GeForce 9600M GT GDDR3 vs. ATI Radeon HD 4650/4670...

Hey guys!

I've recently launched on my journey to pimp my laptop as much as I can, and have already upgraded my processor to a T9600. My next plan involves fishing an ATi 4650, or 4670, if I'm that lucky. But it seems that I'm not lucky at all (or just plain impatient lol) so now I'm looking for a 9600M GT, which is still a modest upgrade from my 64-bit bus 9300M GS.

Now the question--is it worth to still wait/look for a 4650/70 and delay the upgrade for another quarter of a year, or is it alright to go on ahead and fish a 9600M GT? I see notebookcheck.com to list the 4650/70 to be able to almost play every game on high, and while I'm confident it could, I can't seem to trust notebookcheck's review of the 9600M GT, since the benchmarks they did with my 9300M GS didn't seem to apply to me.

 

The 9600M GT GDDR3 is still a very decent gpu. Easily overclockable and undervoltable. And it's easy to find on ebay...MXM II ??? If so, you may never find any compatible HD 4650 or 4670...

HD 4670 DDR3> HD 4650 DDR3> 9600M GT DDR3> HD4650 DDR2

 

Well actually, Acer has an MXM-II 4650 available online at some spare-part store (dang expesive tho) while MSI's EX625's GPU is an MXM-II 4670, although it's really hard to look for it..so whaddya say, go ahead? I should have made this a poll...lol

 

There is a 4670 ddr3 mxm 2 card? I want that baby if there is one!

 

We'll have to wait for EX625 users to bust up their laptops or sell parts. lol it's that hard to come by, so I'm not that hopeful anymore..

 

That sucks, why are there no 4650 DDR3 cards either? I think quite a few people would buy them..

 

The 9600M GT is a good card but the 4650 and 4670 with DDR3 both are much better, especially when playing a higher details and resolutions.

 

toshiba have gddr3 modules in 4650
i have l500 126 and it works flawlessly... much better than 9600gt gddr3

 

@kisetsu17 - I would say patience my friend, it always pays back I'm happy that I'd put a lot of effort in the searching, and I'd ended up with HD4670

Mine MSI's EX625 and GX623 as well

+1

Everything runs @1280x800 on High, even GTA IV

We are talking about MXM modules and Toshiba is notorious for not supporting this standard.

 

hm didnt know that... so that means i cant change my 4650 eventually?

 

Not that you'd actually have reason to--4650/70 is as good as you can get, well if we're talking about MXM-II formfactors.

HP has a DDR3 4650, but it might be a soldered-on GPU.. the 4670 is the only DDR3 variant that comes in the MXM package.

@triturbo yeah, I wish I could wait, but no matter how many places I look at (you know ) I still can't find one lol.

If ever I couldn't find one after I sell off my T5800 (gonna be posting it soon here ) I'd go with the 9600M GT and then just OC it to be able to at least keep up with the 4650. But I still hope I could find one!

 

Probably not but for the next year or 2 it will be a very decent mid-range GPU and serve your needs fine. By the time it becomes obselete you can probably get a cheap vidock solution if need be.

 

oh well, I guess then i wont change my card on lappy, only processor eventually with p9*** or something stronger...
It will keep up with some ordinary game for one yr, and desktop will be the main gaming machine

 

It is

Yep, MSI's HD4670 is the only MXM HD46xx that comes with DDR3. Maybe I had missed a laptop or two, but I checked pretty much everything available on the market to be sure.

It still is pretty descent GPU, at least if you play at relatively low res (like 1280x800), if you go just a notch higher and it starts to sweat

 

I'm really already getting jealous! lol 4670 just show up already!

But it seems high chance that I'll just be upgrading to the 9600M GT.. Well, if it works out, it'll still be a decent upgrade.

 

U talking about hd4650 ddr3?

 

Actualle he talking about HD4670, which is as good. he has one on his 5920G, lucky dude huh. lol

Brings up a question though, does the 4650 DDR3 on HP's and others perform the same as the 4670, or does it just have lower clocks?

 

Isn't the 4670 a higher voltage/ higher clocked version of the 4650? Bit like the 9600M GT vs 9700M GT although both cards have more similiar power requirements than those 2 nvidia cards I used as a comparison

 

Of course, i'd say go ahead for the MSI HD 4670 DDR3 if you're able to find one but in my opinion, you will wait a long time before finding one, and maybe never. Not to mention it's a pretty complicated upgrade, i mean the guy who put it in his 5920 experienced overheating issues...As for the 4650 Acer spare-part, well, it's ddr2 so not even better than the 9600M GT DDR3...

 

but it cant b4e that far in performance. right? nice card/

 

Exactly! I'm gearing towards the nvidia, since both ATI's had overheating problems with 15-inchers, and mine is even just a 14-incher, so I could imagine it melting down my laptop lol. And at least I've had experiences undervolting an NVIDIA card, so it wouldn't be that hard.