Why so few 512MB cards?

[Krusty]

I'm curious why there are more 512MB older cards than the newer ones. I'm seeing more Ge6800s and whatnot than I am 7900s or x800s.

You'd think they'd keep going for more and more.

[EagleDNY]

I'd bet that during testing they realized that the speed of the ram in the video card counts a whole lot more than the amount.  Crank your current video settings up to 1600x1200x32 bit color and see how much video ram that actually takes.  Multiply that by 2 and that is really the maximum amount of video memory you need.

After that, I'd say the rest would just be used for caching, and given the cost of high-end ram and the price points they can sell video cards at...  well, you get the point.

EagleDNY
$.02

[LePaul]

The older cards are having more RAM added to them to extend their sales life.  For a nominal amount, you can have not-so-long-ago's top card versus paying top dollar for this weeks current top dogs.

Its just the manufacturers getting the most profit bang for their chipset buck