Nvidia 8600M performance, general discussion

Hi I've just ordered a Lenovo Thinkpad T61p with an Nvidia Quadro 570m 256mb. I have been hearing that it is equivalent to an 8600m GT. Is that true? Somewhat? Will it be able to perform on say Crysis? Bioshock? Fear? etc.
SPECS:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz 800MHz 4MBL2)
Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate
Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate US English
15.4 WUXGA TFT
NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M (256MB)
2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Keyboard US English
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
100GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim
PC Card Slot & Express Card Slot
4 in 1 Media Card Reader
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
ThinkPad Wireless USB Adapter
9 cell Li-Ion Battery

I have heard that with the right drivers, the 570M can perform like an 8600m GT on games.

 

The 570m is a very good graphics card, equivalent to a 8600M-GT. Plus, it has GDDR3 video memory, so it's gaming performance is rivaled only by the Asus G1s/G2s, and the MBP. It should run all the games you mention decently, though no one's completely sure for the one's which aren't yet released. For maximum performance and compatibility, consider installing the latest Geforce drivers on it.

 

Here are the stats on the 570m:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761.html

Stats on the 8600M:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_8600M_techspecs.html

In general Nvidia has posted on their site in the past that they don't recommend trying to game on the Quadro's, and they suggest that gamers would be better off with the 7x00 or 8x00 series cards for gaming. (I'll see if I can track down the page that says that, and their explanation why).

Here is an old test that was done to try gaming on a Quadro vs a 6x00 series card (an old test obviously) http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761.html

 

lol... your computer is going to look the same as mine... i have that monitor and case. I cant say the same for the components. I only have a 7900gt and 1 gig of ram.

 

Is that suppose to be the same link to the chart with the specs? I don't see the comparison bet. the quadro vs. 6 series you mentioned.

 

Do all 570ms come with GDDR3 memory? Because you do know that some manufacturers use different types of RAM on for their gpus...Also, some people tell me that it'll never perform on par with an 8600m because of it's different driver and clock rates. Is there any reason for that? Different pipelines?

 

There is no hardware difference between the 570m and the 8600M-GT (if anything, the 570m has better hardware). It does have CAD optimized drivers, however its fairly simple to install nVidia Geforce drivers. Also, both the T61p and the 8510w (the only 570m's I've seen detailed reviews on) have GDDR3 memory. I'm pretty sure that as a workstation certified card, all 570m's will come with GDDR3 memory. This seems to confirm that the 570m only supports GDDR3.

 

Quick question

Do you think i can safely overclock a 8600m gs to perform as good as a 8600m gt?

 

No. The 8600M-GS is already clocked higher than the 8600M-GT. The difference between the two cards is in the number of stream processors, not the clockspeeds.

 

So technically, would it be possible for me to install 8600M GT drivers for optimized gameplay when I want to game and 570M drivers when I need it for work and 3D rendering?? LOL I could have both drivers on my comp and install the one that best optimizes my card to my needs, if I feel like playing games or doing 3D rendering. That would be pretty awesome indeed. Just uninstall driver and install the "correct/optimized" one for the task at hand =P.

 

Yes, I do a similar thing with the NVS 110m in my sig. The NVS drivers give me better battery life and run cooler, as they don't push the graphics card as hard. However if I'm at home or going to play a game, I use the Geforce Go7300 drivers.

 

Wholly monkey jeebus!! That's amazing. Wow...now that's giving more reasons to wait for my T61p to ship even though all shipments are being delayed. Wowzerz...so there are no issues what so ever that might arise from this tweaking with the drivers? I hope it doesn't accidentally kill the gpu...i.e. It's a workstation gpu so if increased clock via 8 series drivers would it over heat and die because of different cooling...etc.

 

The Geforce drivers don't overclock the card, though you could if you wanted to. They merely optimize the way the card handles data for gaming purposes, rather than engineering purposes. It cannot physically hurt your card in any way, as it's just a software change.

 

Performance wise, did you notice any changes by using 2 different drivers? Or is it negligible.

 

+rep! Great thread. Thanks for the screens.

 

Yes, the driver change alone gave me 60% performance increase, and the driver change + overclocking gave me a 100% performance increase. However, that's on my NVS, and NVS drivers are known to limit performance significantly. On an FX, you can expect some performance increase, though probably not as dramatic a one. Also, the driver change will increase your compatibility and optimization for newer games, such as Crysis and Unreal Engine 3 games.

 

which just goes to further show that while some people think the 8600GT is a crappy card, it really isn't since it's just driver issues. If you can get a 60% increase with changing a driver, what's to stop the 8600GT to outperform a 7800?

 

I wasn't actually talking about the 8600M-GT there, wuzer. If you read my posts I was refering to the laptop in my sig, with the NVS 110m (Go7300).

 

Hmmm actually...some benchmarks place the 8600M Gt between the 7800 and 7900 GS it's actually capable of much more than a 7800.

 

Well, not really. It's not capable of high-level 3d acceleration at high resolutions, due to it's 128-bit memory bus width, which the 7800 is. However, at lower resolutions, yes, it's probably a better choice than the 7800, possibly better than even the 7900GS (once DX10 codepaths start getting better optimized).

 

Which can only mean that my Quadro 570M will be uber !

 

i wonder if someone with 8600m GT could do a little test for me.
just choose DIRT from the drop-down list and see if this GPU could handle this game on recommended settings or will it fail. http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

Thanks!

 

Are you referring to www.SystemRequirementsLab.com/referrer/srtest ?

 

yes


(why the hell must reply be 10 characters)

 

wait will it work the other way around? Like 8600m Gt running on Quadro FX 570M drivers?

 

That's much more complicated. I've never tried it on a laptop, but on a desktop, there are ways to do it. It used to involve only a driver change, now you actually have to hard-mod your card, i.e. you have to mess with the actual hardware. It's not recommended, really.

 

This is what ive got

Acer Acpire 5920
Nvidia 8600m-GT



By the way........Nice site!!!!

 

hmm...but it works without any problems if It's an Nvidia Quadro 570M running both drivers right?

 

Yes. Technically the Quadro FX is the higher end card. It can run either drivers without problems, but the Geforce may be instable if trying to run Quadro drivers. Note that this is all second hand info, I've never tried to run a laptop Geforce card with Quadro drivers, it might work fine.

 

What i'd like to know, is why is my 8600m GT clocked at 245 mb?! It is on every test, what the hell! I don't understand it...

 

directx 7.15?? kinda old isn't it?

 

whoops...my bad...that's not directx version

 

Out of all the nvidia drivers from laptopvideo2go, which are best combination of most stable and most current? Thanks!
SXO792

 

Sorry, I just saw the other post. 158.45 seems the latest and greatest that you can OC and seems most stable... Any opinions? Thanks!
SXO792

 

From what I hear, 158 is the best overclocking driver by default, as its the last forceware to have it enabled. I hear 162's are pretty good, but no overclocking. Do some googling.

 

agreed. the 162s are probably the best for the non over clockers but the 158 is overclockable and stable from what i have heard.

 

how does the laptopvideo2go site work for drivers? I can only find a long list of drivers...none of which specifies the GPU it was designed for...in other words how do I know which one to download?

 

nVidia uses a Unified Driver Architecture, so all their drivers should work on all their GPU's. Just pick one of the newest one's that's for your Operating System, and you should be fine. You can look in their forums for performance differences and such between the different driver's, but in general you just want the newest one.

 

Which drivers can I use for the 8600M GS? or the best ones I mean

 

well, if you read the forum, and if what they keep saying is true, the newest nvidia drivers work for all their cards so you should go with those.

 

Hi, new to the forum.
Wanted to thank all the people for passing along great information on the board.

I just purchased a dell inspirion 1500 with a 1400 x 900 screen and am now having second thoughts. I think the 8600gt might not be able to handle it for gaming but I see the Asus( A1 ?) is highly recomended with nearly the same card (faster memory)but with a 1680 x 1050 screen.

My question is....

to all the people who have the 8600gt in their laptop what resolution did you choose for you screen? 1280x800 or 1400x900?

Also if you purchasesd the lower res do you wish you upgraded ? Same question to the people with the higher res, do you wish you only has 1280 x800.

Thanks,

 

1280x800 is probably optimal for gaming.

I run games in 1280x800 sometimes. My 15" 1440x900 is also a really good 14" 1280x800. keep in mind that you can avoid interpolation by reducing the screen size.

 

I chose 1440x900 res on my 1520 and I love it. So far, I have been able to run all my games at the highest settings, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory at 1440x900 and Command and Conquer 3 at 1440x900. Not too many games offered the option for that high of a res, though.

 

I play my games mostly at 1200x800. For me that seems like the sweet spot between graphics and framerate. Obviously it's going to differ with the game.

 

unless when you want to overclock
then you'd be better off with the 158.45

 

if you are talking about vista, the 160.04 are the last ones to overlclock. on xp it's the 158.51.

I forgot, in therms of date of build, because the 165.01 overclocks on vista and not on xp but their a bit old

 

jw, but can the 8600GS DDR3 run World of Warcraft on the highest settings on Vista? Thanks!

 

Yes, quite easily.

 

haha yeah it will defiantley run WOW...

 

Thanks for the help guys.

That's really what I need to know.

Thanks,