UPDATED - The Mobile Graphics Card Info Page - Most GPU Qs answered

If you are not doing 3D-related apps, then as long as you have a DirectX-9 compatible video card (the X200M and the X1400 are, read my guide for comparison purpopses. I explained each card's uses) with 64MB of memory or more, you will be fine.

I would go for the Fujitsu over the HP because you get better build quality, a better screen and service.

You'll have to check the Fujitsu forum or create a thread in there about the Fujitsu's - let's keep this thread related to the graphics card guide.

Go for at least a 5400RPM drive. If you are going to do video editing, then the 7200RPM I would just about call a requirement. 5400's won't cut it for that.

 

Thank you! I have appreciated the excellent education.

 

Okay, I've dug through all of the forums and I have come to the conclusion that my graphics card (64mb x700) needs to be upgraded. Can anyone give me a link to a web site that has notebook video cards for sale? I couldnt even find any using google, so i really need the assistance.

 

It's impossible to upgrade your video card, sorry.

 

Thanks a lot man, that really helped clear the video card probel up for me. I have been interested in playing WC3 FT any suggestions on the video card I need or shoudl get.

 

On my PowerBook, I play Warcraft 3 at max settings on a 32mb GeForce 5200...which is lower than even the "low end" cards on this post. You don't need a super machine for WC3.

 

Updated the guide a bit today, took the SiS integrated graphics out (just too outdated, didn't belong, also found in very very few notebooks which will probably be discontinued soon).

Changed some sentences around, etc. Just some minor things.

 

hmm i was wondering were the sis 760gx fits in with the rest of the cards this is the card i have in my laptop and it seems to be pretty decent i was just looking for some more info and were it fits in with all the others thanks

 

The SiS 760 is the worst card in the lineup. The GMA900 is better. 760 compares to the Intel Extreme Gfx 2.

 

i guess thats what i get for being cheap LoL o well it seems to be working decently for me doom 3 is playable a bit choppy but playable and it seems to run everything else decent doom is the most graphic intense game i play once i upgrade to a gig of ram it should be alot better running the card at 128mb and not slow everthing else down. thanks what makes this card so bad? like i say it seems to do what i want pretty good

 

I'm glad you can run those games! As long as you have fun.

Upgrading the RAM will definitely help.

It's not a great performer because it's not designed for 3D, and uses all shared (none of its own) memory for starters. And, it doesn't support the latest or last generation "effects" in games, and processes the graphics slower in newer games.

If it works for you, thumbs up to that!

 

My 6600 256 is only getting high 2000's on 3Dmark05. From what I'm reading that seems a bit low (I dont have too much experience with benchmarking). I do have all the latest drivers from both nvidia and AW so I dont know what else I can do (the newbie description says it all). It plays games well but any help on how to optomize it would be great.

 

Actually, that is what you should be getting with a GF6600 256MB. I get in the high 2000's (about 2800 or a little more) with my X700 256MB.

 

Oh, ok thanks i think some people must have been overexagerating. Btw do you know what a P-M 1.73 should be scoring (i know its kind of off topic)

 

You can see my benchmarks here:
http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/sager_np_5320_benchmarks.html

They're a bit dated but close enough. I only have my CPU score for 3DMark03. My CPU is a 1.86GHz Pentium M. Yours should be pretty close.

 

woohoo.. *lite bulb*
thanks chaz!

 

am getting myself a dell inspiron 6000, pretty good deal and decent config, its comign with a

128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON X300 PCI Express x16 Graphics

hwo good is it? and wat is the maximum i can play in it? i mean which game? or is it possible to run any game? i previously had a toshiba laptop witha 16 mb ddr ram ati mobility radeon, where i was able to pull off nead for speed underground..

thnkx guys..

 

Thanks for an excellant thread, although there is one aspect of video cards that you don't cover, that I'm very interested in... that is Video playback performance.

eg. I've read that the older X700 outperforms the newer X1400, and I've even read that the X1400 is only on a par with the older mobility 9700 from a 3D point of view (not sure how accurate that is?).

However, one thing the X1k series has is the AVIVO video enhancements, which is ATI's equivalent of nVidia's PureVideo.

So for someone interested in best quality Video / DVD playback on their notebook, and hardcore gaming is something they leave for their super grunty desktop system, then Video playback is an important aspect.

Personally, I'm much more likely to use my notebook as a portable DVD player, than as a portable serious gaming machine!

What I would like to know is how the X1400 (eg. in a new Aspire 5672), compares to an older X700 (eg. in a Ferrari 4002) in terms of Video playback quality, smoothness, color rendition, and even 720p/1080i HD .TS transport stream playback (which an older 9700 can't cope with, but PureVideo and AVIVO based desktop video cards handle with perfect smoothness).

Likewise, assuming for non-hardcore gamers a X1400 is probably not any huge advantage over a seemingly slightly lower performing Go7300?
But, how does the nVidia Go7300 with PureVideo compare to an ATI X1400 with AVIVO, when it comes to HD .TS and DVD playback?

I'm trying to choose between a Aspire 5672, or a Toshiba P100. Both are new Core Duo systems, the Toshiba is 17" display with Go7300, and the Aspire is 15.4" with X1400. There are pro's and con's each way for me to consider (eg. battery life, portability etc.), but the most confusing decision is which of the Go7300 or X1400 will be best for Video playback, with minimal gaming use?

It would be extemely helpful and totally excellant if Video performance (especially of the newer generation X1k and G7xxx cards) could also be compared / reviewed in your comparison (assuming someone has the ability to test this properly).

 

Hi KoolKiwi,

I think that x1k with Catalyst 5.9 and above are the best video cards for DVD/AVIVO. And the even brighter future comes with Cat 6.4. Ati was behind Nvidia, but then did this driver and Nvidia still didn' catch up. Check here - there are some hard numbers that make you think.
http://www.beyond3d.com/previews/ati/avivo/awu/index.php?p=03

I hope that helps,

 

That's not accurate - the X1400 has an entirely different architecture for one, and also gets higher scores. It will be considerably better in the latest games than a MR9700.

I hear where you're coming from - I put this chart in there so basic/intermediate users can understand how 'good' a video card is, and so they can make some sense of the numbers. I tried to keep it simple enough so that not to confuse anyone.

 

I was wondering whether anyone knows where I could get my hands on a 15.4" notebook that has the GeForce Go 7600. I've been looking all over. I've found that the Acer Aspire 5650, the LG M1 Express Dual, and the Samsung R65 all have this graphics chip, but none of them are sold in the US. I read an article here http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28800 that states that Dell displayed a notebook with the GeForce Go 7600 at CES in Las Vegas, but the article could be mistaking the E1705, which has a 7800, for the 7600. Basically, I'm in the market for a laptop that gets around 4000 on 3dMark05, has a 15.4" screen, and is under 8 pounds. I've only found the Acer TravelMate 8204 that meets all these criteria, and that's too expensive. That's why I was looking at the 7600 since it is Nvidia's mid-range, not its top end 7800, so I'm assuming it's a little cheaper. Any suggestions?

 

Hmmm, I build desktop PCs qutie often, but it seems whenever I need a new component, I need to do hours of research to catch up and find out where everything stands again.

I've always been a Geforce man, and I guess it's weak on my part not to keep up on ATI's stuff and keep in mind how each of their cards compare to their counterparts.


Anyway, I'm looking for a laptop, a process that seems daunting to someone with ONLY experiance in desktops. It's scary to know just how much i dont know about these blasted little things.

As a hardcore gamer, my decision rests on the video card, which to go for, which is the best for my money, which brings me to a question about your chart.

Q: Is it better to go for a newer card even if its in a lower teir, or a higher teir card even if its an older version. Case in point, should I push for a x700, or a Geforce 7400 which is in a lower catagory, but much newer? Which is faster?

Q: Another question is, (I hope the answer isnt spattered all over the forums..) which is faster, the Geforce 7400, or the Radeon x1400?

Q: And finally, a friend found me a nice deal, which I think is very good, but what the hell do I know! I open it up to you guys to read below and tell me what you think.

I found at HP.com, a lovely laptop called the dv8000t, with a 17" lscreen and one of those new dual core intel duos, a geforce 7400 with dedicated 128 memory, and a kickin remote control! (gotta have the little remote control!) The way I had it configured (leaving the memory at 512 to upgrade later, and maxing out the CPU), the price came to a cool $1300. Does that sound like a good deal to you guys?

Thanks everyone.
-the snaf man

 

A higher-tier, previous generation is often faster than a newer gen card. Not true in all cases, but a lot it is so.

An X700 is considerably faster than a Go7400 - more pixel pipelines, higher memory bandwidth (64-bit vs. 128-bit), etc.

I haven't seen the GeForce Go7400 compared with the X1400 yet, so it's hard to say. Assume similar performance with each. If you want to get an idea how the Go7400 performs, take a look at the desktop GeForce 7300GS. Don't expect any higher than that performance-wise.

Snaf man - we have a What Should I Buy FAQ you can fill out in the What to Buy forum, we can help you more if you fill that out.

 

Okay, thanks man.

 

so the x1600 is replacing the x700... but is it a more powerful card? ie. will it run newer games better than the x700?

 

Yes. It's a 12-pipeline part rather than the 8-pipeline x700. It benchmarks ~1500 points higher in 3dmark05, and does perform a good bit faster in games, although some have said it's not tremendously faster.

 

Good to know, thanks.

 

March 9th - I have updated the High-end video card section to include the new ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 and X1800XT, links included as well.

Cheers,
Chaz

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but based on recent benchmarks it seems like the standard 7800 is more along the line of the X1600 than the X1800 in terms of performance (3837 3dmark05 for Geforce Go 7800 vs. 4157 for Radeon Mobility X1600). This is based on a comparison of the Dell e1705 and the Acer 8204.

Is the Dell just severely underclocked?

 

The Dell is underclocked a lot.

Go7800 competes with the X1800.

 

ChazMan,

Thanks for the great guide. Helps cut through the jungle.

Could you put approximate 3DMark05 scores for us?
Could you break them further down with memory configurations?

It would be nice to know about the cards in absolute rather than relative terms.

 

I didn't create the chart for performance scores, only to show what compares with what and where it sits in the mobile arena. Your ideas are noted, maybe I'll revise it sometime to include them.

I explained video memory at the end.

It's realtive because I want more intermediate and less-technical users to understand.

Thanks for reading.

 

Now that there's more information avaliable on the newer video cards, such as the Go7400, I'm going to revise the chart a bit.

If I get a big enough collection together of 3DMark scores, I'll add them. But, 3DMark scores don't tell all.

 

Is there a better benchmark than 3DMark?

I found a really good 3DMark03 Chart on some Japanese site: http://kettya.com/notebook2/gpu_ranking.htm

 

I just updated the chart a bit with some Performance Standings.

Once I acquire more extensive information for the low-end segment, expect that to be updated as well.

I'll look into those links, maybe as I said I'll incorporate a section for 3DMarks in the future. There's no better synthetic benchmark.

 

ChazMan, like everyone else has said, "great job, thanks." I will be purchasing a new notebook in the next couple of days and the biggest problem I've had in the decision-making process is the graphics. First, let me say that I'm not a gamer. I do do a lot of video editing (on my desktop) but need the notebook for some video editing when I'm "on the road." Since most of the replies in this thread dealt with gaming and 3D, I am especially interested in how video editing is affected by the graphics on the notebook.

To make this easier (it was probably already easy for you) I have actually narrowed down my choice between 2 Dell notebooks--the Inspiron E1705 and E1505 Dual Core models. I really don't want a 17" notebook (the E1705), but it comes with a 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 video card and the E1505 comes with the Intel GMA 950 (not the 900). On either model I will get a 100MB 7200rpm SATA hard drive and, if I go with the E1505 I would opt for the 2GB of shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM @ 533MHZ to help out the video (hopefully). If I go with the more expensive E1705, I would only get the 1GB of memory.

So, (remember I would rather have the 15.4" E1505) is the GMA 950 (along with the 2GB of RAM, if it matters) be sufficient for my video editing purposes? Thank you again for an excellent summary.

 

No problem, glad to help.

For video editing, you don't even need a graphics card, but I'd try to get a dedicated card (even the lowest-end one) just so it doesn't suck up your system memory.

The HP dv5000t is a nice notebook; be sure to check that out as an alternative to the Dell. I really like the design and solid feel of it. You can see it in person at Best Buy.

Yeah, a 17" notebook is really big, don't want to have to carry around one of those if you don't have to.

Chaz

 

WOW I must be on drugs or blind. This is a recent thread, yet I have never seen it.

I must be on crack.

GOOD JOB CHAZ~! Rep points for you.

Cheers,
Mike

 

ChazMan, thanks for the response. I went and looked at the specs on the HP you recommended. It does look like a great little notebook, but my one concern (since it will be used for video capture and editing) is the 5400 rpm hard drive. There doesn't seem to be an option of a 7200 rpm drive (which the Dell E1505 has). I know I mentioned in my original post that I needed this to do some video "editing" when I'm on the road, but that obviously has to include capturing the video from my DV camcorder. I've heard scare stories about dropped frames with any notebook without a 7200 rpm capture drive. I have never had a dropped frame on my desktop and all 3 of my hard drives are 7200 rpm.

BTW, after I wrote my original email I was looking through the Dell forum on this site (just found this site today) and saw many rumors (supposedly from Dell tech support) that a new edition of the E1505 should be out in the next week or two with the option of an ATI Mobility Radeon X1400. I don't always believe rumors but one of the posts pointed to the Inspiron 6400/E1505 Users Manual on the Dell website and in the specifications portion it listed not only the Intel GMA 950, but the ATI Mobility Radeon X1300 (64MB) and the X1400 (128 MB). I would think that User's Manual (revised February 2006) on the Dell website is a pretty good indication that the release is imminent.

 

I would just upgrade the hard drive aftermarket. You can easily get them from an online store such as www.newegg.com. It is definitely a good idea to have a 7200RPM drive for video editing.

Yeah, we'll just have to wait and see when it is released.

Hey - in the What Should I Buy forum, we have a "What Should I Buy FAQ" to fill out - we can give you a couple more recommendations. Just copy + paste it, and answer the quesitons - only takes a few minutes. To create a new thread, you'll see the option in the upper left hand corner when you go into the What to Buy forum.

Cheers

 

To take this a step further... So it was my original understanding that the Mobile Radeon X700 was a better card than the X1400. Is this still true? Which one would preform better head to head on today's recent games available(Doom3/BF2/HL2/etc.)? I would just like to have this confirmed either way.


Also, I'd like an opinion on this one. If I could only pick 1 of the 2 following cards for gameing, which one should I pick and why?

-ATI Mobility Radeon X700 - 64MB dedicated RAM
or
-ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 - 128MB dedicated RAM


I am aware the X700 also comes in 128MB, but that's not an option due to my budget. Coincidentally, this is also the graphics comparision between a Acer 4402WLMi and Acer 5672WLMi.



My first post here-take it easy on me.
THanks.

 

The X700 is better than the X1400, you are correct there. The X1400 is faster than the previous-generation X600, but doesn't match up to the X700.

You are definitely going to want to go for as much dedicated video memory as possible. 64MB is too little these days, most games require that. 128MB is the minimum I recommend, it exceeds requirements and allows you to play at higher settings. The X700 with 64MB of memory is going to not be great for games. I'd take the X1400 128MB.

Go to www.ISTNC.com and check out the Quanta KN1-PM - it has a 128MB Go6600 (on par with the 128MB X700) at a very low price. It's a great notebook, there is a review by flanken on this site too, make sure you see that.

And, welcome to the forums.

Chaz

 

why can't I find a brandnew notebook from HP / Compaq with a x700 Graphics Card? I checked their site www.hp.com and other sites such as tiger direct which have a DV4000 Notebook but is not equipped with a x700 GFX card nor it is not configurable with a x700 GFX card?

Is it already phased out? or They do not anymore ship DV4000T notebooks with a x700 GFX card?

 

You won't find the dv4000 with the X700 anymore, it is being discontinued. Its replacement is the dv5000t, with a 128MB Go7400 option. The Go7400 is not as fast as the X700 by a considerable amount, but will still get the job done.

For models in a similar price range to the dv4000, take a look at the Quanta KN1-PM from www.ISTNC.com and the Acer Aspire 5672WLMi (CompUSA). The Acer has an X1400, which is supposedly a bit better than the Go7400, and the Quanta has a Go6600, which is on par with an X700.

 

Thanks for the advice. It all seems to make much more sense now. I checked out the Quanta KN1-PM. At first I was very skeptical about the Quanta and ISTNC, but once I did some research on them, I found out that is really what I am looking for. Sorry to get off topic and talking about laptops and not vid cards as much - but at times they go hand-in-hand.

 

Too bad I didn't purchased asap and missed out the x700 being the shipped as the Gfx card for HP Dv4000. I ended up buying an Inspiron6000 with 128mb x300 instead.

on the other hand,
By the looks of the Inspiron I think it is a pretty sleek looking Laptop, not like the plain black looking laptops from HP, But compared to the DV4000, I know that x700 will outperform the x300 in terms of gaming.

If only dell shipped their systems with an x700 GFX cards, It would be the best choice for me.

I am still waiting for my inspiron to arrive, I haven't been able to actually take it for a test so I am setting my mood into thinking I will just be contented with what I have right now an x300 on my I6000..

I am a webdesigner / Programmer, so I think the I6000 will still get the Job done.

 

Chaz, great work on the comparison. Very, very useful. So much stuff on net does not simply give comparable cards like your listing. Cheers.

Now to the question

I'm looking at either an Acer or an Asus (who I understand to be OEM for many other brands) notebook here in NZ as they seem best priced at the outlets I would prefer to deal with.

Main use is database/application development etc etc with some games in on the side. I'm not a heavy shoot-em gamer. NWN, Civ 4, Total War etc more my scene. 15 or 15.4 fine and less than 3kg required.

A new ASUS, the A6J is out with the X1600 and 512mb hypermemory. Would this be better than an X700 with 128 on board?

How do either of them stack up against the Go7300 with 256mb of turbocache - bearing in mind the target game set above?

Will disk speed of 5400 be ok? Is it much better than 4200 and/or much worse than 7200 (of which there are very few models available anyway).

I was considering the A6K (with MT32 and 5400rpm) with 1 gig ram and the GO7300 as ok until I saw the X1600 coming out.

All help appreciated but limited to ASUS, ACER or maybe a Dell if suitable config available here in godzone. Looking for a good combo of CPU, 1 Gb RAM (or more), XP Pro, 15-15.4 screen and the right vid card to play existing games at good settings and future proof for a couple of years.

Cheers

KiwiGamer

PS - does the X1600 with 512 hypermemory have any on-board VRAM?

 

Hi Chaz - you've obviously helped a lot of us but if i could ask one more thing - if the x1400 is the replacement for the x600, does this mean i will be able to upgrade by fitting an x1400 into a Fujitsu N3511 carrying a 64mb x600 presently??

 

You might want to go back over the chart again, I showed where each card was in terms of 'performance', and what you can do with them.

HyperMemory is a marketing term, doesn't mean much in terms of performance. 512MB of HM means the card has 256MB of dedicated, which is more than enough. The X1600 is powerful, but not powerful enough to use all 256. It can certainly use more than 128 though.

Marksy - it is impossible to upgrade your card, there's a stickied thread about that as well on the top of the gaming forum.

The X1400 is a replacement for the X600 as I said in the chart, newer notebooks that would use a midrange video card would come with it or the Go7400.

 

Cheers Chaz - have done more reading now and am going to order an ASUS A6QJA with X1600, Centrino Duo T2400 and a gig of ram.