I'm looking at getting either a 9800 GTX+ or a GTS 250 exclusively for CUDA work.

For all intents and purposes, performance-wise these cards are identical. The only real difference is that the 9800 GTX+ has 512 MB RAM whereas the GTS 250 has 1 GB.

I'm probably going to purchase whichever one is a better deal, price-wise. They're very close -- typically within $10 of each other. But I'm wondering whether I should go for 1 GB rather than 512 MB. Would having twice the RAM make any difference for CUDA performance?

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As far as I know, no. The app is only designed to use up to 255MB of buffer RAM and no more, so the extra would only be ideal if you're using the card as your primary video too (so that there'd be enough extra RAM to buffer the graphics on your screen).

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My bet is with the GTS250 simply due to the power efficiency increase and cooler running temps over the 9800.

here is a review that compares the two.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/913/11/

this link points to the last page summation.

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My bet is with the GTS250 simply due to the power efficiency increase and cooler running temps over the 9800.

here is a review that compares the two.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/913/11/

this link points to the last page summation.

fixed your link

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Thanks guys. Looks like the GTS 250 is a good bet.

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The GTS uses the same chip as the GTX+ with some improvements to the cooling and other aspects of the card. It is a better and newer card and it is the one I would go for.

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I saw on zipzoomfly.com last night that they had the MSI GTX 260 OC for 139.00 dollars after rebate. It has almost double the cores (216 vs. 128) of the 9800 or GTS 250 and its only a few buck more, but a lot more in terms of CUDA processing power.

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The GTS uses the same chip as the GTX+ with some improvements to the cooling and other aspects of the card. It is a better and newer card and it is the one I would go for.

they call it the same chip but it is smaller and a thinner substrate than the version1 used in the 9800 therefore less power consumption and less heat plus it has to be even slightly faster due to the lower voltage ramps required when thinking.

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