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Does the amount of RAM on a video card affect editing photos or camcorder
stuff?

The reason I am asking is that I am looking at a new computer and trying to
decide if I need 120 meg ram or if 64 will be adequate or if it really makes
a difference.

Thanks

You need enough RAM to support 24 or 32bpp at your screen resolution. For a
1600x1200 resolution, that would be less than 8MB.

Most current graphic cards have a lot more memory than that, which is used
to store textures for 3D scenes rendering.

Needless to say, there is not much difference between 64 and 120 Megs
(everything else being equal) for what retouching concerns.

However, it pays to have a high-end card with quality components on the VGA
(analog) output. With a poor VGA output, the screen may be a bit fuzzy, the
colors could smear. There is not straightforward way to tell that from the
spec, but you can look at the RAMDAC bandwidth: the higher the better
(again, everything else being equal). I guess it is less critical if you use
a DVI (digital) output to an LCD panel.

"Mike L" <> wrote in message
news1tTa.26039$b03.2505@lakeread03...
> Does the amount of RAM on a video card affect editing photos or camcorder
> stuff?
>
> The reason I am asking is that I am looking at a new computer and trying
to
> decide if I need 120 meg ram or if 64 will be adequate or if it really
makes
> a difference.
>
> Thanks
>
>