I would go for the 512mb card, I'm not all sure on how much the GDDR/DDR affects performance, but you could see benefits of more VRAM.
Depends on the speeds - it could be like 800MHz DDR2 and 1GHz GDDR3 in which case I'd say go for the 512MB DDR2 - or it could be like 500MHz DDR2 and like 1.2GHz GDDR3 - in which case I'd say go with the 256MB GDDR3.
Assuming 2 cards with the same GPU, the 512MB would be a little slower, but have the capcity to handle larger amounts of texture. Of course, the graphics chip would be the main thing to look at, not the amount of RAM on the card, since companies put out low-end cards with obscene amounts on them (ie GeForce 6200 with 512MB of RAM vs. GeForce 7900GT with 256MB).
Matt555 - say DDR2'd be like 800MHz and GDDR3'd be like 1,4GHz, then probably the GDDR3, huh? Big B - say those GPUs'd be equal. Would it then come down to a choice between space and speed - and in that case - is it possible to determine which would suit one better? Like, considering the games, 3d apps and whatnot... :O
Same GPU and the price is within a few bucks? Sure, go for the larger amount of RAM. I wouldn't pay a whole lot more because that might put you close to the next GPU upgrade, which could net better performance than additional RAM.
256 mg is my choise but i want to tell an advice memory isn't everything if you have a lot of memory with a bad gpu you will waste a lot of horse power
look man i have been searching and this link says the same that i do Ten Things to Know Before Buying a Video Card - Features at GameSpot
Seriously, sort your posts out, find the facts first before posting. Also your posts make very little sense, I have trouble understanding them... what are you trying to say?
I don't think you read my post above yours: If one card, say a Radeon X1900 has 256MB, and another, for a few extra $ doubles the RAM, I'd jump on it. More texture memory doesn't hurt. Now, if we're talking a $50 price hike, that's just silly, as the next step up on the GPU scale may very well be available around that price.