DirectX 11 for Laptops

Hey guys, I'm a senior in high school right now, and I was talking with a friend about buying a new laptop right now. I was thinking of buying a Thinkpad T400 to use for the rest of high school and for college.

My friend, however, told me something about a "revolutionary" graphics card coming in Q1 of 2010. Apparently it's this: http://www.pcworld.com/article/171864/amd_to_push_directx_11_into_laptops_early_next_year.html He says I should definitely wait, because this release will be really important etc etc. I don't really need a laptop as of now, but I've been waiting for a really long time, and it would be a lot more convenient for me to have one.

I am completely clueless when it comes to graphics cards, so what do you guys think? Should I wait for DirectX 11 to come out before purchasing a laptop? Just how "revolutionary" is this card?

Thanks!

 

Well umm are you a heavy gamer? Dx11 is said to be more or less what Dx10 was supposed to be(or at elast an improved version). I mean, you'll still be able to play games with Dx10(or 10.1) GPUs, just that Dx11 features and eye candy won't be available. It really depends how "good" Dx11 will be. When we went form 9 to 10, the eye candy wasn't really that much and the performance hit was a lot so lots of people simply chose to run Dx9 and didn't have a problem.

I mean, Dx11 GPUs will most likely cost a premium when they come out so you'd have to factor in budget in you decision as well as time(can you wait?).

 

Graphics cards lag behind quite a while in the mainstream notebook market, unless you're looking at Sagers/Alienwares right now then you'll be waiting 6-12 months probably to see something with the right specs and price tag. The next gen of laptop graphics is exciting and sounds like a real step forward, but for a normal consumer, you won't be missing out on too much.

 

You won't find any DX 11 capable GPUs until probably Q3 2010, when the HD 5xxx is released for notebooks.

 

HD 5xxx was meant to be released Q1.

As mentioned elsewhere, the actual chips are due to be entering production in the very near future, ready to be shipped out to ODM.

 

Meant to be released and actually released are different. Those notebooks being shipped in Q1 2010 will have GPUs that have already been manufacturered and tested now. I would hope they would be released sooner but just extrapolating on past trends, I doubt they will be released in Q1.

 

You should wait to buy a notebook until right before you start college. That way you can have the latest and great when you start.

 

Some sort of confirmation/source? Thanks!

 

Plus all the good deals that go on during the time before college starts.

 

And if you do not game, it quite frankly will not matter for you.

 

Yeah I'm not much of a gamer, hence the Thinkpad. He also mentioned stuff like better power management and movie clarity and whatever. I guess those are going to be minor compared to gaming experience? I mean, the t400 already has some 8-9 hours with the 9 cell.

Leveno apparently still has the 15% off on the t400. I've always kept an eye during the school sales, but I don't remember anything exceptional. But the "latest and greatest" is a pretty good argument. I'll think about it.

Thanks people.

 

Really DirectX mostly benefits games. Other impacts are really minor if any.

Well personally, I think the T400 is a good machine and if it fills your needs, by all means get it

 

Like everyone else said, DX11 really only benefits games. Plus if you expect to keep a laptop through college, you most likely won't be able to use a laptop you buy now for intense 3D gaming in four years time unless you get the top end card today. For college, extended battery life, lightweight, and powerful CPU probably makes most sense.

 

Sounds like your friend is more of a gamer than you are, and thus more concerned about this. It sounds to me like you won't be missing anything by having whatever the ThinkPad offers now. If you aren't a hardcore gamer, having a DirectX 11 GPU won't matter for you - even for some hardcore gamers, it won't. Sometimes computer enthusiasts have a bad habit of saying something is much more important than it really is to whomever they are speaking to, and this sounds like a case of that.

For anything except top-of-the-line games, DX11 won't be a major change, and even top-of-the-line games will run fine without it for the forseeable future. There aren't even any games that require DX10 yet, so there's certainly no need to panic over DX11.

 

You've posted this in other threads and you have yet to provide any sources (although in your last therad you said Q4). You say your estimate is based on past trends, yet we have seen ATI go from 3xxx to 4xxx in this year. According to your logic, these were announced in 2005.

The desktop 5xxx is already out and shipping (although in short supply). Yes, the laptop cards usually do take longer to make it to market but I haven't seen any generation of card lag by the 12 months you claim this one will.

Stop posting your opinions like they are facts, it's not helpful to this community.

 

I am interested in this question too. And not because of games but because 3D applications.

 

Applications as in CAD/DCC?
A professional GPU can do better (most of the times)