Still not ordered - final questions related to GPU's..

Hi,

I haven't ordered my notebook yet. I'm thinking of two options;

• Dell Inspiron e1705/9400 (T7200, 2GB 667mhz RAM, 120GB, 7900GS, WUXGA+) for 1590 euros..

or

• Cheap Notebook for about 800 euros (T2050, X1400)
• Desktop for about 800 euros (e6300, pc6400 ram, 7900gto) which will be together +/- 1600 euros too

Now, how long will my Inspiron 9400 last with gaming? I don't think it'll last that long, as I read somewhere that the 7900gs is only comparable with a desktop 7600gt gpu? A Go7600 for example, is comparable with a 7600gs. First of all, is a 7900gs really comparable with a 7600gt? I found a review on the 7600gt.. It's reviewed with the following specs;

It scores only 3084 in 3DMark06. Well, both of the systems (e1705 and the test sytem) have 2gigs of ram, the proc is about the same? I found a thread at NotebookForums. Here a post with some1 who oc'ed his 7900gs. Another post shows 3500 out of the box with a the dell crap. Both of these scores are only with 2Gigs of ram.. So is the 7900gs rly comparable with only a 7600gt?

I've got an incredible offer from Dell (at least for European/Dutch ppl); T7200, 2GB 667, 120GB, 7900GS and WUXGA+ and 9cell battery for 1590 euros).. Still I'd like to know how long my GPU will last..

Thanks!

 

The 7900gs is in a completely different league than the 7600gt, desktop or laptop. It has twice the memory bandwidth and 20 pixel pipes vs the 7600gt's 12. Of course this is no consequence, because the 7900gs was always meant to be a DTR GPU. The 7600 is merely a mid-range performance and cost chip.

On that note, the Inspiron 9400 w/7900gs might be the right notebook for you, as long as you are willing to give up one of these three things: FPS, Native Resolution Gaming (at WUXGA), or Visual Detail Level. You can't have all three with the current generation of DTR mobile GPU's, even with a 7900GTX go it seems.

 

I understand that , just how long will the 7900gs with a t7200 and 2gigs of ram last at 1024*768 gaming?

Thanks!

 

It should last until DX10 games show up, which can be 1-2 years away. Mine gets 7000pts in 3DMark05 and that's quite respectable. It runs everything I've thrown at it.

 

If you need a powerful computing solution now, then i'd suggest the e1705
because people figured out how to soft mod the card to a 7900gtx

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread180011.html

If you can wait a bit, I say get a cheap/portable notebook and wait to find out what's the deal with DX10 cards. If it turns out they're a good deal then start building your desktop with the DX10 card. Of course it'll cost more than the card you were thinking about purchasing but you'll have saved up some money during the time you were waiting to hear the verdict for DX10 cards.