512MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 120M TurboCache

I am going to college this fall, and need a laptop that will play the latest games, and perform well. I found the Dell Latitude D820, and it seems to have everything I am looking for. However, I am a little unsure about the graphics card. It is a 512MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 120M TurboCache. I saw the 512MB, so I was excited that I would have the ultimate gaming machine. However, after customizing the system, the price came out to only $2,400, and I started to question the card. I have seen other 256MB cards in other laptops that cost a lot more than what this system came out to. Is this card any good? Will it handle the latest games smootly and perform well? Will it be able to run Windows Vista? I know this graphics card is probably for business users, but still will it be able to run the latest games?

 

Its a good card if you have CAD in mind. I dont think its optimsed for games however.

If I were you i'd stay clear of it for gaming. Try getting a GeForce Go 7 Series or Mobility Radeon x1400 or above.

 

radditz is right; the Quadro cards are designed for rendering and business applications, not games. They can still play games, but that's not their purpose. The NVS 120M is based on the Go7400 I believe, which is about as fast as a Radeon X1400.

For $2,400, I'd go for a high-end Nvidia card for gaming, if that's one of the main things you're going to do on the laptop. Try the Dell XPS M170, it's a great deal right now. For under $2,000, you can get a Pentium M and 256MB Go7800GTX.
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m170?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

 

Personally, I don't care if it is MEANT to play games or not and whether it is their purpose or not. I just want the latest games to work. Will this card be able to play F.E.A.R. and Counter Strike Source flawlessly? I am not looking for a gaming computer, per se. I want something that will be able to handle the games if I feel like playing them once in a while. Will this card be able to do that? Will it cause the computer to over heat or anything? Maybe I should ask, is there a disadvantage of using this card over other ones for gaming?

Also, I know any of these cards are not meant for gaming, but which one of these two would have better performance in games, the 512MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 120M TurboCache or the Fire GL V5200 256MB GDDR3 dedicated memory?

 

I'm guessing you're looking for a noteook, you may want to fill out the FAQ and get back to us.

They'd PLAY any game out there as far as I know.

 

It will be able to play CS:S and HL2 fine, they run on just about everything. FEAR, considering how the Go7400 struggles, you should still be okay with. Don't expect high settings though, but it will work. For the occasional gamer, the NVS 120M is fine.

The FireGL V5200 is faster by a large margin - that can play (although it is not designed to) anything out there at high settings. It's based on the ATI Radeon X1600.

 

some games "auto-check" your system for your GPU..BUT if the quadro is not on the list, then it will fail the check and will not let you install it..kinda like what WoW does if you do not meet the specs. I would check out the games, and see if the quadro is supported..or you might want to start hacking your games

pb,out.

 

Is D820 capable of 512MB onboard video memory? Dell technical support says it's NOT.

 

It's not all onboard memory, Dell Tech Support is correct. It is actually 256MB dedicated and 256MB shared.

 

Yes, its 512MB's shared. Thats what the "TurboCache" means for Nvidia cards. Usually, if it says TurboCache, then you can assume that 1/2 of that memory is dedicated and 1/2 is shared. ATI also has another name for this shared memory... "Hypermemory."

 

The NVS 120M will not be a great gaming card. According to what I've seen, it barely breaks 1500 in 3dmark05, whereas the x1600 (and v5200 as well I'm assuming) gets above 3000. So yeah, the v5200 will be much better. According to nVidia's website, the NVS Quadro is designed for 2D applications, whereas the Quadro FX series are designed for 3D. I would steer clear of the NVS 120M if you're wanting to game. It's the reason I didn't buy a D820.

 

The 120M is based off the 7400. And the 7400 scores in the 1800-2200 range. So 1500 is really not that bad. It's about what an X1300 or 7300 would get. It's fine for casual gaming. And will run all games great on lower settings. But a notebook with the X1600 would be much better for gaming.

 

I would not buy the Quardo NVS cards for any sort of 3D. The QuadroFX series is designed for 3D, but the NVS is for 2D. Not saying the games won't work, just don't expect blazing performance. You also might run into compatability issues with certain games.

 

Hey everyone!

I recently bought a dell d820. I was wondering if this card would be ok if i wanted to work on photoshop?

 

Photoshop doesn't need a graphics card to run, so it will be fine.

 

Can someone tell me how this graphic card performs in 3D applications like Cinema 4dD, 3D Max and ArchiCAD what is the major difference between 120M and the 350M of the same Quadro Series

 

Quadro NVS 120m is not made to perform in 3D applications like Cinema 4dD, 3D Max and ArchiCAD but for 2D business/office/corporate/financial applications

Quadro FX 350M is made ecxactly for 3D applications.

 

be aware that the nvs cards doesn't support pixel shaders at all ,so games would look really bad on it if it even works ,that mean no hdr lighting ,no water reflections ,no weather effects and alot of things that should be supported,and also won't be any better in the 3d cad applications because it doesn't have an opengl accelerator driver for it
It is better to look for an x1600 card in the hp nc8430 or alot of the asus notebooks,you will get great effects and good speed(nearly double the x1400) and will save some mony (most of these notebooks are under 2k)

 

thanks dreamer and kworld for the NVS Quadro clarification.. can you clear my doubt about Quadro FX too:
I use photoshop for medium size jobs.. I've recently started working on animations(Cinema 4D) and I render images (archicad, cinema 4D) occasionally, does the FX 350M not perform certain operations as compared to FX 1500M or is it just slower (how slow?)

 

Now if you think that i'll need more than my FX 350M card, will it be possible to replace it with a FX 1500M at a later stage on my precision M65.. can Nvidia Quadro FX 1500M be separately bought? where?

Mi config:
M65 Precision
2.0 / 2.16 Ghz Core 2 Duo
100GB 7200rpm
2GB Ram
DVD writer etc.. etc..

the price difference between 2.0 and 2.16 Ghz is around US $250 is it advisable to go for 2.16 for the applications i work on?

 

kamlendu.k I suggest to fill the FAQ which is a part of the "what should I buy" in this way more people will help you to choose the notebook which best fits you needs.

as for the video card see this link "Mobile Professional GPUs Performance Chart" in my signature than if you have more questions I'll answer you..

 

kamlendu.k, I created a new thread for you using your last post, see here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=81220

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=65382

kingcrowing put up a useful 3dm05 benchmark of his 512mb 120mb quadro. 2020 is not shabby at all.

 

NVIDIA Quadro NVS 120M

It is based on the GeForce Go 7400 with professional certified graphics drivers for applications like CAD, Rendering, 3D modelling, etc. The usability for games is limited.
Specifications
• performance class: 4
• series: Quadro NVS
• codename: G72M
• pipeline: 4 pixel-pipelines and 3 vertex-pipelines
• memory: DDR-3, maximum upgrade: 256 MB, bus: 64 bit, +256 MB Turbocache (often is presented as the whole memory)
• directX: 9c, Shader Model 3.0
• features: PureVideo
• manufacturers site: product page
• application area: small and light-weight notebooks
• other infos: 90nm, 112 Mio transistors, PCI-E
Benchmarks
• 3DMark03: 3900 points
• 3DMark05: 1900 points
• 3DMark06: 660 points