How much better s the 8600M GT to the GS?

As said, how much better is the 8600M GT to the 8600M GS? I have heard that its only a 13% difference, which is almost unnoticable. How true is this?

Thanks

 

It's more like 25% to 30%, you can compare them here if you like:


http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

 

Here's another:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=125246

The 8600GT used is the GDDR3 version though.

 

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=533&card2=534


By the numbers there isn't a huge difference, but the GT there is probably the GDDR2 version.

 

Crazy thing is that latest drivers (169.xx) offer improvements to the GT. With my 8600m GT DDR2 O/C'd I get about 4200 3DMark06 score. Which is well above a stock clocked DDR3 version. Not to say you couldn't o/c a DDR3 version and get even more improvement. I'm sure you could get a significant jump with the GS as well - both by O/C and new drivers.

 

Ok, i read all of the links. I noticed that in some, it was a big difference, and in others, small. In the First link, it was a pretty big difference, while in the third it is pretty small. Link 2 had 8600 GT as GDDR3, so it kinda puts it off balance, but i read it anyway. The 3rd link was the most accurate probably, because actual users rated. Same with the First, actual proffesionals rated. Well, im kinda stuck, as you can see, i have the GS (See Sig) and i'd like a GT, but I love this computer. Looks, specs, heat/noise,etc. The other one that I would get with the GT isnt that nice looking. Plus I have a 17" now and the one im looking at w/ the GT is only 15".o do.... I guess I have some thinking to do... Also, i guess i will see a difference in 25% to 30%? right? Im playing games, like The Sims 2 w/all expansion packs,, Flight Simulator X,, and some online games. I'd like to play them all at highest or closest to high graphic settings i can get, is it worth getting a GT then? Since im not playing Cysis or anything? Thanks for all the great links and replies! (+ 1 Rep for all)

 

You're welcome, and thanks for the rep. I think the only way to compare these (or other) video card's is by testing them with the same hardware (CPU, chipset, RAM, etc.), and to use cards with similar memory to get reliable results. It's hard to establish if it's actually the GPU that is responsible for the difference otherwise.

But it's a good thing that you are asking yourself and us if you need more graphic power then you have right now before you start overclocking or trade in you laptop. If you're only a casual gamer or only play older games you're more then fine with the system in your sig. I checked the system requirements for the games you mentioned and for those there really isn't any need for an upgrade, they aren't that heavy to run.

 

If you're going to upgrade I'd make sure you're getting a better machine, maybe go for a 8700M GT if you can.

IMO if you like the laptop, keep it. In my experience really liking a machine is worth a fair bit.