"Dual 2GB ATI Radeon HD 6970M" vs "Single 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 485M"

Hey all,

I think this is the right place to post this, the "which laptop should I buy" threads are more about a whole laptop.

I'm buying a laptop soon and the site gives me a choice of:

Dual 2GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD 6970M (4GB of Total GFX)
Single 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 485M (2GB of Total GFX)

I know there has been threads comparing both of these cards but ATI one is duel and not single. I've read that the GTX 485 can be more faster in some, but that's just what I have read. I don't really know about these things. Could someone please tell me which one I should chose and maybe tell me some pros and cons?

I'm not all too worried about price.

Thanks in advance,
DD

 

Since even a single ATi Radeon 6970M is as fast as a single GTX 485M and much cheaper, I'd go for the dual Radeon setup.

 

I second that. Plus, this thread belongs in the "Gaming/Graphics Cards" subforum.

Mr. Mysterious

 

For more performance, nvidia (with phyx and blalbalba...)
For my self, HD 6970 (almost the same performace maybe.. the Nvidia has +5% or 10% more performance, but you will have to pay SOOO MUCH MONEY = NOT WORTH IT)

 

what are you talking about? the 6970m xfire is going to be 2x as powerful as the 485m

 

^ He was talking about single 6970 compared to 485M.

 

People still use PhysX as an excuse?

 

yes and cuda too

 

It's not an excuse! It doesn't hurt to have a little extra features for your money's worth.

Mr. Mysterious

 

If a 485 for the same price as 2x 6970M's is worth that extra feature than go for it. Considering Nvidia's pricing on their cards they put about a $200 premium on that feature.

 

yeah right, I will concede that its worth if you can name more than 15 titles that use physx

 

Not only games but applications.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhysX#PhysX_in_video_games

Mr. Mysterious

 

I just like how much games use the PPU, and how many we have some kind of info on what physx did.

its just not used. a gimmick. how many games came out this year alone?

but yeah thats 15, ridiculous, just plain ridiculous

 

This is a dance I like to call...."The Victory Dance".

Mr. Mysterious

 

That list is short and pathetic. But hey, I have never enjoyed Hot Dance Party 2 with PhysX features so I might be missing out on something!

 

not to mention that they have to fill out games that arent even announced to fill the spreadsheet. as I said ridiculous, since I cant say gimmick anymore, its just plain crap

 

6970m CF will definitely beat a single 485m. A single 485m would beat a single 6970m by ~1-10%, but at a considerably greater cost

 

I would focus more on how the heat is dissipated. The dual 6970's will be as fast as you will need for a long time, but will also produce a lot more heat. What laptop are you considering? And nowhere did he say they were the same price 485m vs dual 6970's. He simply said price was not a concern. Let us know what laptop it is and worry about the cooling. 2 vid cards burning up is not as great a deal as just 1 burning up. Some manufacturers are much more advanced in their cooling methods.

 

there are only 2 laptops that support the 6970m in xfire, the m18x and the x7200, both of them have good cooling.

 

^ 6970ms, according to benchmarks, generally only put up around ~75watts. The 485m puts out a whole 100 watts under load. True, the 6970m CF will be hotter, but the 485m single compared to a 6970 single will be hotter.

And his options aren't that varied. For dual 6970s, there is the m18x and clevo x7200. For a single 485m, there is the sager np8150/np8170.

All of the options have great cooling, so it is kinda pointless to debate cooling ability

 

If both are available for roughly the same price, then dual 6970m is undoubtedly the superior option in performance compared to a SINGLE 485m. As for heat and power consumption, obviously the dual-card setup is more power-hungry but the models which house the configuration are built to dissipate the excess heat sufficiently to make it a relatively non-important issue to consider.

 

6970M Crossfire any day of the week!

Would be like two fly's shagging in a pot of Ben and Jerry's Ice cream.

The best of both worlds for them.

 

That was my question. I didn't know what the laptops were that offered it. If cooling isn't an issue, and price isn't, than certainly go for the 6970's.

 

But again, I didn't read anywhere where they were for the same price, even roughly. But if those 2 laptops are what are offering the setup, go for the 6970's if price isn't an issue. I also believe they both have great cooling, and that would be my concern in choosing.

 

You will be able to go a long, long time before worrying about your gpu bottlenecking your system. A long time.

 

He said price was no object, only availability and the choices were single 485M or CF 6970. Of course they aren't price equal.

If your object is top performance, 6970CF. If you want to avoid hassles of SLI and CF and don't need top performance 485M.

 

Crossfire in a heartbeat.
Even if 485M gives me fluid 3d action.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. Sorry that I haven't replied, was caught up on exams. I'm buying the eon-15s from origin. I think it's the same as the sager 15" laptop. About power consumption, how much more approximately does the cf consume in comparison to the gtx? Thanks again and thanks in advance.

 

6970CF is going to require that you get a 330watt adapter, which isn't a problem since the m18x comes with that standard if you order 6970CF, and the clevo x7200 has 2 power bricks.

6970CF probably consumes ~150-200 watts under load, probably closer to 150. 485m will consume around 100watts at load. If you're worried about battery life, then sager/origin/clevo is not the way to go, since they don't support IGP.

the eon-15s from origin is way overpriced. Unless you know someone on the inside, you will get a much better deal at xoticpc. It's the same laptop, just different logo.

 

As far as I know, the Eon-15s isn't available with 6970M Xfire. Unless you are doing some super special modding on the chassis?

 

there are only 2 laptops that can do xfire of the 6970m m18x and the x7200

and neither of those are the NP8150 (eon 15s) that you are asking.

 

Hey, I chose origin because they have a better well, I guess closer service in my country. I'm buying the origin from the Australian website, originpc.com.au. Sorry for being not being informative.

These are the option they have:

Single 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M (1.5GB of Total GFX)
Single 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M (1.5GB of Total GFX)
Dual 2GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD 6970M (4GB of Total GFX)
Single 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 485M (2GB of Total GFX)

 

You're going to have to clarify exactly which model you're choosing from Origin, as already stated the eon15 does not support dual 6970m configurations unless you're looking at the Clevo X7200 equivalent which doesn't have Sandy Bridge processors.

 

... eon 15-s http://originpc.com.au/shop/pc/configurePrd.asp?idproduct=445

 

Checked the website, interesting how the model pulls off crossfire 6970m but can't do 485m SLI, perhaps it isn't based on the Clevo chassis but rather one of the Alienware-based models. Assuming there's no typo on the website, might as well go for the dual 6970m if you're after performance whatever the cost.

 

Wow! I am inclined to say that Origin's website is in error. I find it hard to believe that Origin can squeeze two 6970M's into Clevo's 15.6" chassis, while the GPU selection's pricing structure further evidences a misprint. But if they can really do it, well then... more power to 'em! Still, the American website only shows single-GPU options.

Eh, the picture of the EON15-S is definitely Clevo. ORIGIN EON15-S Custom Gaming Laptop Product Details and Features

 

the pics are of the NP8150, still it offers that option it must be a typo

this is the guts of the NP8130
AnandTech - Gallery - CyberPower Xplorer X6-9300 - 14 Photos

this is the guts of the NP8150
AnandTech - Gallery - Eurocom Racer, aka Clevo P150HM - 15 Photos

Unless there is some serious tweaking there, they cant fit 2 cards

I would simply call

 

I would simply buy it - you're only paying for one 6970M. Then when you get your new PC shipped to you, call them to complain that you didn't receive two GPUs! (You would have to claim ignorance, of course.) If their customer service is as good as they claim, then they should be fully willing to reimburse you for part of the purchase price with minimal hassle.

And if you consider that to be immoral, just remember... Origin is ripping you off with their prices anyways.

Good luck with your PC purchase.

 

thats absurd, getting headaches over one call...

 

That must be a typo. The smallest laptop to ever fit dual gpus was the m17/m17x from alienware. And that wasn't that small.

I doubt two cards can physically fit in there...

 

Hey, thx about the concern about them ripping me off, but the economics in Australia is quite atrocious. There are plenty of sites out there that charge for more for Australian laptops, it's quite unfair.