128 or 256MB video card? Please Help!

[Arashi]

I'm building my first computer (with the help of a friend) on Wednesday and I want to know if I'm going to see a noticable difference between a 128 and a 256MB video card. Yes obviously a 256 is twice a powerful as the 128, but is it really worth it for FFXI? This is the only PC game I plan on playing on my computer. Is there really going to be a noticable difference in image quality to justify an extra $200?

If it matters at all here's what the computers other specs will be.

P4 2.8ghz processor
1gb Ram
Dial up(so so sad)

Thanks for any help!

[boblibob]

ok lets get this straight , yoour deciding weather to have 128 or 256 ram on your graphics card , you only want this pc for FFXI ,
u dont need a 2.8 processor and dam to hel u dont need a gig of ram

2gig AMD Athalon XP
512MB DDR
Geforce FX5600 128MBDDR

that will play FFXI at FULL take it easy , no game needs 1gig or ram

hope this helps

( yes that a 128MB graphcs card )

[Selenitic]

I would go with the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro with 128mb its awsome. I had the Geforce 5600 with 256 MB of ram and had to return it to the store because it ran like crap. Tried everything from drivers to contacting manufacturer and no fix.

Current Setup
2.6 P4
1.5 gigs of ram (i use it for other things not for FFXI)
128 ATI Radeon 9800 Pro

[Cade]

I've got a 128mb card, and the only time FFXI ever lags for me is during sandstorms in th' highlands or dunes.

But I would suggest a gig of ram. You may not need it, but it certainly helps, and you'll certainly need it down th' line...

[bside]

to the best of my knowledge, no games at this moment use up even 128 mb of memory. meaning, having 256 mb doesn't mean anything as compared to 128. (of course, if in the future such games taking full capacity get released, it sure matters.)

i'm not so deeply into the video cards, so if someone got to say something about it, feel free to oppose...

[Kensai]

256 is not needed. Even in games like half life 2 you will see a 2-5% difference at most. 1 gig is not needed for this game but may be useful for high end games later on. If you need a good cheap card for this game I would reccomend the radeon 8500le ($60) geforce 4 ti4200 ($80). The most you will ever need for this game is a 9700 pro (about $250 which is better value than the 9800 pro).

[Desmar]

The only reason you would need 256 megs of video memory was if you were running an obscene resolution on a 23" + monitor.

Edit: Btw having 128 would help for running everything at max, on my laptop w/ 64 MB of vid memory it runs fine, but would run a little smoother on 128 mb.

[Cerag]

With today's games, you only need a 128meg card. There is little to no difference. However, that's not to say there won't come a day when 256 is required. But by that time, IMO, you will have moved on to another card already.

As for the person saying there is no need for 1gig of ram, I don't agree. While no game needs 1gig to function, but the more memory, the better(to a point). I think, if you are gaming, 1gig of ram is the standard as it does make a difference.

As for the video card itself, Personally I'd go for the Radeon 9800Pro 128meg. With the new 9800XT's(best gaming card available today, IMO) out now, the Pro's are creeping down in price now and are just a little below the XT's in speed(heck if you cool it right, you can easily O/C to XT speeds).