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    M17x Nvidia 260M vs. 280M- is the $300 premium worth it?

    Discussion in 'Alienware' started by JWest, Jun 10, 2009.

  1. JWest

    JWest Master of Notebookery

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    I asked in another thread, but thought it would be good to discuss it in it's own. Basically, is it worth the extra $300 for 32 more processor cores and a slight speed bump?

    Per Nvidia's website:

    260M GTX

    GPU Engine Specs:
    Processor Cores 112
    Gigaflops 462
    Processor Clock (MHz) 1375 MHz
    Texture Fill Rate (billion/sec) 31

    Memory Specs:
    Memory Clock (MHz) Up to 950 MHz
    Standard Memory Config 1 GB GDDR3
    Memory Interface Width 256-bit
    Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec) 61
    MXM Type MXM 3.0 Type-B

    280M GTX:

    GPU Engine Specs:
    Processor Cores 128
    Gigaflops 562
    Processor Clock (MHz) 1463 MHz
    Texture Fill Rate (billion/sec) 38

    Memory Specs:
    Memory Clock (MHz) Up to 950 MHz
    Standard Memory Config 1 GB GDDR3
    Memory Interface Width 256-bit
    Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec) 61
    MXM Type MXM 3.0 Type-B
     
    JWest, Jun 10, 2009
    #1
  2. Megacharge

    Megacharge Custom User Title

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    IMO no, unless you have the money to burn, then yes, the 260M's should be able to over clock nicely to perhaps stock 280M levels, and even if they can't for me personally I can't really justify the extra 300 dollars for the level of performance difference between the two GPU's.
     
    Megacharge, Jun 10, 2009
    #2
  3. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    the difference should be 15-30%

    but my best guess is 23% difference( in SLI)

    card to card --10-15%
     
    The_Moo™, Jun 10, 2009
    #3
  4. PhantomThief

    PhantomThief Notebook Guru

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    Even with my m15x I'm planning to hold out a while longer before going for a 260M. I just can't find a way to justify the huge leap in price. Of course, if the 280M price drops sometime in the future when the 9800M just can't keep up anymore, that'd be ideal :D
     
    PhantomThief, Jun 10, 2009
    #4
  5. __-_-_-__

    __-_-_-__ God

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    50% difference in price for that difference in performance? not worth it imo. AW is selling overpriced components as always to suck more money from you.
     
    __-_-_-__, Jun 10, 2009
    #5
  6. Kevin

    Kevin Egregious

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    Agreed. The two cards are in the same tier of performance, thus the upgrade isn't worth the money.

    If the 4870s end up being GDDR5, they are two tiers above either card, and will be a worthwhile upgrade.
     
    Kevin, Jun 10, 2009
    #6
  7. Levenly

    Levenly Grappling Deity

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    the 260m is good enough to game with.

    what MXM does the 260M and 280M fall under?
     
    Levenly, Jun 10, 2009
    #7
  8. sleey0

    sleey0 R.I.P. AW Side Topics

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    3.0b.............
     
    sleey0, Jun 10, 2009
    #8
  9. anothergeek

    anothergeek Equivocally Nerdy

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    Percentages don't work that way... You still only have a 10% increase (comparing Sli 260 to Sli 280).
     
    anothergeek, Jun 10, 2009
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  10. dikkiedirk

    dikkiedirk Notebook Evangelist

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    For $300 I would have done it. Here in Europe we're facing a 500 Euro difference, which equals to almost $700.
    Go figure!
     
    dikkiedirk, Jun 10, 2009
    #10
  11. Phinagle

    Phinagle Notebook Prophet

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    Yeah IF they use GDDR5. That talk about offering a single GDDR3 4870s to the M17 has me worried though.

    The other thing that's got me anxious is CrossfireX performance going through an Nvidia chipset.
     
    Phinagle, Jun 10, 2009
    #11
  12. Blue_Wolf

    Blue_Wolf Notebook Consultant

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    If you're buying a laptop that you want to last a good while, is it worth getting the 280M to be able to play the latest games for longer before needing to upgrade? or does it not work like that? I don't know how fast spec requirements move in a year in newly released games.
     
    Blue_Wolf, Oct 11, 2009
    #12
  13. lordqarlyn

    lordqarlyn Global Biz Consultant

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    In terms of value for money, no.

    But that did not stop me from getting them....
     
    lordqarlyn, Oct 11, 2009
    #13