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    128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS vs. 256MB GeForce 8600M GT

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by sleepy35758, Aug 28, 2007.

  1. sleepy35758

    sleepy35758 Notebook Consultant

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    I am going to purchase the dell vosotro 1500 and was wondering if it was worth upgrading the video card for $100. The upgrade would be 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS to 256MB GeForce 8600M GT. I going to play games moderately.
     
    sleepy35758, Aug 28, 2007
    #1
  2. coriolis

    coriolis Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    What types of games?

    The 8600GT is a pretty large step up.
     
    coriolis, Aug 28, 2007
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  3. Voodoofreak

    Voodoofreak Notebook Deity

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    Voodoofreak, Aug 28, 2007
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  4. sleepy35758

    sleepy35758 Notebook Consultant

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    wow and some action games such as halo
     
    sleepy35758, Aug 28, 2007
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  5. Woodgypsy

    Woodgypsy Notebook Evangelist

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    8400M should handle WoW and Halo fine. However, I still recommend you to pay 100$ extra for 8600GT just in case. You can play WoW with higher setting, and you cannot upgrade laptop GPU once you order it.
     
    Woodgypsy, Aug 28, 2007
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  6. Mark

    Mark Desktop Debugger

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    Better to go with the 8600GT if you can afford it. It always end up that most people are always trying to squeeze more performance out of their cards if they are remotely into gaming (including myself). I would just go with the 8600GT and save the trouble. You'll probably loose a little battery life, and pay $100 more, but a good investment IMHO.
     
    Mark, Aug 28, 2007
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  7. GloStiX

    GloStiX Notebook Evangelist

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    I have owned both in nearly identical systems with identical setups.
    HP dv6500t and Dell Inspiron 1520
    T7300, 2GB, 8400M GS in the HP and 8600M GT in the Dell.

    What I've noticed:
    8400M GS will handle most games at high settings totally fine. Test Drive Unlimited at 1280*800 with all settings high and 4xAA was playable, though FPS was probably around 15-40. Source games such as Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 2, etc. do well on both cards, but on the 8600M GT you will be able to get almost TRIPLE the FPS you get on the 8400M GS and therefore can crank the settings on CSS w/o worrying about dropping below 40FPS in a firefight.
     
    GloStiX, Aug 29, 2007
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  8. Triple_Dude

    Triple_Dude Notebook Evangelist

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    Here's a generalization I typed about the 8400M GS vs. the 8600M GT:
    Of course, for Halo (Even Halo 2) and Wow, the 8400M GS will be able to run it fine... But, if you can afford it, always go for the better GPU since Notebooks aren't normally upgradeable.
     
    Triple_Dude, Aug 29, 2007
    #8