Many people have been asking us if buying a 12MB board is worth the extra cost, and what the memory on each board is used for. Well, let's take a look at the 8MB vs. 12MB issue. Framebuffer Memory Framebuffer-memory is the memory that the cards uses to draw in. Higher resolutions and more colors require more framebuffer memory. Texture Memory Most 3D acceleration cards have texture memory.
Texture memory is used to store textures.
This is where 8MB boards differ from 12MB boards. Custom APIs like Microsoft Direct3D and OpenGL will automatically detect and use the extra memory. A smart GLide program can do the same. When those new textures are drawn, they are discarded again to make place for the original textures. This needs to be done for each frame that is drawn.