8600 GT Lifetime

Alrighty,

I want to get a computer with an 8600 GT, but I want it to last 3 years, can that happen?

I want to play many different games. Can it last?

 

Yea it will most likely last three years. Might have to start playing games on lower resolutions/settings closer to the end of that time though. But basically right now it can play all the latest games at say 1024x768 with high settings no problem.

 

yay, i don't mind low settings

 

WAIT 1 MONTH!!!! the 8800m will be out, just wait!

 

theres not really a point on waiting for the 8800m unless you are getting a gaming behemoth "not-really-meant-for-your-lap" top.

the 8600m gt is going to be top of the line for 15" notebooks until its replacement is released. the 8800m is for a different weight/ size class.

although- if your primary intention is to have a "transportable" pc gaming machine- and aren't so concerned about being "portable" - its probably a really good idea to get that 8800m- it will have the same feature set, but a LOT more horsepower behind it.

 

Yeah, this is a factor that I am taking into much consideration. Since I am getting my laptop in September/October I still have a few months to research and things, so it's better for me.

I hope that I can find a 15" to 17" laptop with the 8700M GT (if it's much better than the 8600M GT) for less than $1700. My extreme budget is $2000, but I'd like to pay about $1700.

My main hopes in the near future is to be able to run Crysis, Haze, Bioshock, etc. on comfortable settings.

 

I hate to break it to you, but in 1-2 years the 8600GT will be useless for games.

 

no

All right, one person says 1-2 years, and another says 3, so what is it? Will the 8700 GT ever be available in a 15 inch laptop?

 

I'm kind of reluctant to believe that statement. Got any info to back it up?

 

I just happily beat Halo: Combat Evolved on my good old Geforce MX400 desktop card, and am playing Grand Theft Auto III right now. It all depends on what you call "gaming" and what kind of games you want to play. That 8600M GT won't be able to even play Crysis on maximum settings. There's always better.

 

Back it up, dude, back it up. If you discount dx10 games, a X1600 is still a decent gaming card. And it's quite old...

 

I'd say: it will last 2 years: at that time you can handle the newest graphics intensive games at medium/low settings i think. But you will never be sure about that fact!

 

I think it can handle crysis and UT3 at medium settings. There will be many games in the next few years that use the Unreal 3 engine. All of them should be playable.
I also think even though the 8600M is directx10 it might have problems running directx10 games. Might have to play futuer games with the dirctx9 path because of performance problems. The Desktop 8800 with a desktop CPU has problems running directx10 games. Hopefully directx10 games will be optimised for performace makeing them run at lowerend directx10 hardware.

What is better? Running directx10 with lower textuers and lower settings or running directx9 with higher settings? Framerate should be similar but which looks better?

 

What about Spore? I won't be playing crysis or unreal tournament 3.

 

yes what about spore?
and what about SC2?

 

The problem comes in when DX10 exclusive games come to market. Some of them are already in the works, in which case you will be forced to upgrade to an 8 series card (or equivilant ATI/Other Designer) that supports DX10. At least this is how I understand it. Because if you were able to play all the newest games (meaning dx10 exclusive) using a 7950 GTX, then we could all go get these cards (assuming you don't mind the monster 17" size) and not worry about framerates for quite some time. But such is not the case.

Hopefully a stronger 8 series card will soon grace us, such as the 8700 or 8800. But for now the 8600 will have to do for those of us that just need some good gaming now and then and not the fully maxed out res and settings.

 

That's interesting, exclusively DX10 already? They'd be losing out majorly on customers. Besides, I don't think the DX10 technology is fully mature yet. Anyways, though, it's always a good idea to allow products to be scaled back several generations, like Call of Duty 2, can be played in DX7, 8 and 9. Much greater audience that way.

 

Exclusive DX10 games won't be out for quite a while. Even most DX9 games have backwards compatibility to at lest DX8, if not DX7 and it's been how many years already?

 

noone can tell you exactly when the card will be unplayable

it depends on the games you play and how the games of tomorrow advance.

3 years could be a rough estimate, the lower end games will still be quite playable

higher end ones will probably become unplayable in 2 years

 

Id say it will be about a 18-24 months before the 9xxx series is released, so the 8700 will be the best you can get in 15.4" for at least 18 months, And I have friends who game happily on the 6 series GPU's so the 8 series will be around for a while. The Vx2 according to proportable will have the 8700, but I highly doubt you will see the 8700 in a cheap machine given its high energy use and heat output. If your really that concerned get a laptop with mxm graphics and update it down the track.

 

Try Colin McRae DIRT-you'll see

 

I upgraded to my notebook from my desktop which was running a 2.4gb P4 and a 9700pro. I played doom 3, quake 4, and HL2 on medium settings and good resolutions. You people are really discrediting this card. It will be able to play the games you want 2 years from now but you will have to tone down the graphics a little. Don't worry about it so much, there will always be a better card and if you are always waiting you will never have a notebook.

 

Do you have some inside knowledge that says the 8700 will fit into a 15 inch laptop?

 

A little? You have to "tone down" a lot and right now.
Just try Colin McRae DIRT demo:
http://files.filefront.com/ColinMcRaeDIRT+Demo/;7592576;/fileinfo.html

 

Lol where are you getting this info from? dx10 exclusive games? I bet we wont get these in the next 2 years. Only 1.46% of users in a survey had a dx10 capable machine (GPU and vista), so it would be suicidal for a developer to create a dx10 exclusive game. A 8600 GT will last you about 2 years for great gaming and maybe 3 for the newest games then at low settings.

 

i agree with this statement completely. i think, by using these as guidelines, you should just get a good notebook(as in not top-of-the-line), because one day, even the newest technology know to man right now will be out-dated.

 

Many older titles are very enjoyable anyway, especially the classics. Often times the new titles only have flashy graphics and no captivating gameplay/storyline.

 

True, they are a lot of fun

 

No inside information, Just as I said, the Vx2 according to proportable will be getting the 8700.

 

You may be able to squeeze more out of it if you can overclock it to its max.

 

So you want to be able to use your laptop for gaming and you want it to be future proof? Will then, you should buy a ASUS C90 or C91 if you don’t want to spend a lot of money buying another laptop when it gets old. The ASUS C90/C91 series will be highly customizable. From Graphics, to CPU; all can be upgraded for a period of 4-5 years.

Article:
http://www.gadgetell.com/2007/06/asus-c90-the-most-future-proof-notebook-yet/

The notebook:
http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1641&l1=5&l2=141&l3=536&l4=0

 

comments like these,are making reconsider purchasing a laptop...but i travel allot.

 

The thing is, in 2 years' time most people who play a game will NOT have the latest hardware. They probably will still have GF6 or 7 series or ATI x or x1 series, at best. Game makers are not going to solely concentrate on enthusiasts who have the best of the best of the newest all the time. Sure, there are games that you can't play at the highest settings without the best hardware available, but that doesn't mean all the ordinary gameplayers will miss out. And not having the top settings for everything is no big deal either, since games are so amazingly beautiful now.

In 2-3 years' time, maybe even longer, I believe the 8600M GT should be able to play most games, and probably many of them at medium settings. I was playing games released new up until 2 years after I got my INTEGRATED Radeon IGP 200M. If I had got one of the dedicated graphics cards at that time, I would have been able to do so for even longer. If you tried the top-of-the-range games released then, the equivalents of Oblivion, Supreme Commander, F.E.A.R etc, you may be a bit more disappointed, but for the most part, if your card is reasonable compared with what casual gamers have, you should find plenty of games released to satisfy you.

 

I think the 8600 should be ok, I just ordered a macbook pro. I'll get it in about 2 weeks, so i'll try to take some screens. I know that crytek is supposed to be optimizing Crysis so that it will run on alot of older systems like the source engine. I think the 8600gt is equal to about a 7800 so it should run games pretty well.