 1gb for about the same AR. I don't game so can't comment on FPS, I fold 24/7 so... in that respect both cards are pretty much equal. The EVGA overclocked a little more, 880 core vs 850, but both cards turn out to be about equal performance wise.
 
768mb is NOT enough at 1920x1080 for settings a gtx460 can run in some current games. there is no point in being gimped right out of the gate.
 
If you're on a 24" with 1080p resolution, then I would go for the 1GB. I was thinking 1GB when I was first buying my GTX 460. But I, just like you, didn't find the needs to justify the purchase because I'm on a 22" and 1680x1050 resolution.
 
http://benchmarkextreme.com/Articles/GTX 460 ANALYSIS/P8.html

You already expressed that you don't mind not running insane amounts of AA. Keeping in mind these benchmarks are at 1920 x 1200, the difference between the two is negligible. In contrast to what others have written, the 768MB does not become bottlenecked by VRAM in any situation where the framerate is playable, especially not when compared to the 1GB. A 10% performance loss due to memory bandwidth is the most noticeable difference between them.

If there is the possibility of doing SLI down the line, the 1GB is more advantageous. Beyond that, the 768MB does not give up anything, and is a tremendous value.
 
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XacTactX, sorry but you are WRONG. I have tested plenty of games and there are some that exceed 768mb at settings that are perfectly playable even on my slower gtx260. GTA 4, Clear Sky, Fallout 3 with mods, Oblivion with mods, Crysis, Warhead, and Metro 2033 are clear examples of this. I also hate to beak something to you which is that games will hitch when hitting right at their vram limit but that might not show up in actual benchmarks. at 1920 there is NO point in going with 768mb if you want to play ALL modern games at settings that the gtx460 is capable of playing.
 
cannondale06 said:
XacTactX, sorry but you are WRONG. I have tested plenty of games and there are some that exceed 768mb at settings that are perfectly playable even on my slower gtx260. GTA 4, Clear Sky, Fallout 3 with mods, Oblivion with mods, Crysis, Warhead, and Metro 2033 are clear examples of this. I also hate to beak something to you which is that games will hitch when hitting right at their vram limit but that might not show up in actual benchmarks. at 1920 there is NO point in going with 768mb if you want to play ALL modern games at settings that the gtx460 is capable of playing.
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in the testing i've done so far (i'm not through the entire game), Crysis max settings 1920x1080 4xAA will only consume ~750MB vram. a bit close to the 768MB limit...but doesn't exceed it. Warhead on the other hand used ~1.2GB vram at 4xAA. again, i haven't tested these games extensively and i realize the discrepancy between Crysis and Warhead is a bit odd. OP - if you're concerned at all with AA levels you might want to consider the 1GB (particularly the $145 Galaxy card i linked above). if you're on a strict budget and you're willing to sacrifice some AA i think you'll be fine with the 768MB card.
 
some of the games I mentioned such as Metro 2033 and Clear Sky will exceed 768mb at 1920x1080 without AA.
 
i used both
and ofcourse i have 1920x1080 monitor
you just save money for 768mb
and little oc it
the result it will be same
 
mythofnomads said:
i used both
and ofcourse i have 1920x1080 monitor
you just save money for 768mb
and little oc it
the result it will be same
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you cant oc it and get more memory. 768mb is NOT enough for some games at that is a fact. so again if someone wants to play EVERY game at 1920x1080 on settings a gtx460 is capable of then the 768mb will not cut it.
 
cannondale06 said:
you cant oc it and get more memory. 768mb is NOT enough for some games at that is a fact. so again if someone wants to play EVERY game at 1920x1080 on settings a gtx460 is capable of then the 768mb will not cut it.
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i see what you're saying, but in theory a 460 1GB is NOT enough for some games as well. at some point, you have to draw a line between performance and budget. that's not to say that the OP shouldn't splurge a little for the 1GB if he is able to...but it's a budgetary decision that's purely up to him. saying the 460 768 is "NOT enough for XYZ game" is arbitrary.
 
Porter_ said:
i see what you're saying, but in theory a 460 1GB is NOT enough for some games as well. at some point, you have to draw a line between performance and budget. that's not to say that the OP shouldn't splurge a little for the 1GB if he is able to...but it's a budgetary decision that's purely up to him. saying the 460 768 is "NOT enough for XYZ game" is arbitrary.
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well I am being realistic. GTA 4 is about the only game that would use more than 1gb with a card like the gtx460 at 1920x1080 and even that is borderline. at the same time there are at least 5 or 6 current games that would go over 768mb with playable setting at 1920x1080. some of those are even without AA so again if you want to play ALL games out there then the 1gb model makes more sense for that res.
 
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I'd go for the 1Gb model too for your res. Even if you don't pile on AA some games with very large textures might slow you down. In addition, the 1Gb has a larger memory interface.

I've heard some folks say the 768Mb models tend to stutter more in some demanding games than the 1Gb models @ your res. That may be BS and if the cards are operating near their memory limit, it's logical.

I'd get the cheapest 1Gb card I could locate AR and OC it to 810 or the best you can get with Afterburner. You should be able to get around 850 with most models. If you use additional voltage, perhaps more. I've seen a good number of folks doing 900MHz regularly with volted up Asus DirectCU models.

If you want to try a 768Mb card first, fine, go for it. Just make sure you buy it from a place that allows you to return it for a full refund if you're not satisfied. Do not buy cards that are "exchange for the same if defective only".
 
even though I did not have max settings or any AA I was getting hitching in Clear Sky. when I looked at the vram usage it was hitting right over 890mb each time it hitched which is my cards vram limit. I had to turn off a setting to not hit my vram limit and it never hitched again. with 768mb that would mean even lower settings would have to be used even though a gtx460 is a stronger card.
 
Yep when your card runs out of VRAM the shit is over. Dialing things down is the only option. Also it may preclude using things like large texture mods even in old games like "Oblivion" because it's too much for the card.
 
@huskernation
Is it possible for me to renew THREE rebates at once? on the tiger direct website it claims only 2 rebates max per purchase; if i can grab that puppy at 60 bucks im on that in a heartbeat; 60 bucks vs 220 (NO QUESTION lol) i can handle a slight performance drop for that kind of margin
 
cannondale06 said:
768mb is NOT enough for some games at that is a fact. so again if someone wants to play EVERY game at 1920x1080 on settings a gtx460 is capable of then the 768mb will not cut it.
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Dude! You keep saying the same things in every thread like this. Realize that there are a LOT of people who are OK with being able to play 99.998% of all the PC games available for spending almost half the money...
 
needmorecarnitine said:
Dude! You keep saying the same things in every thread like this. Realize that there are a LOT of people who are OK with being able to play 99.998% of all the PC games available for spending almost half the money...
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thats why I stress EVERY game. if they don't mind having to reduce the settings for some games just because of vram then fine.
 
cannondale06 said:
thats why I stress EVERY game. if they don't mind having to reduce the settings for some games just because of vram then fine.
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they'll have to reduce the settings for some games just because of the GTX 460, regardless of vram.
 
I'd go for the extra ram personally. If you find that you need it after you get the 768 it will end up costing you more money.
 
Porter_ said:
they'll have to reduce the settings for some games just because of the GTX 460, regardless of vram.
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nice try. they will have to reduce the settings that the gtx460 could otherwise run. its the same silly argument we had back when the 4870 had 512mb and 1gb models. well a 4870 1gb is still fine to play games at 1920x1080 and 1680x1050 while the 512mb model will have to lower settings it could otherwise run in several games even at 1680x1050. there is a reason these 768mb cards can be had at low prices you know.
 
needmorecarnitine said:
won't you still have to reduce some settings with the 1GB version (to keep at or above 30fps) on some games like GTA 4 and Metro 2033?
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you know exactly what I mean. the gpu itself is strong enough to run at certain settings but the vram would limit you from actually using them. look around the forums and see how many 4870 512mb cards are still being used by those with 1680 or 1920 monitors compared to the 1gb models. those people had to sell their cards and upgrade just because 512mb was no longer enough for many newer games within a year or two. so again if you want to save some money and go with the 768mb model then fine but it is already not enough for some games at 1920x1080. and again they are being sold for much less than the 1gb models for a reason.
 
Yeah, so they can't handle it.

The 1GB versions is capable in something like 10 more situations (vs the 768MB version) but still has trouble in several games (more than just GTA 4 and Metro 2033 I suspect). You pay about double for that that extra ability. Not happy with that? Spend about double again for the GTX 570. Thats how it works.
 
needmorecarnitine said:
Yeah, so they can't handle it.

The 1GB versions is capable in something like 10 more situations (vs the 768MB version) but still has trouble in several games (more than just GTA 4 and Metro 2033 I suspect). You pay about double for that that extra ability. Not happy with that? Spend about double again for the GTX 570. Thats how it works.
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well yes the user has to decide if its worth it or not. the point is they are selling these things really cheap because many people know they are not sufficient for some games at 1920 now and that may get even worse within the year or two. GTA 4 and episodes alone represents shit tons of hours that would be spent gaming that would easily justify the extra cost of getting the 1gb model for some users. and since the 4870 analogy has not sunk yet, many those users ended up spending more in the long run by trying to save a bit up front thinking 512mb was enough.
 
cannondale06 said:
and since the 4870 analogy has not sunk yet, many those users ended up spending more in the long run by trying to save a bit up front thinking 512mb was enough.
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Just like some people save a LOT by buying best bang for the buck cards instead of "the latest" which usually end up being discounted quickly
 
I have a Gigabyte 460 768mb and I play all of those same games maxed out with room to spare @ 1080. Download afterburner OC to 850 vid-2050 mem and you'll be as fast if not faster than a stock 1gb
 
nimajneb5000 said:
I have a Gigabyte 460 768mb and I play all of those same games maxed out with room to spare @ 1080. Download afterburner OC to 850 vid-2050 mem and you'll be as fast if not faster than a stock 1gb
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all of what games maxed? and room to spare? yeah right...if you are claiming that you run all the ones I listed then you are a liar. even if ram wasn't an issue some of those games are too demanding for max settings on a gtx460 768mb anyway. and again, you can oc all you want but that doesn't give you more ram.
 
cannondale06 said:
all of what games maxed? and room to spare? yeah right...if you are claiming that you run all the ones I listed then you are a liar. even if ram wasn't an issue some of those games are too demanding for max settings on a gtx460 768mb anyway. and again, you can oc all you want but that doesn't give you more ram.
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Like he said, Crysis is the only one not maxed but the rest are definitely maxed. You can come over and look if you like:D
 
nimajneb5000 said:
Like he said, Crysis is the only one not maxed but the rest are definitely maxed. You can come over and look if you like:D
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you are not running Metro 2033, Clear Sky and GTA 4 maxed. you cant even max all the sliders in GTA 4 with the 768mb card at 1920x1080. Metro 2033 uses well over 768mb on very high settings at 1920x1080 even without out AA or DOF turned on. even the 1gb gtx460 cannot run that game maxed because the gpu itself isn't strong enough to do so. Clear Sky exceeds 890mb even with many settings turned down. please take your exaggerations some where else.
 
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