Difference between 2 Video Cards?

[Utter_iMADNESS]

Hello, I'm looking to build a new system and as I was looking around for video cards when I noticed two cards that really confused me:

XFX GeForce 8500 GT Ultra Silent Cooling / 256MB DDR2 / SLI Ready / PCI Express / (Dual Link) DVI / VGA / HDTV / Video Card $97.99

XFX GeForce 8500 GT Video Card - 1GB DDR2, PCI Express 1.0 x16, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) DVI, VGA, HDTV $85.99

Why is the 256 MB card more expensive than the 1GB card? The only difference that I can see is that the 256 MB card is quieter than the 1 GB card.
Thanks in advance!

[Potatochobit]

silent fans always cost an extra premium.

also the top card has a higher core clock.

you can find them cheaper here.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...500+GT&x=0&y=0

what do you plan to do with this card? memory is not as important as the GPU once you have 'enough' of it.

[hobbes_fan]

I'd also add that 1gb is a waste on that card. (even 512 is) due the very low 128bit bus. Silence is expensive. A Silent PC will cost nearly as much as a high end gaming PC.

For that price if you plan on gaming (well really whatever benchmark you use for graphics Maya, photoshop, cad etc etc) the only two choices you have is a 256 or 512mb Ati3850 or a 384mb nvidia9600gso which will smoke those cards without even trying. Even an 8600gt is cheaper and better than those cards. The 8500gt isn't incredibly energy efficient either so I really don't know what purpose they serve in the marketplace.

[Lelouch]

At the end of the day it depends what you want to do with your PC and whats your budget.
You can have a quiet PC with fans that run at less then 20dB which is below human hearing frequency.
This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121244 is a silent card, but you need a cable (6 pin) directly from the PSU. This is if you want to do some gaming.
Or this case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811235003 if you want a HTPC.
Or for another pricey alternative: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118016.
But then, I doubt you need the last two links I gave you.

[Utter_iMADNESS]

Thanks for your help Lelouch, hobbes_fan, and Potatochobit. Though in the end I don't think I'll buy either. I'm, just going to save some more money and hopefully get one of the newer generations cards.

[Synria_]

Originally Posted by Utter_iMADNESS

Thanks for your help Lelouch, hobbes_fan, and Potatochobit. Though in the end I don't think I'll buy either. I'm, just going to save some more money and hopefully get one of the newer generations cards.

This is a neverending cycle though, because there will always be nex gen cards...

[Ledgem]

Synria_ is right. To get the best performance for the money you spend it's generally a better idea to get a second- or third-generation card (counting backward from the newest generation), rather than the absolute newest. You'll always observe an increase in prices as you look at newer and more powerful technology, but there's usually a point where the price increase suddenly jumps - you want to buy the products that are priced right before that huge price jump.

[Littm]

Well, it's funny, funny to see how they are trying to sell this type of card sometimes. 1gb with 128bit bus ? You really need this memory size only at really high resolutions now like 1980x1080 and higher and thats why you need enough memory (750 should be also really enough, but if you u r planing to check 2560xsmth, then...), but it will be impossible to play with this low bus at this resolutions. Actually, you will not get additional FPS boost with this memory with this card comparing to the similar card with the lower memory.

As it was said before, it's better to get 8800 gt or 9600 gso/gt.