256MB NVidia GeForce Go 7600 vs. 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT

My friend is being a wise ass thinking his Area 51 m5550 is better than my Vostro 1500 just because he is paying $1,500 for his and I'm only paying $881 for mine. Neither of us have bought the laptops yet but he is trying to get me to buy an Area 51 m5550 instead of the Vostro 1500, I told him "no" since I'm convinced my Vostro 1500 out performs his Area 51 m5550. We both play World Of Warcraft and Warcraft 3, which graphics card will have the better graphics? Will there be a big difference in graphics and performance?

His graphics card is the 256MB NVidia GeForce Go 7600

While mine is the 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT

 

OP video card being the 2nd best video card for 15" laptops (GDDR3 8600 is arguably the best for 15") against a mid-range DX9 card. 8600GT having DX10 support to boot (although it will generally struggle to play the DX10 games at any resolution from 14xx and above).

Perhaps your friend paid more because of other features like RAM, RAID HDD configurations, bluetooth, wireless N etc. When my new machine comes I won't go comparing my build to someone else since there's always someone out there with the better configuration for a cheaper price.

For the 2 games listed, both video cards won't break a sweat even at the highest resolutions.

 

Me and him play World Of Warcraft together a lot so if our laptops are next to each other apart from the fact the Area 51 m5550 looks sweet and the Vostro 1500 is ugly will there be a graphical difference? He doesn't have anything really in it...

 

I think Alienware machines are generally priced higher. Besides that, 8600M GT has the advantage I believe.

 

According to the "Mobile Graphics Card Info Page" here I believe the 8600GT is much better than the 7600... with the dx10 as a plus.

 

Laptop design is a matter of taste and is completely subjective. If OP and friend have identical gaming performance then I really don't see any problem other than the cosmetic differences.

 

Your 8600GT notebook will have roughly TWICE or more of the performance than his 7600. He's buying a far outdated notebook, it's only that expensive because it's made by alienware, not because it's worth the price.

But then again you both are waisting your lives playing WoW which is also a reaaaaallly old and boring game.. so I don't think you'll see a difference unless you play something that's actually fun. Such as a FPS game

 

World Of Warcraft is fun dude... So should I tell him he is buying an out-dated/over priced/weaker laptop then me or just let him find out for himself, he is confident because it is called Alienware, he doesn't know they are owned by Dell lol.

 

Would it matter to your friend if he/she can play all the games currently owned and at reasonable settings as well? Otherwise it's really up to you depending on how vindictive you're feeling.

 

Try to convince your buddy to look into the Dell Inspiron 1720/1721 if he/she really wants to get a 17" notebook.

 

nah man.. that's kinda messed up... I'd say unless he's a real dick to you or something, just tell him the truth... it's outdated... that notebook has been on the dellianware website since 2006, with NO changes made to it.. your notebook is current, his is just there because they havent updated it in years...

I would say that for todays standards, his notebook would have an actual value of like $600, even though it costs $1500+

 

The 8600M will at least double proformance as said before, and yes he is buying an outdated PC.

 

If I tell him he will end up copying my laptop which would piss me off since I've been doing research and hes buying the laptop because he thinks Alienware is > then all other brands...

 

Alienware is no better than anyone else really. Especially now (Owned By DELL!!!). You just pay tons of money to have a little symbol of an alien on the front. You are getting the superior computer by far here.

-Hope I could help

 

When he buys the same laptop as you, he is basically accepting the fact that Alienware isn't all that. Not to mention, you will have helped him save money and maybe you can demand a treat to lunch...lol.

 

No offense, but you guys don't sound like very good friends if you'd happily bone your friend out of a grand just because he's misinformed about computers. Tell him he's an idiot, give him the facts about why your system is superior, and suggest that he reconsider his purchase. If he decides to get the Alienware at that point, he's a fool and deserves what's coming to him. But hey, he's your friend so at least try to help him out.

 

second that

 

Your friend seem to be noob if u want a GPU that KO's 8600GT, pick one of these laptops first one is still the most powerfull notebook in world with option to choose quad core and dual 7950GTX .

http://www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=503
http://www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=488
http://www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=10641&action=customize

 

It definitely is. As noted you should explain to your friend that the 8600M-GT is worlds better. If you don't want him to copy your configuration then don't tell him what it is. As a matter of fact, how about directing him towards the What Should I Buy forum and having him complete the FAQ.

 

Then i would recommend him a nice Area 51 m5550! LOL! Jokes

 

Ok well I went to his house today and showed him this thread and your responses but he told me quote "that site is bs, my friend works on computers and told me the Alienware will pwn (he plays WoW too much) my Dell.", I'll post the specs for both laptops so you can see...

Vostro 1500 (my computer) $881
-256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GT
-15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife™
-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
-Windows® XP
-1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
-160G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
-Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Wi-Fi Mini Card
-8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/ Roxio Creator

Area-51 m5550 (his computer) $1,499
-256MB NVidia® GeForce™ Go 7600
-15.4" WideXGA 1280 x 800 LCD - Saucer Silver
-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7200 2.0GHz 4MB Cache 667MHz FSB
-Windows® XP
-1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 512MB
-120GB SATA 1.5Gb/s 5,400RPM 8MB Cache
-Internal Intel® PRO Wireless 3945 a/b/g Mini-Card
-24x DVD-ROM/CD-RW Burner

Quick question, is his 15.4" WideXGA 1280 x 800 LCD - Saucer Silver glossy or matte? Also should I keep TrueLife™ on my screen? Thanks!

 

His friend clearly doesn't know much about computers then

There are lots of threads on Glossy v Matte....search around! It really is personal preference I love my glossy

 

His processor is better and both of you could do with more ram. But in pure gaming terms, your laptop wins hands down. If he's childish enough to cry BS then that's his problem!

I'd choose your machine anyday, even if I had money to burn.

If he insists on getting his machine, a quick Company of Heroes/Crysis/Source stress test will sort him out.

 

Definitely go for the glossy option on Dell their recent matte screens have had a slating in review for being rubbish.

As for the laptops they are pretty evenly matched. His cpu has a slight advantage over yours but your graphics carddestroys his. Want to show him some concrete proof? Here:

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=409&card2=534

The 8600M GT has much better texture fill rates and memory bandwidth and although not listed also has mich higher shader operations per second.

 

For the price your friend paid he could certainly have chosen a better graphics card. However it won't make an ounce of difference to let your friend live in his dream world while you understand that your configuration was the better deal.

 

Your friend is stupid. Sounds like a lost cause, get the better computer and laugh at him, at least you tried. Your frame-rates will speak for themselves.

 

plus 8600 is higher than 7600

 

yeah but i have got a 9700.....3 yrs old and still beat all of yours

J/Ks

 

People think Alienware is the best due to the way they market themselves. Yes they make a nice computer but any other computer can be as fast as them with the same components. Alienware markets themselves as the best and people believe what they hear - Bose does the same thing. Just because a computer has an Alienware case doesn't give it any special abilities. Your Dell is faster than that Alienware and we all know it. There is no negotiating so tell him that.

 

The Bose analogy is so true. Too bad that people care about the name brand rather than the facts

 

I hope your friend sees the light before hitting that "Place Order" button.

 

Tell him he is paying for the brand.

If he still feels like getting something 'exotic', show him Asus, or Compal. He can get a pretty nice system with $1500.

 

Don't tell him anything. I hate stubborn people like that (also cause he called this site bs). He obviously knows nothing about computers because basically he thinks having that dinky small piece of metal shaped like an alien head makes the hardware more powerful.

Regardless you guys don't sound like great friends since you were contemplating about not telling him in the first place so why go through all this trouble.

 

Exactly as he said..

Tell your friend his is better, then when you both get your notebooks show him that you can push max settings while he's stuck at minimum. He's being ignorant. Alienware can make some nice SLI notebooks, but that one is NOT one of them. So hmm... his notebook is twice as pricy as yours, and he's going to get less than HALF the performance and graphics that your going to get. So all in all, I'd say your notebook is a 4x better than his. for value and performance.

 

Me and him are friends but we're always competitors. We never like to get the same thing and if we do one of ours has to be better, specially in electronics...

We both play World Of Warcraft (him more than me),but if we are both playing next to each other will either of us notice a difference? I mean will my computer have a way higher frame rate then him or will it be nicer looking?

Also he can have a slightly better processor I'm spending $700 less than him .

I'm still worried about the screen though, it comes with a 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife™ for $0 I can get the 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display which is the same just not glossy or for $50 more I can get the 15.4 in Wide Screen XGA+LCD Display w/TrueLife™ what is the difference? I would really hate seeing myself on the screen...

My friend wants to know is his screen glossy or not, he has the 15.4" WideXGA 1280 x 800 LCD - Saucer Silver...

THANKS AGAIN [edit] I'm opening a poll on this, please vote!

 

Try reading some reviews of the Vostro. I think the matte screens get reviewed badly.

As for performance in WoW you'll both be maxed out so it won't make a huge amount of difference. To show him how wrong he is you'll both have to install something demanding like Bioshock or Crysis, then your laptop will destroy his for framerates at the same settings.

 

oh... eww.. man... you should atleast TRY to get a screen for that vostro better than 1024x768 res.. with an 8600GT that resolution is really crippling how nice your graphics CAN look

 

Unless you buy an external LCD monitor to go with it

 

Which screen should I get?

 

At the very least WXGA+ 1440x900, but 1680x1050 WSXGA won't hurt.

Oh besides your notebook having better graphics, you might also want to tell your friend that his CPU is weaker than Dell Vostro's - as long as you don't select the M processor but one of the Core 2 Duo's, your CPU will have 800FSB Mhz while your friend's will have 667. Plus, your CPU will use less power (I think) since the new Core 2 Duo's are Santa Rosa.

And I think your friend is getting ripped off.