Precision M2400 Owner's Lounge

The hardware is the same! Both have G98 core (580 MHz) and 256MB DDR2 memory (400 MHz, 64bit interface).
The only different is the special certified CAD/OpenGL driver for the Quadro FX card.

 

It's actually GDDR3 for both and both have a 700MHz memory speed. The major difference you would see between the FX 370M and the NVS 160M is the NVS 160M can be passively cooled, meaning it only needs a heatsink (and will be more quiet as a result), so your battery time should last longer in the E6400 than M2400. Otherwise, in terms of gaming, they should be fairly identical.

 

Robin, the first thing I do is NOT reinstall the OS. The first thing I do is buy a computer that doesn't have bloatware, turn it on, and start using it.

I also don't like the fact that Lenovo doesn't give you a recovery CD; instead building it into a separate partition on the hard drive. If you call them within 10 days (I think) of receiving your laptop, they will send you one; otherwise, you've got to burn your own. I've done it a number of times only to have them fail terribly. Remember, you are essentially rolling back to the original install and after a year or two, all those Thinkvantage tools are totally obsolete. Just like the OS, you've got to do all kinds of installs.

And if you forget to burn one, then you've got no choice but to buy one from Lenovo for another $ 45. That suks!

 

Well, by my standards, no computer comes without bloatware. Stuff like drive installers (you know, all those nice GUI applications to connect WiFi, adjust volume, etc.) annoy the heck out of me. I like complete control over what's installed on my computer.

 

Specs for the Quadro FX 370M from Dell:

Code:

Graphics Memory: 256MB Dedicated with up to 512MB TurboCache
Memory Interface: 64-bit
Graphics Clock Speed: 580e/400m
Estimated Max Power Consumption: 15 watts
Display Support: VGA, Display Port, DVI via Optional Dock/APR

Link: http://www.dell.com/content/learnmo...cs_precnnb&~lt=popup&~series=precn&~tab=other

If the link doesn't work, go to the M2400 config page, select one of the configs, scroll down to the graphics option and click "Help Me Choose" which pops up a window, and select the Compare Side-by-Side tab.

Dell don't specify which type of memory the card uses, but from the rest of the specs, I'm going to guess DDR2 since it lines up nicely with the specs on the E6400 version of the Quadro NVS 160M. Just speculation though.

 

This is sorta incorrect. The E6500 has GDDR3 ram on the NVS 160M while the E6400 only has DDR2 (according to the tech specs listed on Dell's site). The M2400 has was appears to be a similar card, but with GDDR3 also (according to Nvidia's specs). Basically you're getting a slight step up in performance. Some articles I've read have stated that the difference between DDR2 and GDDR3 is about 1000 points on 3DMark. Take that with a grain of salt, though.

Code:

			8600M GT	9300M GS	NVS 160M	Quadro 370M
Chip Core		G84M		G98M		G98M		G98M?
Memory Type		DDR2/GDDR3	GDDR3		GDDR3		GDDR3
Stream Processor	32		8		8		8
Core Speed		475 MHz		550 MHz		580 MHz		580 MHz
Memory Speed		400/700 MHz	700 MHz		700 MHz		400 MHz
Shader Speed		950 MHz		1400 MHz	1450 Mhz	???
Max Bandwidth		12.8/22.4 GB/s	9.6 GB/S	11.2 GB/s	9.6GB/s
Memory Bus Width	128-bit		64-bit		64-bit		64-bit
Max Memory		512 MB		256 MB		256 MB		256MB
Current Consumption	20 W		13 W		12 W		15W

 

@Chevy95ZR2: I think the 400 is for the memory clock, and not the shader clock. 400MHz shader clock in this day and age would be pretty bad, especially considering that some of the other GPUs in that table run their shaders at 1400MHz.

 

Fixed it...400 for memory doesn't look that hot either, unless they are running DDR2...

 

Hmm... According to nVidia the NVS 160M only ships with the GDDR3. I could be wrong or that Dell has some sort of downgrade "customisation". http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro_nvs_notebook_techspecs.html As we know the 700MHz speed comes from the GDDR3, even though nVidia fails to mention GDDR3. I am speculating that it is in fact Dell that is wrong because 9300M GS is also based on GDDR3. Also, if you check the pricing for the NVS 160M on the E6400 and E6500, they are the same price upgrade ($70 as I check it now). I doubt they would go to the trouble of offering two cards at the same price one being worse than the other. But I could definitely be wrong. Yes the Quadro 370M is also a G98M as specified at laptopvideo2go . No info as yet on shader clock though.

 

Hmm, i have to say im quite dissapointed in both GPUS for these new machines... but the NVS 160m seems superior with low power consumption together with the highest speeds on the core and shaders. To bad the upgrade to NVS 160m is close to 300 dollars here in sweden :/.