Hi there.
I'm probably going to pick an HD6950 in the coming days to replace my old 4850. Is there an advantage to pick a card with 2Gb of memory rather than 1Gb? The price difference is not that much.
Currently I can only run Moo! in the 4850 (get errors in the other projects), but I intend to switch the other projects (Prime, MilkyWay, Collatz) back on. Does larger memory size help with the "Leave applications in memory while suspended" option on?

Hi there.
I'm probably going to pick an HD6950 in the coming days to replace my old 4850. Is there an advantage to pick a card with 2Gb of memory rather than 1Gb? The price difference is not that much.
Currently I can only run Moo! in the 4850 (get errors in the other projects), but I intend to switch the other projects (Prime, MilkyWay, Collatz) back on. Does larger memory size help with the "Leave applications in memory while suspended" option on?

NO that settings refers to computer RAM not gpu memory. Eventually all projects will require us to have 2gb cards, right now though MUCH less is still okay, but if you can get a 2gb card for a very low premium it might be worth it, you could even get it to do two units at once on some projects. I do not know if the 6950 is a DP, Dual Precision, card or not, I know my 6850 is not. Only DP cards will work at MilkyWay.

Hi there. I'm probably going to pick an HD6950 in the coming days to replace my old 4850. Is there an advantage to pick a card with 2Gb of memory rather than 1Gb?

There can be - it depends on your monitor setup. If you do - or aim to do - gaming at the extreme end aka triple monitors 2550x1440, then lots of card memory is the order of the day (hence the 3Gb on the new 7XXX range of cards). If you dont have such needs (or only one monitor at such high res), its - 99% of time - not an issue at all staying at 1Gb card memory

Currently I can only run Moo! in the 4850 (get errors in the other projects), but I intend to switch the other projects (Prime, MilkyWay, Collatz) back on. Does larger memory size help with the "Leave applications in memory while suspended" option on?

Possibly ..... hard to be specific as the devil is in the detail ...... but again in 99% of situations 1Gb is fine and you will not notice the difference with current applications. Could it happen there is an issue and 1Gb gets crowded out .... yes it could, but at present you would look to the sky to find the new Star that has appeared. As applications change memory needs change, so who knows re the furture. For known forseeable needs, I would be amazed if you went over 1Gb in such scenarios. If you do, its not the end of the world and other things can alleviate the situation.

By in large, grahpics memory is there for screen resolution and manipulation, its only niche lunatics like us at BOINC that use it for other things, and the applications dont take up nearly as much card memory as high end screen resolutions.

IGb will be fine.

Dont forget 7XXX is deploying - real hardware not vapour wear, and its a very much faster than 6XXX. Some trips and traps to the cards and useage, but worth waiting for a few weeks util the 79XX and 78XX range becomes clear in spec terms. Guaranteed its way way faster than 6XXX, and far more power efficient, just need to confirm specs and software aspects, and its then just which do you buy.

Regards
Zy

Well I have read the benchmarks on the 7970 and it is impressive, but the price tag is along the same line, and I read in other threads dnetc does not like its new architecture quite yet. 7950 not yet annouced, let alone 78xx. A 6950 is surely slower but it goes for ~$300 and is available tomorrow.

Latest "informed souce" (define informed source rofl) puts 7950 release at 31 Jan. I would expect it to go for around $300-$350 on first release, price will come down from that within around 2 months depending on sales an NVidia moves. Maybe cheaper on release depending on AMD perception of NVidia moves to market with their 28nm cards.

If you still want to buy now, this may be a good source for you (had a search around, it was the cheapest I could find) $210 after redeaming the mail in $30 rebate ticket. From the ubiquitous Newegg :)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150523&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite

Regards
Zy