Dell wants to replace my 8600M GT with an ATI 4330.

I broke my Inspiron 1520 about a month ago. I have the 3 year complete care warranty. Dell said it was beyond repair and have since configured a new Inspiron 1545 for me. It has a much faster CPU (P8600 = 2.4 1066fsb 3mb cache) compared to my old 7100 (1.8 800fsb 2mb cache). They want to give me an ATI 4330, however. This GPU is terrible compared to my 8600M GT. The new laptop is still in production. They haven't sent me an email about it yet. I assume I can refuse it and demand something with a better GPU?

Anyone with experience with Dell replacements? What should I demand? An XPS 1530 with 8600M GT DDR3? XPS 16 with a 3670?

AV1611 out....

 

Since your laptop was an inspiron I highly doubt that they would give you an xps...

 

It's not my problem that they don't have an Inspiron anymore with a GPU at least as fast as the 8600M GT DDR2. I paid good money for a warranty. They have to replace my computer with something at least as fast. The laptop they offered me only gets 2300 3dMark06. My Inspiron 1520 got 3200 3dMark06. That's a huge difference.

 

yes, they will need to replace your machine with one that has at least an equivalent GPU. the ati 4330 build is not that machine. you will be able to refuse it and get something better.

it looks like even the ati 4570 they have for some other machines isn't in the same league as the 8600m gt.

 

let them know that that gpu is garbage and you want a better one.

 

I think your best bet is to ask for an XPS 1530 with an Nvidia 8600GT. Specs-wise, it's the closest to your old laptop.

 

I think the closest Dell could have to a 8600M GT DDR2 would be the HD4570 in the Studio line. It scores around 3500 in 3dmark06(highest scores I've seen in the Studio thread are ~4000).

 

How badly affected is the 4570 by its 64 bit bus? I'd be running at 1440x900.

 

Dell claims the HD4570 in its Studio line is 128bit, but I would take that with a grain of salt. ( click me)

It'd probably be asking a bit to play at 1440*900 on it, but I've heard the HD4570 performs decently well considering its bus size. Check the Studio 1555 thread(around pages 100-110).

 

I'm really not interested in a 64 bit video card that MIGHT be about as fast as an 8600M GT DDR2 card.

Dell's Inspiron line maxes out with the 4330, a total bottom feeder card.

Dell's Studio 15 maxes out with the 4570 card (64 bit memory bus).

Dell does have the Studio 17 with a 3650, but I don't want a 17" laptop. I bought my Inspiron 1520 because it was a 15.4" screen, a good video card, and wasn't too big to carry around in my backpack.

The way I see it Dell needs to hook me up with either an XPS 1530 with a DDR3 8600M GT, or with a Studio XPS 16 with a 3670 card. That's all they really have that would be a fair exchange.

My only concern is that the Studio XPS 16 only comes with a 1366x768 or 1920x1080 screen. The first is too low res for a 16" screen. The second is too high for a 16" (in my opinion).

I don't mean to sound picky, but it's not my fault that Dell's lineup right now has huge holes in it.

AV1611 out...

 

Well then ask for an XPS1530 with a DDR3 8600M GT. It'll perform slightly better than yours. However I'd suggest being careful as those Nvidia cores are faulty.

Btw I wouldn't base anything solely on bus size. The best example is the HD4770 which features smaller bus size than its big brother the HD4850, but sports faster memory(GDDR5 vs GDDR3) and is able to perform on par if not slightly better. The HD4570 has better memory than your 8600M GT but I'm not quite certain it would make up for that bus size, but it surely wouldn't be an underperformer.

I still you should go with either an XPS1530 or a SXPS 16 though. Might as well get your money's worth >.>

 

I'd definitely scream and yell and fight about that... what a load of crap... they better give you something all around that is equal or better... not something worse.

 

Yeah GDDR5 almost makes up for it. The 4770 is a 128bits GDDR5 4830 which is a clocked down 4860.

But since they still make 1530 with 8600M GT, I don't see why they can't get one on the Inspirons...

 

Probably because the 8600m GT on 1530 is part of the motherboard, while the 1520 sports it's own graphic assembly. Just a Wild Guess.

 

for whats its worth, it really isn't about bus size or architecture or stream processor count or clock speed.

you just deserve a computer that is at least as fast as the other one in all aspects, if that is what the warranty offers.

its really quite simple

 

I haven't received an e-mail from Dell yet with the option of accepting or declining their offer of the above mentioned Inspiron 1545 with the 4330. They threw me a low ball offer. I'll return with a high ball offer: Studio XPS 16 2.6 C2D, 512 MB 3670, 4GB Ram, 1920x1080. I guess Dell thinks the average Joe would jump at the fact that the new machine is an "Inspiron" and has a much faster cpu. Not this Joe.

AV1611 out...

 

Refund, refund, refund, refund... simply throw Dell into a trash can, and go with another company.

btw, its ridiculous to ask for a Studio XPS 16 in my opinion.

 

yea srsly??? Think hard and long to what you are expecting. In your dreams...

1.8Ghz C2D @800fsb ---> 2.6 GHz C2D 1066 FSB
2 GB Ram ---> 4GB DDR3
NVidia 8600GT 256Mb (3200 3DMarks) ---> ATI Radeon 3670 (~ 4600 3DMarks)
15.4" screen @ 1440x900 ---> 16.0" RGBLED FullHD Display

The best you could argue for is a Studio 1535 with really low-end C2D and the 4570. They will not just give you such a quality machine as their XPS/Studio-XPS line for your broken Inspiron.

 

Bottom line he deserves an equal or better machine. Maybe Dell can look in a dusty corner and find an old Inspiron 1520 for him lol

I think if he aimed for a base Studio XPS 16 he could get it.

 

yea maybe the lowest spec Studio XPS is possible although i still have doubts. I really think the Studio 1535 suits him much better.

 

I would ask for a studio 15, it has an ati HD4570 wich is far better than an 8600gt, I think asking for a sxps 16 is ridiculus.

Inspiron line is low end and sxps is the top line of Dell.

 

The 4570 is NOT far better than the 8600M GT. It has a 64 bit bus. I was able to play all of my games at 1440x900 on my Inspiron 1520. I really doubt that would be an option on a GPU with a 64 bit memory bus.

To the above poster who thinks I'm insane for asking for a Studio XPS 16 with high end specs...... read my post again. As Dell low-balled me with a crap spec'ed laptop, I am going to high ball them. The purpose is to meet somewhere in the middle. Never bought a car from a car dealer? That's how the game's played.

AV1611 out....

 

They compare with each other quite well.

 

Depends, does it have DDR2 400 or GDDR3 800? Your inspiron had a DDR2 8600 right? The GDDR3 4570 scores higher than the DDR2 8600M GT according to notebookchecks

 

Where exactly at notebookcheck are you finding the information regarding DDR2/DDR3/GDDR3 4570 models?? I can't seem to find it.

 

"More Details -"

 

I broke my 15.4" Inspiron 1520. According to Dell it is not repairable: C2D 1.8, 8600M GT DDR2, 1440x900, 2 Gigs ram

Dell is offering to replace it with an Inspiron 1545: C2D 2.4, ATI 4330, 1440x900, 2 Gigs ram.

While their offer of CPU is nice, the 4330 video card is complete garbage and is unacceptable. The 4330 is the fastest GPU offered in the Inspiron line.

The Studio 15 can take an ATI 4570. It is a 64 bit memory bus card. My 8600M GT DDR2 is a 128 bit memory bus card. There are apparently 4570's with DDR2, DDR3, and GDDR3. The question is how do they compare with the 8600M GT DDR2.

 

GDDR3 = DDR3.

The studio 1555 with 512mb is GDDR3 and has 128bits of memory bus, search over the Dell forums, with this GPU you could get more than 3700+ 3dmarks wich for me is far better than a faulty core nvidia 8600gt GDDR2.

Notebookcheck is garbage, dont use it as a reference.

 

I agree with MexicanSnake, Notebookcheck is not a reliable source for GPU Info, try GPU Review instead, you won't find Benchmark Scores on their database, but their Specifications, Retail and User Data is accurate and is kept up to date.

As for Benchmark and Comparative Scores, NotebookReview is a reliable source, a lot of us do Benchmarking.

But, yeah, you should really demand Dell to give you an equivalent or better laptop than the one you lost, if they refuse, you could file a complaint and even a lawsuit against them, as the paying consumer you are.

 

As far as I know the 4570 is a 64 bit memory bus gpu only. Unless someone can point me to some definitive info from amd/ati's website that states otherwise, it doesn't matter what Dell claims or anyone on their forums claims.

 

Just finished chatting with a Dell sales rep. The 4570 has GDDR3, but is definitely a 64 bit memory bus. Don't know where you got your 128 bit info.

 

There's only so much we can tell you. Dell has 4 lines of 15-16" laptops: Inspiron, Studio, XPS and Studio XPS.

- the Inspiron's GPU is too horrible
- the Studio's GPU apparently isn't enough

So really all you have left is to ask either for an XPS or a Studio XPS. I wouldn't consider asking for an XPS since it has the same faulty 8600M GT that broke in the first place so really the Studio XPS is what IMO you should be asking for.

 

AMD does not specify the width of the Memory Bus on their Mobility HD 4500 Series Technical Specifications site, but other sites say that it has a 64-Bit wide Memory Bus.

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 Series Technical Specifications.

 

Yeah, I think that's really my only option. I wouldn't mind an XPS 1530 if Dell would replace the GPU when it goes bad. My 8600M GT DDR2 was fine right up to the end of my laptop's life.

 

I am not sure how much the bus bandwidth will affect, but at least from the NBR graphics card list ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=302231) you can see the 4570 (Radeon HD is the card, right?) it well positioned, even above the 9600mGT, which is the next-gen card of the 8600mGT.

Now, supposing ATI sell cards with same name and different bandwidths (which I find strange to believe), have you found any site benchmarking the 4570 and the 8600 in real games?

I hope this helps.

P.S. Please inform us what will be the final deal.

 

The NBR list is not organized by power of the GPU, but by GPU core speed. If you think about it, there is no way on Earth a low-end middle class 64 bit bus card is better than a 9600mGT, which is pretty snappy for a middle class card.

 

Theoretically, the Memory Bandwidth of the Nvidia GeForce 8600m GT should be higher, and the 8600m GT is better by around 2/3'ths on theoretical performance than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570.

However, the real-world performance is all that matters.

 

Compare real world performance and not bits of information on GPU specs you don't know on whole how they affect performance of a specific design, especially when comparing cards of two different companies. The guys who made the list (unless Chaz did the whole work) are not throwing random information.

 

on a second look, it seems as though the ati 4570 is quite a bit better than the 8600m gt (even the faster 8600m gt) regardless of the bit size of the memory bus (which, as i said before, should not be important to you)

its all about the real world performance.

800mhz memory on a 64 bit bus gets the same memory bandwidth as 400mhz memory on a 128 bit bus. and then you have to consider that memory bandwidth is used more efficiently on newer generations of tech. and then you can consider that memory bandwidth is just one factor of many that determines gpu performance. all in all, it looks like the 4570 is not only equivalent, but a solid upgrade from the 8600m gt ddr2.

don't press your luck. you didn't win a raffle. you broke your laptop.

yee haw.

 

Dude you are INDEED stubborn.

IS that enough for you sir?.

 

GPU-Z has been known to misread mobile GPU's in the past. I would trust something like Everest much more.

 

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't mean to cause such a fuss. Just didn't want to get hosed by Dell. You can see they low-balled me with their first offer (4330). All I want is something at LEAST as fast as what I had.

AV1611 out...

 

Yer... but this time is accurate about the memory bus , just ask for a well configured studio 1555 with a decent processor and more ram! just tell them that ram is cheaper now!, also the studio 1555 has a better screen from 720p to 1080p, you get the montevina platform and many other updated things.

Good luck with Dell...

 

They must give you everything equivalent or upgrade but never downgrade.

 

I would see about throwing in $100 and getting a LARGER upgrade to a really good video card. See if they bite.

 

Hah, nice one, knowing Dell and their I want your money policy, I bet that they would bite even the fishing rod.

 

I just got off the phone with Dell. The rep told me that the ATI 4330 is as fast as the Nvidia 8600M GT because they both had 256 MB ram. Apparently I was simply confused because they are made by two different companies and didn't recognize the name "ATI".

After telling him (politely) that he had no idea what he was talking about I demanded to speak with his supervisor.

The supervisor told me that the ATI 4330 is as powerful as the 8600M GT that I had in my Inspiron 1520 and that the new Inspiron line is the latest technology. I told him (politely) that he had no idea what he was talking about. He said that the Inspiron 15 with the 4330 card was currently being built and that he would forward my concerns to the production team.

How's that for customer service? They said to expect a call in the next 3-4 days regarding the situation. What a bunch of retards.

 

Dell's Customer Service is what you would expect in a Dollar Store, ... actually, scratch that, even a Dollar Store's customer service is better than Dell's.

 

yep that's dell cs. typical.

back to topic, i know that a hd4570 which is faster than a hd4330 has 80 unified shaders and a 64bit bus. so it's a lot slower than a hd3650 which is in the same league as the 8600m gt.
i think that should rap it up.

 

A vulcan would die from listening to such illogical bull crap.