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    GTX 280m vs Radeon 4870

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by thebest, Oct 12, 2009.

  1. thebest

    thebest Notebook Consultant

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    Notebook check says that the 280m is better but I want to know why? Doesn't 800 pipelines and GDDR5 beat 3x as much shader speed?
     
    thebest, Oct 12, 2009
    #1
  2. jk6959

    jk6959 Notebook Consultant

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    The only 4870 notebookcheck tried was a gddr3 version in an asus - plenty powerful but essentially just an OC'ed 4850 - wait for benchies from the M17x with real GDDR5 to see what it's really like
     
    jk6959, Oct 12, 2009
    #2
  3. BrandonSi

    BrandonSi Notebook Savant

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    That ranking is just going off 3DMark benchmarking.. Actual gaming results vary (again from notebookcheck)

    Far Cry 2 @ low
    4870 - 78 fps
    280M - 98 fps

    Supreme Commander @ high
    4870 - 50 fps
    280M - 45 fps

    It's hard to say definitively one is better than the other. You really have to say one is better than the other with regards to a specific game/app.
     
    BrandonSi, Oct 12, 2009
    #3
  4. BrandonSi

    BrandonSi Notebook Savant

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    BrandonSi, Oct 12, 2009
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  5. Lanaya

    Lanaya Templar Assassin

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    were the same CPUs used in the test? From what I've heard Supreme Commander is rather CPU intensive, so CPU speed could've been the determining factor in that race.
     
    Lanaya, Oct 12, 2009
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  6. dalingrin

    dalingrin Notebook Evangelist

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    dalingrin, Oct 12, 2009
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  7. thebest

    thebest Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah I was thinking that notebbok check must have used a DDr3 version because with GDDR5 it would beat the GTX 280m
     
    thebest, Oct 12, 2009
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  8. kryptonian

    kryptonian Notebook Evangelist

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    ^^^What he said
     
    kryptonian, Oct 12, 2009
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  9. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    No one has a GDDR5 version yet. Alienware is current in the middle of shipping some out though.
     
    sgogeta4, Oct 12, 2009
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  10. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    Yeah Hopefully I'll have mine next week.
     
    Mandrake, Oct 12, 2009
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  11. NAS Ghost

    NAS Ghost Notebook Deity

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    NAS Ghost, Oct 12, 2009
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  12. BrandonSi

    BrandonSi Notebook Savant

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    Whatever. It's printed on a website, on the internet, so it must be true.

    :D
     
    BrandonSi, Oct 13, 2009
    #12
  13. kryptonian

    kryptonian Notebook Evangelist

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    I have decided to go with the Crossfire 4870 GDDR5 over 280 SLI. That GDDR5 should come in handy with gaming.
     
    kryptonian, Oct 13, 2009
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  14. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

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    It really depends on the specs the 4870 comes with, as it can vary heavily it seems. IF specs are as expected (550-600 core, 800-900 [3200-3600mhz]) then it should be faster than the GTX280M, and actually will be around the same speed if not faster than a desktop 4850, and have a noteable lead when AA/AF come into the fold, BUT it really depends on the specs.

    If its nothing more than a GDDR5 4850 (or worse basically a 4850 GDDR3), then there wont be much/anything in it, as ASUS kindly demonstrated with thier 4850s overclocked and relabelled as 4870s (which without GDDR5 they really couldnt be, as that is what defines the 4870, along with being higher clocked, the R770 chip used in both was identical bar speed binning).
     
    Alexrose1uk, Oct 14, 2009
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  15. catacylsm

    catacylsm Notebook Prophet

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    Mind you alex, the 4850s in the msis can be overclocked very far, so i'd wonder how well 4850 gddr5s would do :)
     
    catacylsm, Oct 14, 2009
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  16. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

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    Haha, if the core overclocked decently on a 4850 with GDDR5 then it'd potentially be very good, but then by right of having GDDR5 it should be a 4870 anyway, internal speed binning and memory type are on the only difference between the RV770 chips :)

    Hell I had my 4850s up to 560Mhz briefly for testing and even without GDDR5 they were pretty fast haha, and I know 550 Mhz is a basic clock more or less for some people :)
     
    Alexrose1uk, Oct 14, 2009
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  17. italian.madness

    italian.madness Notebook Consultant

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    italian.madness, Oct 14, 2009
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  18. unknown555525

    unknown555525 rawr

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    Considering a GDDR5 MR HD4870 would have nearly twice the bandwidth, there would be no contest. The notebookcheck benchmarks are false. It shows the MR HD4850 as nearly the exact same in the tests, only very very slighly slower. Memory bandwidth is still a huge factor, and the difference between the two would be significant, not negligible.
     
    unknown555525, Oct 14, 2009
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  19. kryptonian

    kryptonian Notebook Evangelist

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    Very good points all around folks :)
     
    kryptonian, Oct 14, 2009
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  20. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Check out Alienware and see the HD 4870 GDDR5...
     
    sgogeta4, Oct 14, 2009
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  21. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

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    No one actually has those outside of Alienware yet, none of the guys here who ordered on release day have recieved the machine yet. Hence the only 'in the wild' 4870 is the ASUS right now. Notebookcheck benched the ASUS machine with GDDR3, they havent benched anything else.
     
    Alexrose1uk, Oct 14, 2009
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  22. catacylsm

    catacylsm Notebook Prophet

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    Yeah, i really hope the alienware are not going to be dissapointed, i know alot of people are eager :D.

    There is an MSI overclock tool i may try soon.

    Looks very fancy indeed.
     
    catacylsm, Oct 14, 2009
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  23. kryptonian

    kryptonian Notebook Evangelist

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    You and me both my friend, im about to plunk some serious coin on this machine (specs in my sig) and will be very disappointed if these cards dont out perform the 280s. Of course there is always the bad rep ATI got with some of their drivers in the past. Hopefully some good ones are released with this card.
     
    kryptonian, Oct 14, 2009
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  24. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

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    If worst comes to worst mobility modder or DNA drivers should be able to help.
     
    Alexrose1uk, Oct 14, 2009
    #24
  25. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Modified drivers can't help that much...
     
    sgogeta4, Oct 14, 2009
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  26. catacylsm

    catacylsm Notebook Prophet

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    Actually they do, especially when some peoples m17 4850's werent accepting drivers, DNA got in there :D

    Oh and i tested that overclock tool, works great with the MSI machines, and catalys is still locked :O :)

    Going to prehaps push it hard tonight.
     
    catacylsm, Oct 15, 2009
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  27. KillWonder

    KillWonder Notebook Evangelist

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    When is the exact release date of the MX17 with Hd 4870 ddr5?
     
    KillWonder, Oct 15, 2009
    #27
  28. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

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    Telt that to the Asus guys whos original drivers didnt even use crossfire properly they were so old. Drivers can make a massive difference to performance and features.
     
    Alexrose1uk, Oct 15, 2009
    #28
  29. sean473

    sean473 Notebook Prophet

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    Very true.. the drivers in W90 were old and crappy..
     
    sean473, Oct 15, 2009
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  30. Cobra03

    Cobra03 Notebook Evangelist

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    What MSI tool? Got a link for it?
     
    Cobra03, Oct 15, 2009
    #30