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

The general rule of thumb is to wait as long as possible - you'll probably be waiting until September or so for the Merom notebooks, because the manufacturers have to add them into their laptops.
What really matters if you're going to be gaming is the GPU. If that's your weak point, no amount of processing power is going to make up for it. So, choose your laptop based on the GPU, CPU second. Definitely get a dual-core though.

I'd wait for Turion X2 benchmarks before you decide between that and an Intel. The Merom is probably 10-20% faster than the Duo, so if the Turion just matches the Duo, then the Merom will beat it.

Chaz

 

Why isn't the X1300 and Go7300 in the ultimate chart?

 

Thanks for catching that, they are now in there.

Chaz

 

Hey Chaz mate,

I dont agree with one thing in your comparision chart. You claim that a 6800 Ultra (in a XPS Gen 2 for example) is better then a X1800. I dont agree with that, all the reviews of the 6800 Ultra said that it had a 3dmark05 of 5000-5200. The X1800 beats that easy with a 3dmark05 score of 6500... Also consider that the X1800 is a next-generation card (SM 3.0, HDR)

I could be wrong, but I just wanted to say this.

Charlie-Peru

 

Ah, apparently it was right in the ultimate chart, with the Go6800U before the X1800, forgot to do so up top.

Thanks,
Chaz

 

Go 7200 is now out.

BTW, think you should have a list for upcoming GPU's.

 

Its hard enough to get info on current ones :/

 

Hi - some very useful stuff here Chaz ... if only I'd found it before I'd ordered my new laptop I could have asked this earlier but anyway ... any idea how will Oblivion run on my new Dell 6400: 15.4" WXGA screen, 1Gb 533MHz DDRII, X1400 256mb, Duo 2400 (1.8), 100Gb 5400 HD? Will it look rubbish or will I be able to use some decent level of detail?

I'm not a hardcore gamer but will play a few hours a week the likes of Oblivion, HL2 and maybe Black and White 2.

 

Hi ahemsworth and welcome to the forum,

Some people are complaining on the x1400 performance in Oblivion. But I can say that x700 128MB with medium settings (similar to Chaz) with distant LOD works fine at 1280x768. No overclocking. Overclocked card (3000 3dmark05) makes everything even nicer. Lower resolutions are absolutely playable.

Check this thread for oblivion:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=45637

Cheers,
Ivan

 

chazman, do you know where the GeForce 7200, 6150 and 430 stand in the chart?

 

I could guess where they go, but until I find some concrete benchmarks, I'm not putting them in there in order to avoid misinforming people if I am incorrect. Those are very new cards, not much information available on them.

Chaz

 

and what is your guess?

 

I'd place the Go6150 below the X200M . . its specs are really weak, and there is no mention of what type of memory it has. The dedicated X200M might beat it out. Kind of hard to tell. Either way, the Go6150 and the X200M are the best integrated cards.

The Go7200 should be below the Go7300 and X1300, but above the X200M.

Chaz

 

good enough. i will consider only new laptops with X1600/go 7600 or higher. so the gap seems huge here. thank you chaz

 

How does the x1600 compare to the x700? Which one is better?

 

x1600 by about ~50% depending on which benchmarks you see.

 

Ah, I just realized that charte Chaz put out...Now it says there that some graphics cards won't benefit from more memory (256 instead of 128). Is this true for the x1600?

 

I can imagine that gap will jump even higher when new releases come out that have optimized code for shader model 3.0. x700 is a great card, but if you can find an x1600 I'd say go for it. The price isn't proportionally 50% higher, and the notebook will likely come with newer parts. eg. core duo, or the new AMD X2's which should be available soon.

 

No that's not true, the X1600 will definitely use more than 128mb of texture memory although only at its peaks will it use up to or more than 256mb. You only have to worry about older less powerful gpu's when they are equiped with too much RAM.

 

Definitely look for the stickies before you post . . .I merged it with the Chart.

The X1600 can't quite take advantage of 256MB, but much more than 128.

Chaz

 

Speaking of the X200M, whats my chance of running a decent game of Flashpoint on it? My other specs will be Celeron M 1.5Ghz and 512Mb RAM.

 

Do you know what the requirements of that are?

 

any idea how the Nvidia 6150go and the ATI x1100 stack up? they will be in the new hp/cpqs i believe... thanks!

 

I think the Radeon Xpress 1100 will trump the Go6150, seeing as the Go6150 looks to be right around the performance of the current X200M.

Not much info on these right now, sorry. You should go for a laptop with a dedicated graphics card if you plan to game.

Chaz

 

thanks for the review. it helps a lot. maybe you are tired of answering questions about x1400, but i have some questions for that. is X1400 good enough to run both autocad and 3d max?

 

hey chaz. How does dual core processors affect gaming? if any at all?

 

The affects of Dual Core on games is a very little. But when you are running other programs next to your game, you will see that Dual core makes the difference. Swapping between games and files are like swapping between explorers...

Charlie-Peru

 

Hey London1987.
The x200 handles Operation Flashpoint Perfectly! I have the x200 and it plays Flashpoint better than my GeforceTi 4200 64mb did!! Its capable of alot more than Flashpoint needs and iv been playing Medal of Honour Allied Assualt with MAX settings on the x200. (and i still have only 256Ram on my Laptop and have my x200 set to use only '32mb' to save my system memory!!) So i can imagine how it will perform when i upgrade to 1.2Gb ram and set my x200 to max.

 

Where would this card ATI Mobility FireGL V5000 PCI-Express (128MB video memory) which is found in the HP NW8240 fare in the comparision?

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/sg/en/un/WF25a/100011-200028-200028-300366-300366-403959.html

which category would it be?

 

Hey undecided,

That one belongs to the X700 series. It gets around 2500 3dmarks at stock. A very good card for OpenGL-based things, but not that good for games. Still I bet you can play great on that thing.

Charlie-Peru

 

Thanks hitman.

i was wondering between the HP Pavilion which is equipped with the Geforce Go 7400 and the HP NW8240 which comes with the ATI Mobility FireGL V5000 PCI-Express.

In terms of gaming capability, i assume the ATI V5000 still better than the Go7400 since its backbone is based on the X700 (which is X1600/Go7600) standard.

 

No problem undecided,

Yes the ATI V5000 is much better then the Go7400. I would definately go for that. I also heard that mobile workstations of HP are great.

Charlie-Peru

 

how about the ATI V5000 compared to the X1600?

 

Then the X1600 is the winner without any doubt...

Especially in games... The X1600 has newer feature because it is a next-generation card. And it scores around 1500 more points in 3dmark05...

Charlie-Peru

 

Hi, some great info here, thanks. Another question about HP & ATI please.

Mobility X1600 256mb (nc8430) vs Mobility FireGL 5200 256mb (nw8440)

WBF

 

That truelly depends on your needs. You have to see it like this: Mobile workstation video cards (mobile FireGl) are very good in OpenGL application, but not so good in games.

So if you are going to play games, go for the X1600. If you do a lot of designing, so if you need a mobile workstation video card go for the 5200.

Both are great cards and will play everything you desire.

Charlie-Peru

 

Whatever is best for gaming would be my choice.

I was decided on the nw8440 EY695AA before the nc8340 EY688AA became available in Canada (June). They seem virtually the same except for the GPU's and a CDN$300 price difference.

I wouldn't mind paying more for the nw8440 if it was better for games, but I see you're saying that's not the case.

I guess I'll wait a couple more weeks.

Thanks,
WBF

 

I only play FIFA 06, Flight simulator 2004, Need for speed UG2. I need to choose between X1400 and X1600. Is the X1400 enough for playing these games at all high setting? Or X1600 is needed?

If X1400 is good enough for these games, I dont wanna spend more to get X1600.

Need advice. Thanks.

 

Does it matter whether I were to get an ATI GPU as opposed to an NVIDIA GPU?

 

Hi Chaz and everyone else here,

I read through this thread a couple of weeks ago and again tonight to make sure I don't double-post questions.

1) Could you quickly explain what MXM and/or Axiom (not even sure if I got the right terms there but I think you know what I'm getting at) are? I see a lot of mention of it but have no idea what it is.

2) Does VRAM have any affect on battery life (i.e. does a 256 go7900 GTX use less power than a 512 go7900 GTX) or power consumption?

3) Does the go7900 GS run that much cooler and burn that much less power than the go7900 GTX?

Thanks!

 

It doesn't really; some people like one or the other because of past experiences and personal preferences, but in reality, as long as you get a comparable card, you'll be fine.

They're modular GPU formats designed so maufacturers can quickly update their lineup of notebooks with new graphics cards, without actually changing the notebook itself (motherboard . .).

Battery life depends more on the card rather than the VRAM. Anyone getting a 7900GTX in their notebook isn't going to be terribly concerned with battery life.

It does; the GS has less than half the power consumption vs. the GTX - 20W vs. 45W.

 

Chaz,

Thanks for the quick answers to my questions. That clears up a lot for me.

Is MXM/Axiom still a new and therefore rare technology or do you anticipate it will be available to consumers anytime soon? Or is it already available?

For me it's a debate over the 7900 GS' lower power consumption and heat vs. the 7900 GTX's performance. I'm concerned about some mention in this thread about Vista and DirectX10 making even the most advanced cards today obsolete. Are we talking WAY down the line or is this not even a concern?

Thanks again Chaz, your wisdom helps many here--and I am most definitely one of the beneficiaries of your willingness to share it.

 

It's not found in mainstream notebooks, but you'll see the MXM format come up in a few third-party notebooks. MXM is by far the more popular of the two; AXIOM is virtually non-existant. My notebook is the only one I know of that uses AXIOM.

You might want to complete our FAQ in the What should I Buy forum so we can help you decide on a notebook . . the graphics card decision also depends on the type of games you want to run, how demanding you are, etc. I do not think either the GS or the GTX will disappoint.

DX10 will come with Vista next year. What effect it will have on the market, in terms of immediate or mid-term, I do not know. Difficult to predict. I don't think it will be popular at first due to lack of titles and graphics cards alike. Just a prediction; all that can change.

 

Thanks again Chaz,

I did try the FAQ before and got some nice suggestions. Here is my original FAQ:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=54602


And I recently did another since I've been reading here and am now sort of in-between lower priced systems that can be replaced more frequently than more expensive performance systems. Here's my second FAQ:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1396873#post1396873

Would greatly appreciate any feedback from anyone. I know the GPU comes down to be perhaps the biggest factor in this decision. Sorry to get a little off-topic though...please forgive me .

 

THis is odd. Maybe the person that wrote this up should have actully used the cards before he ran off at the mouth. I personaly have a 7300 go and it plays everything to date. including FEAR ar normal settings with out a glich. Actually I have ran fear on a 9600 pro so this write up needs a lot of work.

 

Wow, thats a rather harsh post. The person who wrote this did so out of the kindness of his heart based on the information available him and his past experience in the matter. It is considered very accurate by most everyone but as in anything as complex and modular as today's PC's, it cannot be 100% perfect. It's going to depend heavily upon the configuration of the user's computer and on the preferences of the user and what they consider "playable" when it comes to games.

I have a Go 7400 and have also used an x700 and I've played FEAR on both. I have no doubt that it plays on your Go 7300, but I doubt you get what I would consider playable frame-rates on anything but low settings. But I wouldn't go as far as to say you are lying, because unlike you, I'm not making the assumption that I know everything about your computer, configuration or gaming expectations.

This is a friendly forum, please try not to be so abrasive.

 

The game plays fine for me at stock setting what ever the setting where when the games was installed and at 1280x800 res I also used to have a x700 and the card IMO was no better than the 7300 my 7300 actully plays games that my x700 had issues with.

 

thats interesting

my x700 hasnt had a problem with ANYthing ive tried to play so far, at higher than stock resoulutions at higher than stock settings i might add, while my friends go7300 stuggles with a game such as eldar scrolls: oblivion, barely getting 15fps, im up over 50fps.

i guess whats playable to you is different to me, that and your x700 powered notebook had driver and or other hardware issues.

 

To each there own. I perosnaly never had any luck with an ATI card thats why I don't buy them. I just want to make sure the person that wrote this up knew that the 7300 will play games thats he said it won't and to make sure people know its not as bad of a card as he says it is. This guide is very misleading. My 7300 has had no issues with any games. It plays BF2 HL2 NFS-MW GTA-SA AOEIII RON-ROL with no problems all games run fine at 1280x800 or 1024x768 if they don't support widescreen

 

I stated this:

Who said you couldn't play games on them? The guide is not misleading. Its purpose is to guide those who need some direction in their notebook buying. I wouldn't advise any more-often-than-not gamer to get a Go7300. It is a weak card when compared to other modern graphics cards. I don't exactly call 640x480 and Low in some of the newer games fun, so that's why I advised against getting it if you want to play the latest and greatest.