GMA950 vs Go7200 performance: which is worse?

I've been nosing around, and I realize that these are both fairly rotten solutions for any sort of game except older ones....however, that's mostly what I play; I don't go near current FPS games. Also, I need a 14 inch for portability purposes; I'm tired of lugging a D810 around everywhere; 15 inch widescreens are heavy. So I've narrowed things down to the HP dv2000z (which has the 7200) and the Thinkpad z61t (which can only be had with the 950). No other 14 incher fits the bill (widescreen, built-in cam, SD slot, solid keyboard). Holestly, I'd rather get the Thinkpad and glue on a decent graphics chip, but that's unfortunately not an option.

 

The GMA is worse. But if you only play older games (dating back to around 2002) you should be fine.
Thinkpads are heavier than they look by the way. You might want to consider getting a 14inch HP NC or NX series.

 

The 7200, even though its not that good, still rapes the GMA 950.

 

Thought about it. No integrated cam though, and they're fairly expensive, even compared to Thinkpads. The cam was never important to me until I lost my webcam, but now I figure one built into the lid will be a LOT harder to lose.

I also considered the Dell XPS M1210 for a while (a SHORT while) until I noticed how expensive it is, and went to a store to look at a laptop with a 12 inch screen. Talk about a headache waiting to happen...what's the point of a powerful graphics ship when you can't game because one hand is holding the magnifying glass??

 

The go7200 although a very low end solution is still a fully dedicated GPU. The GMA is an integrated solution full stop. The go7200 gets around 1400 in 3dMark05 but im not too sure of that figure.

So basically if you will play games other than solitaire, get the go7200. Have you considered the Asus A8 series of laptops? WOrth checking out IMO.

 

Haven't found anyone who carries them so far, so I haven't been able to price one out. How good is the keyboard? (One of the things I LOVE about Thinkpads is their keyboards...then again, who doesn't?)

 

I should probably mention that everything I DO play works acceptably on my current ATI X300 video chip.

 

Well the GMA 950 is definitely slower than the ATI X300, which is a dedicated GPU, so that isn't very reassuring. The GMA 950 can nip at the heals of the X200M which is ATI's IGP and with performance below the X300 also. I'm pretty sure the Go 7200 would be a small upgrade while the GMA 950 would be a downgrade.

That said maybe you could list some of the games that you play. Things like UT2004 and WoW are playable on the GMA 950 albeit at lower resolutions and settings so if you play those types of games or even older, then the GMA 950 may be acceptible.

 

The Go7200 is leagues better than the GMA950, get it without a doubt as posted if you want to play games.

That is generally true in synthetic benchmarks, but the X200M is a lot better when it comes to running games versus the GMA950. You're right though about the X200M being based on the X300 core. The new Radeon X1150 is also based on the X300 core.

The problem with the GMA950 is A) it's lack of T&L support and B) it can't hold a stable framerate to save its life.

 

Is the T&L actually that big a problem? I would think a modern processor should be able to handle DX7 type T&L calculations fine. Especially a dual core processor where most games which are single threaded run on one core so the other can be dedicated to graphics tasks. The problem may be more the CPU can't keep up when running vertex shader code, especially longer DX9 instructions, in addition to handling T&L and other tasks. Although admittedly, lack of hardware T&L support and VS support are really two ends of the same stick.

I suppose, the inability to hold a stable frame rate would be due to competition for CPU time and possibly memory bandwidth although the FSB only uses 1 channel worth of bandwidth in a dual channel configuration.

 

First of all, the GO 7200 is a good card. It is better than the X300, and can keep it's own in most games. Take for example F.E.A.R, it runs at Medium Settings, at 800x600 and keeps a framerate above 25fps at all times. Another example is Counter Strike Source, I can run this game at all high settings Antisostropic Filtering at 4x, and no HDR or AntiAlisasing and get above 40fps at all times at 1024x768. This is with the laptop in my sig.

Now to answer the topic creators question, The 7200 is alot better than the GMA 950. It will absolutely tear through 2004 and later games, and it will rip the GMA 950 to shreds at everyday tasks. It is in no way a rotten card, maybe a low-end card, but not a rotten card. The GMA 950 is a rotten card.

I don't understand why everyone underestimates the 7200, it is better than most people think. And I get 1580 3d marks in 3DMark 05. I have seen people get 1800, with the 256MB version. And the GO 7200 wouldn't be a small uprgrade, it would be a HUGE upgrade. Dont talk trash about a card until you actually test it yourself.

 

I suppose that small upgrade comment was a reference to me.

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=1077833

A X300 on a Dell can score 1172 in 3DMark 05. What a said was the Go 7200 would be a small upgrade over the X300, which the thread starter said was sufficient. While I admit that the Go 7200 performs better than I thought and is probably more than a small upgrade, I don't think it's a "HUGE" upgrade over the X300. Going from a X300 to a GMA 950 is definitely a downgrade which I did mention.

 

Ok, here's a partial list of what I play:

Starcraft
Wizardry 8
Medieval: Total War
Space Rangers 2
Final Fantasy 7
Various 4X games (GalCiv2, Space Empires 4 Gold, etc).
Postal 2

Mostly older stuff, but I'm thinking about checking out Star Trek: Legacy and Medieval 2 eventually, if possible...just saw the trailer for Medieval 2 and it looks pretty sweet.

Considering the latest discounts on the dv2000t and the fact that I should be able to get a student discount through HP (Lenovo's student "discounts" sometimes end up more than the public deals...HP just takes the public price and knocks off a percentage)....maybe I can live without the legendary Thinkpad keyboard. Don't know what I'll do without a Trackpoint though...need a BT mouse or something.

 

Well, most of those games that you list don't even technically require a GPU since their requirements are below DX7 so a GMA 950 would be fine for your needs. However, if you are planning on Star Trek: Legacy (yay, a Star Trek fan) you should definitely get the Go 7200.

 

Yes you are right, it isn't that big of an upgrade over the X300. But, I was talking about it being a huge upgrade over ther GMA950. Oh, I just downloaded the Call of Duty 2 demo, I can run it at my native res of 1280x800 with Corpse at small, Zsmoke at world, and antiosrtopic filtering with no AA at DX7, and average about 30 FPS. I was throughly impressed.

 

All those Games are fine, apart from Postal 2 which runs on the Unreal 2 engine, which the GMA sucks at running.

Postal 2, brilliant game though. Makes GTA look like a kids game

 

I like how you posted the question, "which is worse".

 

Well, way back when I used to write reviews of video cards, back when te RADEON 9700 Pro was hot stuff.

Come to think of it, I still have that card laying around..of course, it probably doesn't hold up against a GMA950 anymore.

 

Actually, a 9700PRO would blow the doors off a GMA950 any day, anytime. I would be willing to bet that it could beat the Go7400/X1400 as well.

 

The 9700 Pro is actually about the same as the Go7400 or X1400, I definately wouldn't say it was better in real time gaming at least. Outdated, but capable.

But yes obviously it's infinitely better then the GMA.

 

The 9700PRO is a stronger card than the X1400/Go7400, and it has more processing power - eight pixel pipes, four vertex, and a 256-bit bus. The Go7400/X1400 only have four pixel pipes and a 128-bit (64-bit for the Go7400) bus.
Looking at 3DMark05 scores, the 9700PRO is faster by a small amount (9700PRO can do about 2,300 or so). It's really hard to make the 9700PRO vs. Go7400/X1400 comparison because they are going to be paired with different components (CPU, RAM, etc).