Can someone please explain Nvidia's cards?

So I'm completely confused about Nvidia's cards. I'm looking at this chart and I get that they have different levels in the rows and rate the cards as Performance, High Performance, Enthusiast, etc. But going across the to, which is the best category? The 200M, 9 Series or 8 series?

The HDX I have configured comes with the GeForce GT 130M. Is that sufficient to play Crysis? Crysis recommends the GeForce 8800M GTX. I'm just confused as to why they have to have like 200 cards....

 

the 8600M/9600M/GT 130M are mid-range (128-bit memory interface)

the 8800M/9800M/GTX 200M are high-end (256-bit memory interface).

huge difference between a mid-range and a high-end card... at least twice the performance.

and to play games like Crysis, the faster the videocard the better if you want to be able to see the eye-candy at high-resolutions

a mid-range card like the GT 130M can still play it... but will be at average resolutions (under 1440x900) and medium settings.

 

The first number is the generation, so 9xxx is the 9th generation,8xxx is the 8th generation and the latest is the GTX/GT XXX. The second digit in the card's number is the category of card:low end,mid end and high end. So an 8800M GTX card is high end and it performs significantly better than the latest generation's mid end card GT130M.

However as of now the highest performance card is the GTX280M which is a good 15-25% faster than the previous generation's high end card.

With the GT130 M, you can play Crysis at medium settings without lagging.

 

The GT-130 is so new that no one really has any knowledge/feedback on it yet. But with 1gb of onboard GPU RAM, you shouldn't have a problem with anything. I assume you were also smart enough to get a 64 bit HDX as well with the DDR3 upgrade. The GT-130 is the latest GPU from NVIDIA offered in an HDX. Think of yourself as a "Trailblazer".

Or Guinea Pig - Trailblazer sounds much cooler though....

You're also not looking at the chart correctly - the header model numbers are model series ranges, not individual models. You obviously didn't notice the GT-130M is listed undert the 200M/100M column.

While the 130M is listed as a "Performance" card (essentially a mid-range card) it is no slouch - its specs are pretty impressive, with speed and other improvements that will increase 3D and gaming performance overall, even if it isn't a top performance rated GPU. Though it's listed under the 9800 and the 8800, as I said there's not enough feedback yet to know much. It's only been offered on the HDX for just a few weeks.

If it doesn't meet your expectations, you can swap it with a 9800, but you'd have to give up the DDR3, so there's a trade off.

The 8800 series does kick it, though. They should've kept the 20" Dragon HDX....

 

With the GT-130M they sat with max settings you will get about 16FPS with Crysis
Here is the info on it
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-130M.13789.0.html

 

They fail to say whether or not that is DX9 or DX10. I'm assuming high settings DX9, since 16 FPS seems to be reasonable at that resolution and settings with that GPU. High settings in DX10 mode would probably have the FPS sitting at about 12 or so FPS max and DX10 very high probably 8 FPS max.

 

i would say it's dx 10. Im very satisfied with my gpu and would not go any further up due to heat handling.

 

The 130M looks to be a replacement for the 9650 GT. So that should give you an idea of what to expect from the 130, so on the upper end of the mid class GPU's.

 

From the specs, it's similar to the 9700M GT.

 

Sweet thanks for all the answers! I wish I could get a better card in the HDX.

 

Is that an HP?, if so why not check out the dv6t? Can come with an ATI HD 4650 which should do a decent job running Crysis.

 

I kinda hate the dv6t. Meaning I hate every HP excluding the HDX and the tx2.

 

The dv6t's HD 4650 is better than the HDX's GT 130M.

 

Oh I wasn't thinking about the Dv6t. I guess I can deal with that. I'm just sick of all the HP's that look the same but the black finish is ok. To which Nvidia card does the 4650 compare?

And how is the dv6t different besides the paint and missing 1080p option?

 

just go with the newest cards.
nvidia refresh their gpus every year, actually every 6 months now, same as intel chip cycle.

 

The HD 4650 is better than any of nVidia's midrange offerings ATM (128-bit - 9700M GT, which is better than the GT 130M).

 

The HD 4650 looks to be the class of the midrange mobile GPU's. Check out the videos for the Asus N81Vp over at GenTech to see what the HD 4650 can do:

http://1toppc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=N81Vp-C1&Category_Code=

Noticed that the HDX16t has better CPU choices, so depending on configuration gaming performance may be a wash.

 

If you're looking for gaming on the budget, check out the ~$899 Asus G50-vt. It has a 9800m GS that will put any mid range GPU to shame. And it's styled a bit differently than your average consumer notebook too. The 130m in the HP is basically a rebranded 9650 GT, and since HP uses DDR2 in their GPU's that's not that great for gaming. Crysis on high would be unplayable.

 

Yeah if I go with the dv6t I'll do the ATI card.

 

What exactly are you looking for in a notebook?

 

I'm honestly not sure. Before I was just going to go with integrated graphics and not care but now I think I'll play games a lot and what I want keeps changing.