Just ordered Precision M65 (same as D820)

After wanting a Alienware and waiting for month for them to come out with a Core Duo, I could wait no longer. When I saw the D820 's I liked! So I went and checked into them and chose the M65 over the D820 just because it had a closer estimated ship date, which is still almost a month away! I really hope it does not take that long?? I have some friends that purchased dell's and they got theirs within two weeks easy...

NVIDIA Quadro FX 350M 512MB Turbocache OpenGL
I don't know much about these Video card though?? Any info would be appreciated or a link either, I did search the dell forum and got no hits.

Also am thinking about adding the D/Dock so that I can run the dual monitor set up but?? Any advice appreciated on that as well.

Of course I will do a full review when I get it and hope that it is up to par with the many other great reviews I have read here.

Thanks


My Specs
Dell Precision M65, Intel CoreDuo T2500, 2.00GHz 667Mhz 2MB L2 Cache, Dual Core Qty: 1 Unit Price: $2,426.00
[222-1309] Dell Precision M65, Intel CoreDuo T2500, 2.00GHz 667Mhz 2MB L2 Cache, Dual Core
[320-4647] 15.4 Inch Wide Screen WUXGA LCD for Dell Precision M65
[311-5763] 2 GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM 2 DIMM, for Dell Precision M65
[320-4649] NVIDIA Quadro FX 350M 512MB Turbocache OpenGL, Dell Precision M65
[341-3104] 100GB Hard Drive 9.5MM 7200RPM for Dell Precision M65Factory install
[310-7465] Standard Touchpad for Dell Precision M65
[420-4867] WINDOWS XP PRO SP2, with MediaDell Precision Mobile,English Factory Install
[430-1506] Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Module for Dell Precision M65
[310-7479] 90W AC Adapter for Dell Precision M65
[313-3941] 8X DVD-ROM drive with CyberLink PowerDVD, Dell Precision M65
[430-1498] Intel 3945 (802.11a/g) Dual-band Mini-Card, Dell Precision M65
[312-0395] 6-Cell/56 WHr Primary Battery for Dell Precision M65
[420-3699] NTFS File System,Factory Install

[970-2208] CompleteCare Accidental DamageSvc, WorkStation, 3Yr ,
[310-7766] Dell Additional Combination Auto/Air Power Adapter for Precision M65, Factory Tied

 

I'm looking at purchasing the Precision M65 sometime soon so I'm wondering about the Quadro FX 350M myself. I really haven't been able to find much information, but I do know that it's based on the NVIDIA G72 architecture. I've also been able to pick up the following specs: 256 MB of dedicated GDDR2 memory at 800 MHz through a 64 bit bus, with a supposed memory bandwidth of 6.4 GB/s and 15W of power consumption.

Nvidia does have a chart comparing it with other Quadro FX cards in its lineup (including 3D performance), so check out the links below if you're interested in that.

This really isn't an area of my specialty, so I'd be interested to hear what anyone else thinks. And looking forward to reading your review...

Links:
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/03/31/nvidia_unveils_quadro_fx_trio/
http://www.nvidia.com/page/quadrofx_go.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761.html
http://www.laptoplogic.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15395
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/news/1016

 

Thanks, I will look into this. I hope it will do OK gaming?

Thanks again for the info

I read them and they all say the card that I got in my M65 id 256 but dell says it is 512?? What's up with that??

 

Congrats once you get it post your thoughts and let us know how you like it

 

Dell claims the Quadro FX comes with 512 MB of memory because it uses "Turbocache", which means that it can allocate up to 256 MB of system memory in addition to the dedicated 256 MB of onboard memory.

As for gaming, I'm not sure how well it'll work; but since it's based on the G72 architecture (i.e. GeForce 7300/7400), my guess is that it won't be anything special. The Dell D820 uses a a Quadro NVS 120M (also based on the G72), which PC Magazine benchmarked as roughly equivalent to the X1400, so I'm thinking that it'll run at least as well as that. It's probably good enough if you're an occasional gamer, but the 64-bit bus may prove to be a problem in the long run...

Do keep in mind that I'm just guessing here--anyone with a bit more information feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Here are the PC Magazine benchmarks:
http://www.pcmag.com/image_popup/0,1871,s=1565&iid=128910,00.asp (Benchmarks)
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1943316,00.asp (Full review of the D820)

And take a look at this forum thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=46913