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

The 9800m GS is the better one. The GT230m is only 128 bit memory bus, the 9800m GS has 256 bit and more shaders making it preform alot better.

 

Seconded..

 

They aren't even in the same class.

Checkout the benchmarks at: www.notebookcheck.net

 

Could someone explain to me how graphic card notations work and what you mean by class? I don't really know anything about graphic cards.

 

by class i think he means that 9800GS is a 9000 series card while GT 230M is a 200 series card. generally, within the same series, a bigger number means a better card, like 9800 is better than 9600. although you could compare cards from different class by saying that 9800 is better than 8800, and 9600 is better than 8600, i'm not sure about the 200 series though. also when the number is the same, GTX>GT>GTS>GS is the pattern that most people agree on, there are exceptions though.

 

By class he means levels or tiers of cards. Basically, the 9800m GS has a 256 bit memory bus and the 230m has a 128 bit bus, which means with the same memory speeds, it can transfer twice the amount of info. This makes a very big difference at higher resolutions.

 

Basically you have 3 levels defined by Nvidia and ATI concerning their graphics: Entry level(or low level), mid range, and enthusiast(or gamer). This what people mean when they say the GT230M and 9800M GS don't compare because one is of mid-range level(the GT230M) and one of enthusiast level(the 9800M GS).

The actual naming scheme is a bit confusing because Nvidia revamped their naming scheme recently. The 9800M GS is one generation older than the GT230M so it uses the old naming scheme. Let me briefly explain how it works...

Before, the first digit indicated the series, the 2nd digit indicated the rank in the series and the 3rd indicated the presence of an overclock or not. There's also the "GTS", "GT" and "GTX" suffix which basically indicated a level in power within cards of the same number.

So if you had a 9800M GS, you'd know that it's part of the 9 series and holds the 8th rank in power(which was the most powerful for Nvidia at that time). Also, it's of the "GS" power rank within the 9800 series itself(ex: a 9800M GT would be more powerful than this)

Now however, since after 9000 you get 10,000; Nvidia revamped their naming scheme so not to confuse anyone(good job Nvidia lol ).

It basically works the same, but there's no more last digit and the "GTS", "GT", "GTX", "G" suffixes became prefixes. GTS & GTX indicated the "high end" GPUs i.e. enthusiast level as Nvidia calls it, GT indicates mid-level and G indicates low level.

So for the GT230M, you have a mid-range GPU(as demonstrated by the GT prefix) of the 2nd series with a rank 3 in power of that series.

Anyhow, that's a brief overview of the Nvidia naming scheme. The confusion happens because of the basis that they hit the point where they'd have to add another digit to the "GPU number" and it'd mess up the naming scheme(ex: a 10 800 GT )

As for the actual technical reasons as to why the 9800M GS>GT230M, I believe the posters above me have it covered quite simply.

 

Just an addenum, since GDDR5 is starting to become more popular, what the OP was referring to above is in relation to GDDR3.

256-bit GDDR3 is current enthusiast level (top tier) but so is 128-bit GDDR5 (due to architectural differences they're pretty much equal).

But soon 256-bit GDDR5 will become the new enthusiast level.

Similarly, mainstream level would include 128-bit GDDR3 or 64-bit GDDR5. Lastly, budget level would include 64-bit GDDR3.

 

Melody, I'll never, ever, forgive you for passing up such an easy "it's over 9000!" joke.

 

I thought about it that's the worst part lol

I figured I wouldn't use it though as it probably would've confused the OP more than anything else. Btw, wasn't there a script somewhere where it said "over 5000" instead of 9000?

Ok randomness over >.>

 

well, the cards arent directly comparable.
gt230m is great considering how much power it uses.
the 9800m gs is faster but uses alot more power.

 

9800M GS owns GT230M.. but like everyone else said , they are of 2 different levels.

 

You can check here each tier and card for all mobile cards from nvidia. If you check the card, under specification you can find more info about the card, including the GigaFlops, which gives approximately good idea where the cards stands and why. But it's not all in these flops.

 

Well, the "new" NVIDIA architecture is less consuming, but the 256bit card always (when using the same memory type) beats a same memory type 128bit card.

 

How about the comparison perfomance between G105M and ati HD4200? Which one is better?

 

I just did an entire revision of this guide and made several changes:

-Removed GeForce 7 series/ATI Radeon X1000 series (too difficult to keep up the guide and place new cards in)
-Revised question section
-Updated links

Let me know if you find any errors or think I placed something wrong, it's possible.

 

Why did you include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650/4670 in the high end range? They're 128-bit GDDR3 cards (at best) and only a bit higher than the GT 230M/240M GDDR3, a far cry from any 256-bit GDDR3 card at high resolution/settings. However, I agree that the HD 4830 should be in the high end cards since it has a huge number of shaders (albeit at the lowest end of the spectrum), though actual performance has yet to be seen without an official Envy 15 review.

 

Only some things Chaz

The 43xx series are missing.
The 46xx series are 128bit, so shouldnt they be considered as mainstream? They are the competition of the 9600M GT, GT130M and the GT240M IIRC.
I cant seem to find the <strike>4830</strike> (found it) and the 4860 on the chart
Isnt the G105M a GPU? I said it was an IGP long time ago and got flamed for that...
Should it not be specified that the 4870HDx2 can use GDDR5 and GDDR3?


Other than that I find it very good and well made. Congrats and thanks!

 

Aye, thanks for the tips; I will see if I can add them into the chart this week.

 

And the dual ATI configurations are not SLI But CrossFireX.

 

Not until someone actually produces a laptop with a GDDR5 4870.

 

Is there a huge difference in the 2?


There will rarely be any new games played on them but maybe some 1-2 year old games, WOW, etc.

 

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-G-210M.17638.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-4570.13885.0.html

 

Thanks, so it appears the ATI 4570 is superior in terms of gaming?

 

It appears the 4570 will be slightly better but may differ because some companies underclock their cards or use different memory types (Note I have not used either card just followed those links). The difference to me appears to be small enough that you should choose which computer to buy based on other factors besides the gpu. Which computers are you looking at and what is your price range?

The "What computer should I buy thread" should be able to point you in the right direction.

 

I really don't know much about the ATI cards, but the G210m is based on the desktop GT2xx series with the new GT218 core.

 

I just read an entire thread on the 4570 and gamers say it is very underrated for playing most games except the very new high end ones.

Thanks for all the help!

 

Hi, I'd like to know one thing.

The 9800 GTS (Acer Gateway P-7805u) is a reliable card? Does it get too hot? Is it from that "group" of faulty notebooks?

 

It's a good fairly powerful GPU and won't be faulty, so don't worry about that at all. Heat is more determined by the cooling of the laptop, which I don't know about.

 

Hey, I'm thinking about getting a Lenovo Y550 (the value seems WAY too good to pass off!). However, there are 2 models that I am deciding between. As the title suggests, one of them has the nVidia 210m GT and the other has nVidia 240m GT. With all the coupon codes, there is only a difference of $55. I've been out touch with GPUs lately, and I'm not sure how big of a difference this is. So I ask you, O-wise NBR forums community , is the upgrade worth the money?

 

Well i think that for just 55$ you can't go wrong... Im not sure how much, but the 240 wins by a relevant margin... Again, it's just 55$...

 

Yes, definitely worth it. Though I'm concerned that the lower end GPU is a typo (only G 210M exists).

 

Hm, maybe the G 210 was intergrated? Maybe there is an integrated, and dedicated one.

Go with the 240. It performs up there with the 4650.

 

Simply, which one is faster?

 

Very much the same. The 9650M GT DDR2 is capable of at least 5800 3Dmark06 points while I have seen certain 8600M GT DDR3 cards hit 6000 points, or even more.

Simply put at stock clocks the 9650M GT is probably better but when you OC you are probably going to have the edge with the 8600M GT DDR3 card

 

i'd get the 9650. simply because some g84 cores are defective.

 

There, fixed

 

Incorrect. Most are potentially defective but certainly not all, reason I say potentially is because if well kept I am sure you can make them last. Either way it is pretty hard to get hold of either card now as they are both pretty rare. I may sell one soon (8600M GT DDR3) brand new/unused if I manage to get my hands on a 4670 DDR3 card.

For now though if I were you I would get a 9600M GT 512mb DDR3 card if it is single mxm 2.1 modules you are after. Better than both cards and much easier to get hold of.

 

what is better for games like mw2 and l4d2?

 

The 4830 is much more powerful and newer - generally should take into account the cpu as well but the only thing I've seen 4830 with is i7.

Try looking at sites like notebookcheck in the future as they might have game benchmarks for the exact laptops you're comparing (I assume envy 15 and something cheaper)

 

yah its the envy 15 and mbp15

 

envy 15 will destroy the macbook pro in terms of gaming.

I would say go for the envy 15, it's around the same price if not cheaper than the macbook pro with the 9600gt. Plus, you don't have to invest in a version of Windows to play, as you would on the MBP.

 

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 VS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M
Both on 1GB and Intel® Core™2 Quad 2.0GHz
But GTX is on 1GB DDR3 and ATI is on dedicated; up to 2815MB total available..

Which is the best choice i should get??
thnx all

 

the gtx should also be dedicated, and i think its much better then ati

 

Both cards have dedicated VRAM. The 4650 either has 512 MB or 1 GB.

However, that doesn't matter, because the GTX 260 is leaps and bounds better.

 

Bit of an unfair comparison considering one is mid-range and one is high-range. The DDR3 4650 can compete with the 9800M GS but at 1024x768 resolution. The GTX260 is much faster.

 

Yes, not fair comparison. 260M is a lot better.

 

Yes, they're not even of the same performance class, let alone of comparable power. The GTX 260M will wipe the floor, dirty it and wipe it again against the HD4650.

The HD4650 is still a good GPU though, but it's just not a GTX 260M.

 

The GTX 260M is a full 9800 GT(high end on the laptop scale) mixed with even newer enhancements.

The 4650 Mobility is an underclocked ATI 4650. (upper midrange on the laptop scale).

So which would you buy a 9800 GT or a 4650?

(google) notebookcheck

 

yeah thnx all....i know which one to get...cheers!!

how do u know/see ??? thnx