Is the 120Hz Panel + NVidia Really Worth It?

So, the wife needs a new lappy to game on, and she's been a trooper struggling w/an older Dell XPS M1530, so I thought I'd step up and grab her a 17x-R3 for her b-day. Now, being heavy-tech myself (do a lot of virtual development on my current HP 8540w) I'm trying not to go all hog wild, but it's just a wee bit tough. The only question I really have is about the display panel.

For non-3D gaming, is the 120hz/nvidia setup really worth it for just 2D stuff? She plans on really using the rig for Warcraft (and Diablo 3 when it ever comes out), and nothing else really crazy. Or will the 60Hz + ATI card be good?

I am also thinking of adding the Blu-Ray drive as well so she can watch movies too. Will one panel/card combo then be better than the other for movies?

Ok, that was more than just 1 question.

Thanks for the info folks, much appreciated! - M

 

3D isnt worth it. I'm sure she'll be fine w/ a card that can run Wow and D3 on max settings flawlessly. Although people's 6990's seem to be malfunctioning lately.

Blu-ray's up to you. Though if your good with your hands, you can buy an aftermarket blu-ray burner instead of the default reader they give you from Dell.

And happy birthday to your wife.

 

You know you can have 60Hz and nvidia as well. If your wife isn't a hardcore overclocker, then 60Hz with the ATi card is good. Bag the change and get her a nice aftermarket SSD.

The 60Hz screen will be fine unless your wife is a serious videophile who despises the 3:2 pulldown. If she doesn't know what that is then 60Hz will do fine

 

oh gawd...dont' start mass hysteria about the 6990's. I haven't seen many go bad at all...the last post, i don't think it is the 6990 that is the problem. He puts more ram sticks in, and has boot problems etc...don't think its related to the vid card.

And to OP...3d aint worth it. You don't have enough power in a laptop to run it properly. The frame has to be rendered twice in 3d, so it cuts your FPS in half while gaming.

 

^^This all games will run at half speed apart from Crysis 2 because it uses fake sim3D. I got the 120Hz screen for my video work but other than that, not worth it. If you really want nvidia and all the bells and whistles it offers, get it with the 60Hz screen.

 

Coolness...so the 60Hz panel + the AMD card is good to go...and I'll take zoolian's advice and purchase a BD-ROM drive if it's needed, after the fact. Thanks!

 

Just thought I'd add in, I got my R3 a few days ago with the 120Hz panel and 560m, it runs most of the games I've tried so far such as Black Ops in 3D at 1080p and max settings, save for AA. The games you mentioned will be far less taxing on the GPU. Also, 3D vision is incredible - don't believe the people who say it's a gimmick, they're usually the type of person who only plays the multiplayer part of a game and never touches the campaign, or has never used it. It adds so much to the experience, I'm really glad I got it.

 

3D = great...People confuse actual 3D with active shutter lenses with the crappy technology used in theatres. This is much better.

 

i concur..stop linking games performance on 3D. Think about all the other cool things 3D does offer. I found it to be really neat and sassy. But if you are already having a big 3D screen etc.. Then i dont see the need for 3D screen. I got it for brightness, color vibrance video editing and 120Hz. Not for gaming per re. BUT DO GET THE Nvidia


Ati sucks in application be it photoshop or video rendering.

 

LOL, what?

Please refrain from throwing around unsubstantiated opinions here.

 

CUDA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

there you go

 

This is an article on CUDA...what does it have to do with substantiating that "Ati sucks in application be it photoshop or video rendering" ?

 

I do photo editing and i do high definition editing and encoding too. You know what, i have used Amd too. Guess what, it sucked. That substantive enough for me. Its my experience. If it was great for you, good for you. But it massively sucked for me. (Note: referring to notebooks experience after all this is notebookreview.com aint )

Ha ha ha!

 

Oh i forgot you are from Canada! Very substantiated dude!

 

Then stop throwing around your opinion or closet case as if it were general fact.

 

A lot of programs have better integration with nvidia Cuda and are optimised for it. Nvidia paid these companies so people would be encouraged to buy their parts. AMD has similar technologies such as Stream and OpenCL direct compute. Both GPUs are capable of hardware acceleration where needed.

Perhaps in programming and processing nvidia is better but that does not give anyone the right to say that AMD sucks. I'd like to see a GPU you create do any of the tasks that AMD or Nvidia GPUs can.

And what the hell is that about Tostito coming from Canada? Does that make his point redundant?

I am an nvidia user. Does not mean that I think AMD sucks. This thread has gone off topic. Mods please close.

 

Unfortunately for you, CUDA makes it a general fact..Read Read Read. its good for you. When are you stepping out of the closet?

 

Sorry?

You still haven't answered how an article on Cuda substantiates that "Ati sucks in application be it photoshop or video rendering" ?

I'm not arguing with you. I just want to know. I know there are cuda plugins available for PS5.5

 

Folks, you should listen to Widezu, this is not a topic which warrants snide comments (were are talking about computers for crying out loud, not debating the holocaust with the President of Iran). There is almost always a way to state your opinion without sounding offensive.

 

Of course i do have the right to say AMD SUCKS. The only right you have is the right to disagree and air your experience, certainly not the right to trample my right to air my view. Theory is theory, practical application is just exactly what it is. Why work my mind off so hard to pretend to be a neutral GPU fairy? If you like AMD fine, if you like Nvidia find, hate both, love both...fine too. But who are you to deny my criticism or favoritism towards a particular GPU? Is it a rule in this forum? The OP asked a question. And every one has the right to state exactly what they feel. Who are you do deny that or criticize that? If you wish to counter please do factually, not vague statements and then asking mod to close the thread. If the mod does indeed close this thread it only shows favouritism and partiality.

 

You see it doesnt really matter to me whether Nvidia paid money or sent the developers for a lap dance. Bottom line is Nvidia CUDA is better optimised in my opinion and practical application. All there mumbo jumbo political rivalry between both Companies is not something we should be concentrating on. Its the end user experience. And who has delivered better in terms of applications .Its Nvidia to me. Amd makes the cut by helping you trim your budget but it also trims down the optimal production and efficiency thanks to CUDA. In India, the software factory of the world, NVIDIA is highly prefered. Infact Alienware M17x wit AMD is not even available here because its not very popular. Same with workstation laptops, using nvidia quadro thats far better than AMD.

 

Don't feed the trolls.

 

Troll la la la..in someone's fantasy.


The honest question Slickdude, would be, how many current users of Amd would have gone with Nvidia had both cards been of equal pricing. Now how many would be honest to come out of the closet? Many of them here will do the cheer leader dance for their selected GPU based on what they have purchased OR received. Its human nature. Troll claiming is part of that nature. I have used r2 crossfire for almost a year and 580m recently. Amd sucked and nvidia has been a very smooth experience thus far. I have now forgiven Nvidia over their die scandal 3 years ago. They have redeemed themselves.

 

Problem resolved. Please push back to the topic at hand.

Please use the post report function and a moderator will handle posts which violate the NBR forum rules.

Thanks everyone