Very worried about the performance of 8600M GT

I just bought a Dell Inspiron 1520 and I am reading some bad things about 8600M GT. People are saying it won't be able to handle some DX10 games. Is this true? Is it really that bad?

2nd question,
Is the laptop I just bought worth it?

$1,361.06 Shipped

 

Where are you reading these things? I havent seen anything other than super-glowing reviews.

 

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/766060.html

Especially that last post.

 

The 8600GT is a good card, but it is not comparable to the 7900 and 7950s.

You can see a good comparison of cards, here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=39568

It still one of the best (if not THE best) you can get for a 15.4 screen though, without spending $4-5K. And its much much faster than the 8400gs

 

Sounds very relieving... Was my laptop worth it for that price?

 

Yes, that's a good price for a good laptop.

I think what you are talking about is when someone got an 8800 (desktop) and couldn't handle Call of Jaurez. That may just be because dx10 is new.

 

Oh I see...

Can 8600m GT run warcraft III and world of warcraft in all high settings with resolution of 1440 x 900?

 

Yeah, easily!

 

I run WoW on my Znote 6224W with all settings to the max at 1440x900; The game runs 60FPS everywhere but IF and Shattrath where it's 40+.

 

Yes, both WC3 and WoW are not taht intensive at all. I think WoW has a fps cap at 60 or 70.

 

Thats kind of a one sided question because if you do your research you will find that currently NO gpu really does well in DX10 games, not even behemoth cards like the 8800gtx really give good frame rates on the few DX10 games out. Be it the coding for the game, or the drivers for the card I am not sure. You may as well just forget DX10 is there for now untill the tech improves.

 

It's the coding, because the best touted benefits of DX10, apart from the better visuals, were the supposed effeciency of the API over DX9. DX10 is supposed to do more with less. Once the drivers and software catch up you'll see DX10 games which look great but won't need a behemoth of a GPU to achieve them. For example if you were to recreate WoW and use DX10 instead of DX9 but have the exact same graphics then theoretically you should achieve better results with DX10. Correct me if I'm wrong

 

Yeah exactly, DX10's goal is better efficantcy not better graphics.

It just so happens that better grapics are a side effect of better efficantcy since you can do more with the same amount of hardware power. Thats the plan anyways....

I thought it would be great for notebooks but so far its not so good.

 

I think by Q4 we will see better available drivers.

 

yeh the drivers are the problem here me thinks and maybe a bug or two in vista as well ....frame rates should improve with each new revision of the drivers

 

im sure the next wave of dx10 cards will be much more optimised and have alot more power, hopefully they wont take more power tho and not run as hot.

the 8800gtx and especially the 2900xt really have pushed the limits in what I would allow in heat/size/power use.

A die shrink will most probably be in effect for the next wave im sure that will help alot.

 

I think the lower end 8000's have a die shrink. didn't they shrink it from 90nm to 80nm for the 8600's and below? the 8800's, at least the desktop models, still use the 90nm process. I think its because if they did they could not put 768mb of memory on it.

 

You should read up on what ATI is planning for their future GPU's.

 

80nm on the big cards, but smaller cards like the 2600xt from ATI side use a 65nm, wich is what I hope the next wave of big cards is on.

Its also pretty much the single ray of hope I think to fit a 8800 type card into say the asus c90 with a mxmII slot.

this is also why I belive the moble 2600xt can probably beat out the 8600gt, the die shrink means much better overclock probably

 

But the review on the desktop 2600XT says that it's overclocking capability is like 5% more than stock compared to the 30% of the 8600. Mens it is lousy at overclocking.

But on notebook based... I m not so sure how many percent that the 8600 is underclocked and how many percent that the 2600XT will be underclock. I would be happy if the mobility 2600xt is directly ported from the 2600xt without underclock... then it will beat the 8600M

 

i wish i could put an end to this madness about 8600 series performance.

in 15" laptopland, there never existed a 7900 series card. the progression for the last few gen's goes nvidia 6600 / ati x600-700, 7600-7700 / x1600-1700, and now the 8600.

suddenly comparing it to a 7900 2" thick 17-19"+ behemoth monster "laptop" is not a worthwhile comparison. its possible that that the concern came from those 17" vendors deciding to offer the 8600m gt (or 8700m - same card oc'ed)

if you want to retain a medium amount of portability (15" screen, 1" thick - depending on the manufacturer) then the 8600m gt is great. its the best card, the newest gen, and its much faster than its replacement without being hotter or more a drain on the battery. and that replacement is the go 7600. go 7600.

if you want a 17" laptop- you sacrifice some portability for performance, but you still get a sleek clean laptop and have WAY more portability than a desktop. you just have to stay closer to a plug. if thats you- you should either get a 7950gtx or wait out an 8800m.

enough said.

person who makes a 7950 gtx vs 8600m gt thread might also be a person to say:

"my rocket goes faster than your sportscar! so what if its a little less practical to take around with me day to day?"

"my home theater system produces higher fidelity audio than your earphones! there is no use for earphones!"

"my trombone is louder than your guitar! why would i even consider a guitar?"

"my bedroom is larger than your bathroom! why would i ever want a bathroom?"

i will say though- that people in the 17" laptop market can ask that question. its perfectly valid if you are faced with deciding between a 7950gtx and an 8600m gt. but the answer is that the 8600m gt isn't for that segment - not that the 8600m gt is a bad card. its actually a REALLY fast card compared to the previous gen 7600 / x1600, and its meant for more portable laptops. smaller. lower resolutions. 8600m gt's are going to be running in 1440x900 or so, whereas the 7950gtx are running in 1920x1200. there is a big difference there. thats 2.3 million pixels / frame vs 1.3 million pixels. thats a big difference in the rendering power required.

so to just straight up making a thread worrying about the 8600m gt's performance is out of place. i hope that was an informative rant.

 

Amen brother.

 

the 8600gt is a good card. The reality is that you will have trouble playing the most demanding DX10 games one year from now, even with low settings. People don't keep in mind that they are still playing on a laptop and NOT a desktop. Most laptops are meant for portability and won't compete with desktop their desktop counterparts. That's why I laugh at people thinking that getting this card will give them a true gaming machine. Just be blessed that a card like this can play games like f.e.a.r and supreme commander max settings while staying fairly cool. If you're one of the people who loves gaming so much just buy a cheap laptop and build a cheap gaming pc instead of spending 1600+ on a gaming laptop.

 

I feel so much better.

 

their's two different 8600gt cards.
the dell 1520 got the "low end" 8600gt card.
check out this ..
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=139452&page=9

false advertisement to the max. their card wasnt supposed to be clocked that low.

 

As was said before several times, DX10 is supposed to be able to do the more with less. Theoretically, the DX10 version of any game should be prettier than the DX9 version at the same frame rate. As of now, that is not the case, but give it till Q4 and I think this will be much more realistic.

 

That just totally took away my relieve.

 

Just calm yourself down buddy. Look at what dell is selling.

That is the high-end version of the card you have. Its the right one. If by some STRANGE chance you DIDN'T get that card that you listed (and I checked dell's website, which shows you got the right one as well) then you call them up and get it fixed.

Everything is fine.

EDIT: If you want to check now, call Dell and make sure the card is 256mb and GDDR3.

 

I believe the dell rep will will tell u it is gddr3 even if it is 512mb versions. and it has 1gb of vram instead of 512mb... they are terrible liars... hope u dun meet them

 

StormEffect..
Dell states that their 8600gt card has a memory bandwidth of 22.4mb/s
The people that just got their 1520s report HALF of whats reported on their site, around 12mb/s

u guys should read the whole thread i linked up. its a long read, but its worth it to get your facts straight i guess. . Dell falsely advertised it seems.

 

Where does it state the 256MB is the high end card with GDDR3? Appreciate a link...thanks!!!

 

go configure a 1520 on dells site.
when u get to the video card part...click help me decide.
then click on the compare side by side chart.
definetly still states its bandwidth is 22.4

 

Well, it looks like it is gddr2 just like the Acer, Sager and Zepto which are in its price range, and its not a low end card..... sheesh.

Edit- But I do agree Dell really messed this one up, and this far in the tech reps there still dont have the right answers to give.

 

I did read the post. Its just that the 256MB version has always been the GDDR3 (memory bandwidth 22.4mb/s).
I even checked their website and THEY state it is the 22.4mb/s version.

If these stats are not the case, they are deliberately lying to the consumer and selling a part not advertised. Illegally.

If I got a Dell 1520 or 1720 I'd check it out myself using RivaTuner or some other program. Still it is very hard to identify memory specs because RivaTuner isn't always correct. If it wasn't the proper card I'd call Dell for either a refund, the proper card, and if they refused either I'd get in contact with the Better Business Bureau. False advertising can be illegal.

 

well the guys that checked their 1520 using rivatuner and ntune are not reporting that memory bandwidth of 22.4mb/s
they get like 12 somethign mb/s.

sigh i dunno.

 

ok i can't comment on the 8600m gt if there is some dell specific problem that involves an underclocked part due to cheap ram... thats sort of up in the air. just do a quick benchmark session and compare to see if there is a problem.

or send it back if you feel wronged and get your laptop from somewhere else that doesn't false advertise.

apple is solid.
i also like asus a lot.

 

As Spec stated a few pages back, this is a dead issue it has been confirmed that Dell ships 2 qualities of 8600m GT's, if you got the budget 1520/1720 then your stuck with DDR2 12.4mb/s and if you weren't cheap you got the GDDR3 @22.4mb/s, however it seems that most, if not 90% of the dell 8600m GT cards are DDR2, not the advertised GDDR3. Here is the thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=139452&page=39

Everyone just breath deep, and sell there dell's

 

does the sager2090/comapl ifl90 come with the budget 8600gt card found on the 1520 too?
or does it have the better 22.4 mb/s card?

 

Are they providing replacement? Issit possible to sue them of false advertisement?

 

From what I found it looks like the comapl and the sager comes with the DDR2, not GDDR3.
http://www.sagernotebook.net/pages/...e=2090&SubType=C&hdid=40001492&ramid=80001305

http://store.agearnotebooks.com/compalifl90.html

So as far as I know only the ASUS G1S shipps with the GDDR3 by default, and dell will upgrade to it by explicit request.

Com

 

commodore, im just getting the slightest hint you dont like dell...^^

 

Luna, no they are not offering a official refund, but I have heard a couple people got there moeny back because of the 30 day deal, But this link is from the official dell website and it clearly states the 1520/1521's only come in
DDR2

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspnnb_152x?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19

Good Luck,
COM

 

LOL, lets just say me and Dell got history

But I still have 2 dell laptops a insp.8600 , and a M90.

COM

 

Hehe... i won't get a dell, unless they give it to me free.. IMO, dell is ugly.. except for the XPS line.

 

I like the new inspiron and vostro lines too.

 

The "Gimped" 8600m GT is still quite a bit more powerful than the Go 7600, so it's still a damn nice card!

 

Me too