HD2600 or 8600GS

Hi Everyone,
I also posted another similar version of this in the "what notebook should I buy" section but after reading some of the other posts there perhaps I should have put it here first.

I need to make a decision on which one of there gpu is the best way to go...sorry for the double post I should have been more careful.


I have narrowed my choices to these 2 after reading lots and lots of posts from this community. One reason is the international warranty which def applies to me

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220237

OR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220163

Is it really worth the extra 300? The 1.9 vs 2.0 is not really a concern for me...its the gpu.

One major concern with the ATI gpu is the drivers for HD2600 as I have read a lot about problems with these cards I would go with the 800$ one if there is a consensus that the driver issue is not a major concern...and I would like to play Bioshock on this w/o it looking like total crap and I play Eve regularly.

Both will be upgraded to at least 3G of RAM.

Thanks again for your help. I did check out the Dell notebooks...but I don't know, I just can't bring myself to buy one.

Cheers

My 2 other posts can be found here
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=195459 list of how I will use my system

and the original "what should I buy" post
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=197026

 

the pages dont open but the 2600hd is better for gaming

 

yeh.. pages won't open.

GDDR3 8600gt > GDDR3 2600 > DDR2 8600gt >= DDR2 2600 > 8600gs

Being DDR2s 8600gt and 2600 very close each other. I dont know about how close the GDDR3 ones are. Then it all depends on your pocket.

 

my guess is that its pretty close for gaming... maybe the ati card nudges ahead. nvidia is doing pretty awesome things with drivers right now, while ati is struggling heavy...

doesn't change the fact that the 2600 hd is somewhat better than the 8600 gs

 

Any HD 2600 > 8600 GS, so you're fine

Also yea...pages never opened

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220163

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220237

Oki I think those work...sorry about that. Thanks for all your replies so far...this has been a nerve racking week or so trying to narrow it down.

 

I am just concerned that I will end up with a gpu that I cannot manage because I am not savvy enough to handle these odd driver configs.

I have been reading this forum like crazy and I see lots of ppl having issues with the ATI card...but in truth it's the one that I would like to have because it seems to perform well and the price is so right.

Admittedly, the system that is 300$ more might be because it has Intel instead of AMD...and not that is has nvidia as opposed to ati

 

Is the HD2600 GDDR3 based or DDR2 based? If it's GDDR3 based... hands down it's better than the 8600M GS. Heck, it's even better than the DDR2 version of 8600M GT!

However, you have to realize that the T7300 is FAR superior to the AMD TL-58 in all areas. Not that it'll matter for gaming (too much), but it's always good to know that your laptop is capable of keeping up with the curve for just a little while longer...

However, the bottom line is, both GPU's will perform relatively the same at the resolution you'll be playing Bioshock at (and believe me, you won't be playing it at 1280 x 800 on either of the cards with any decent amount of detail).

 

I assume its DDR2 because you cant touch anything on newegg that has GDDR3 for under 1500...

I will be disappointed with Bioshock no matter what I think...my friend plays it on his tower and I watched which made me want to play it but he is running this setup:

CPU: Intel Q6600 - 327
MotherBoard: Asus Striker - 229
RAM: 2 x 2GB 8500 Reaper Twin - 275 x 2
GPU: ASUS 512MB 2900XT - 545
Storage: 2 x Western Digital 500GB SATA II - 149 x 2 (configured in raid)
Case: antec sonata III - 189
DVD/CD: pioneer 212D Sata - 49
OS: windows vista home preimum 64bit - 169

I cannot realistically expect a notebook to perform like this system, esp not at the price I am looking at...although he has had driver issues up the wahzoo...

 

Go for whichever one is more bang for the buck... and it's definitely the one with the HD2600 (even though the CPU will suffer a little).

I think you'll be able to play Bioshock at 1024 x 640 resolution with some low to medium settings. You have to remember that even the more powerful brethren of the 8600M GS, the 8600M GT, can only play it on a solid medium at that resolution. HD2600 DDR2 is probably just a tad bit more powerful than the 8600M GS.

 

Ahem, I can play Bioshock at 1280x800 in DX9 with shadow maps turned off and I get a constant 25-30fps. Sometimes it dips but it is by no means unplayable, it is very playable at those fps.

And you don't have to do much of anything keep up with ATI. Just download the mod tool and the newest Catalyst drivers and you're all set.

 

i love you

 

Will there be much difference between your 2.2GHz and my 1.9GHz? Perhaps that can make the difference?

 

300ghz? I don't think much if it's a dual core as Bioshock is also heavy on the graphics side as well as the cpu. I was able to play Bioshock on my old Athlon XP, granted at 15fps most of the time, so I think that a 1.9ghz cpu should be fine as long as it's dual core.

 

Ok, I have decided to go with the AMD/ATI setup based on all your advice. I am in AU so I have to have it privately shipped to me but I will at some point give a review of it and how it handles Bioshock. I am very curious to know if it can handle these kinds of games and not overheat itself...which is a problem I have always had with the HP zd7000.

I need to do some serious looking around on this forum for tweaks and such but I am learning lots by researching this and not relying on "one of the boys" to pick it out for me...they likely would have selected one of those pink Dells anyway

I ordered 4G of RAM I know it will recognize 2.5G max but I am hoping to allocate 1G to the gpu via the BIOS and hopefully then I wont be losing too much. Also if ASUS updates the BIOS soon and I can get my hands on a 64bit version of Vista then I will be good to go. I think its update 210 that I am on the look out for from ASUS.

Cheers and thanks for all your help I appreciate it,
Jenn

 

I've had no problems with my Asus overheating during heavy gaming sessions. If it does overheat send it back to Asus because it's not supposed. Luckily Asus has service centers in every major city in Oz.

And I've pretty much tried every Bioshock tweak there is. There is just no way to make the game run truly any faster. If you disable too much it takes away from the whole atmosphere of the game. So I've found that just disabled Shadow Maps in the ingame settings and setting AF to 0 in the .ini is the best. But if anyone else has any tips I'd love to hear them.