8600m GT 128mb gddr3 vs. 8600m GS 256mb gddr2??

Hi, Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Which Video Card is better?8600m GT 128mb gddr3 vs. 8600m gs 256mb ddr2

(one is a GT with 128 gddr3 the other a GS with 256 ddr2)?

If a game has 256mb videoram under it's minimum requirements, with the 8600m gt with 128mb gddr3 still be able to handle it? I don't mind not having games on the absolute highest settings...but I want to be able to play games that come out in the next couple of years.

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate the wealth of knowledge I've been gaining from this absoloutly amazing forum.

Ash

 

I would reccromend the first card. With the GDDR3 in it, it will out run the 256 GDDR2 with noticable increase in graphics. Hope I could Help.

 

OK, this topic belongs in the Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards) Forum.

So wait a bit for it to be moved .

My vote is for the 8600m GT with 128MB GDDR3.

 

thanks for all the info guys!!

 

moved.....

 

as i said in your last thread about this, the GDDR3 is better, read my reply on your old one, hope i could help

 

Thank you for the advice so far guys. And thank you for moving it.

 

Thank you so much ahl395. Any idea if the turbocache would make up for the low amount of dedicated memory...I've read conflicting views on it. Some say it makes absoloutly no difference, others say it does...I'm very confused about this.

 

GT has twice the pipelines 32 vs 16 GS. I would expect GT much better.

 

Go for the 8600GT w/128MB DDR3. It is much faster than the 8600GS regardless of how much ram the 8600GS has.

 

I do now know that it's a faster card....but would the fact that it has very little memory affect its ability to play games with a minimum requirement of 256mb video ram?

 

I am going to speculate that if the game needs a 256MB video card that the 8400m GS is going to come up short just on speed/power so I doubt an issue.

 

I'm gonna go with the GDDR3 card. The clock speeds are much higher than that of the DDR2.

 

The clock speed of the 8600GT in the MBP, G1s and G2s is 700mhz, the ones in the IFL90, 1520, c90s, v1s are all 400mhz if I recall correctly.

 

Another question guys. which would be the better card 8600m GT 128mb gddr3 or 8600m GT 256mb ddr2?

Thanks again for all the info!!!

 

The GDDR3 for sure.

 

Thanks for the info coriolis!!

 

by how much? what's this based on?

 

8600m GT 128mb gddr3 by a large margin.

 

The 128mb GDDR3 8600M-GT would still be better than the 256mb DDR2 8600M-GT by a large margin. At medium and low resolutions, the 128mb GDDR3 8600M-GT is essentially equal to the 256mb GDDR3 8600M-GT. You'll hit a bottleneck at higher resolutions, but overall the GDDR3 is the better choice.

 

Wow!!! Thank you so much guys...this has been an amazing help!!!!! Most computer retaillers (and resellers) don't even know this stuff!! Thanks again!! You guys are the best!!!

 

To put it into perspective, the 8600GT DDR2 overclocked is equivalent to the 8600GT GDDR3 at stock.

 

I was speaking to a retailler today and he tried to tell me that the 8600M GT with 256 ddr2 is better than a 8600M GT with 128 Gddr3 because of the lower videoram. He said the graphic processor for both are the same..but the lower 128mb gddr3 ram doesn't make up for the 256mb ram. He basically argued that the gddr3 would have to be double the performance of ddr2 to be comparable, but apparently it's at max 50 or 60% better. I want to buy my laptop tomorrow...but now I'm a little worried. Considering all the info that you guys have given me...and the huge consensus on the gddr3 being better I know I shouldn't be... but somehow I'm still a little worried. I don't need to play games on the highest settings...I just want to be able to play games that come out in the next couple of years...Would getting the Gddr3 with only 128mb ram still be able to run the games that come out in the next couple years. Should I just take the plunge and buy it.

Sorry...I don't mean to be doubting the advice that you guys have given me... and I really appreciate it. I'm just a little confused now.

 

I stand corrected, you should have started a What Should I Buy FAQ thread.

I would trust the input of NBR members over any shifty-eyed salesman , but the more information, the better.

 

...sorry.

I originally was comparing between the GT and GS, but now it's a GT vs. a GT. I'm definitely worried....I want to buy the comp tomorrow...but just want to make sure I'm making the right choice.

 

I think I'm gonna go for the 128 gddr3....any last miniute opinions on this?

 

What's the resolution you want to game at? That's important.

Higher VRAM will help at higher resolutions.

The GDDR3 is more powerful at lower resolutions, that's for sure--by how big of a margin? That, I'm not sure (haven't read too much into their comparisons).

 

I don't really care to play at the highest resolution...I'll game at any resolution that is playable.

I think the computer that I want to get comes with 1400 x 900 resolution (15.4). It's a mbp 2.2.

Again, I don't mind playing at a lower resolution...as long as it's possible to play the game.

 

So that's why you originally posted in the Apple Forum . Did you read any of the benchmark threads there? Here are a couple:

MBP Overclocking Benchmarks
MBP 128MB vs 256MB 8600m GT Benchmark Compilation

Here are links to the Apple Forum Stickies too:

Mac Switcher's Guide
Running Windows on a Mac: Boot Camp, Parallels & VMware Fusion

 

Thanks for the links, but that info is what got me confused in the first place. everyone seems to be getting different benchmarks...some are good some aren't...so I guess that puts the validity in question.

 

You're currently deciding between a 128mb GDDR3 8600M-GT and a 256mb DDR2 8600M-GT, right? The GDDR3 will have a higher memory bandwith, making it much more effective dealing with textures and shadows, things like that. It will be better than the DDR2, unless you run into a problem with the small amount of dedicated VRAM. However, that shouldn't be a problem at the resolution of the MBP, so there's really nothing to worry about.

 

Ok I now know that the 8600m GT 128 gddr3 is the better card. But my question is: if the game specifically requires 256 vram, could I still play it (possibly by lowering the resolution)?

Another thing that's worrying me is that I saw no mention of a turbocache on the apple website (also read on wikipedia that not all 8600m GT have turbocache). So, I'm assuming it can't make extra video memory from the graphic card if needed.

However, I think I'm gonna go for the 128 gddr3 (2.2 mbp), because the majority opinion is that it's the better card. Thank you everyone!!!

 

Game requirements refer to total VRAM. So yes, the 128mb card would work because it can utilize Turbocache up to either 512mb or 1GB, I forget which it is on that machine. And yes, with any current game you can tweak the settings and/or resolution so that it will play just fine on 128mb dedicated VRAM.

 

GREAT!! THANKS A LOT! I'M GOING TO GO GRAB IT TODAY! EXCITED!!!!

 

I'll explain it quickly for you
In the benchmark, BOTH the 128 and 256 are equiped with GDDR3. This is a MacbookPro comparison, 2.2ghz vs. 2.4ghz
The 256 should be faster than the 128 at equal resolution.
It illustrates this is the case, and the lead being minor to significant gains,
Lower resolutions boosts scores, Vista seems to boost scores, the end

 

Boost scores for which card...the 128? So you're saying in lower resolutions the 128 is more similar to the 256 (that's what several other people were saying)? But in higher resolutions the 256 has a clear advantage? And what effect does Vista have?

I have a feeling that the mbp's vid card doesn't have turbocache...apple doesn't have it on their website (which is something that they definitely would advertise if their card was equiped with (it only makes their cards look better).

I wasn't able to get the mbp 2.2 today...because the the campus store at my school just sold it right before I got there...which kinda sucked. I have to either order from apple (takes 7-10 business days) or wait 3 weeks for the store to restock (somehow ordering from apple gets you the comp faster than the store can restock):s.

 

stick with the gddr-3