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    What's the best GPU for a 14" right now?

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by whatevs, Aug 17, 2007.

  1. whatevs

    whatevs Notebook Consultant

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    It's probably 8600GT GDDR2, right?

    But I've heard that the NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M in ThinkPad T61p is equivalent to a 8600GT GDDR3 (the 128mb compared to 256mb is negligible, IIRC), meaning it's probably the most powerful GPU for a 14" right now?

    Does any other 14" have a 8600GT GDDR3, or equivalent/better?
     
    whatevs, Aug 17, 2007
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  2. f4ding

    f4ding Laptop Owner

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    The Zepto's using GDDR2?
     
    f4ding, Aug 17, 2007
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  3. gilo

    gilo Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

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    Not now , not barely in even 17"ers afaik .
     
    gilo, Aug 17, 2007
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  4. Megatron

    Megatron Notebook Consultant

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    yep. 512 mb of ddr2

    no 14" uses ddr3 afaik
     
    Megatron, Aug 17, 2007
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  5. whatevs

    whatevs Notebook Consultant

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    Yea Zepto's using GDDR2

    And upon further reading, I believe the FX 570M is only for the 15" T61p.

    14" uses NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB), which is probably subpar to 8600GT GDDR2? Not sure.

    No wonder why Lenovo didn't really catch the spotlight on this matter,
     
    whatevs, Aug 17, 2007
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  6. CpuGuy

    CpuGuy Notebook Consultant

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    Well the question is what do you consider more powerful-- Gaming or Designing?

    Gaming- 8000 series
    Designing- Quadro series
     
    CpuGuy, Aug 17, 2007
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  7. whatevs

    whatevs Notebook Consultant

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    Well, I'm all about gaming, but I mean hardware-wise.

    AFAIK, the FX and 8600 GDDR3 are the same hardware, so it won't matter which one's inside after I install a gaming-optimized driver, correct?

    But that's besides the point now, since the FX is non-existant in 14"s, just like GDDR3.
     
    whatevs, Aug 17, 2007
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  8. whatevs

    whatevs Notebook Consultant

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    Whoa, I take all of the above back -- it seems that the T61p 14" DOES offer FX 570M.

    So, T61p 14" has the most powerful GPU of all 14"s right now, ya?
     
    whatevs, Aug 17, 2007
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  9. elminster69

    elminster69 Notebook Geek

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    how the heck to do you get to the area to configure a t61p, can't seem to navigate to it on the lenovo site
     
    elminster69, Aug 17, 2007
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  10. whatevs

    whatevs Notebook Consultant

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    I'm pissed about that too: it's only customizable in the US site, meaning Canadians like myself have to find a friend or relative to get it for me in the US, then ship to to me after it's received -- even more delays, yay.
     
    whatevs, Aug 17, 2007
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  11. whatevs

    whatevs Notebook Consultant

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    So one thing is still bugging me -- is it possible to simply uninstall the FX 570 driver and install a 8600GT GDDR3 driver and make the FX 570 optimized for gaming the same way as an 8600GT GDDR3?

    I'm hearing mixed responses, some say 570 stock will outperform 8600GT GDDR3, some say 570 is optimized for CAD and 8600GT is optimized for gaming in terms of software.

    But the bottom line is, the hardware is identical in every way, so the driver is what sets 8600GT GDDR3 and FX 570 apart, and hence both are interchangeable with manual driver installs, correct?
     
    whatevs, Aug 17, 2007
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  12. masterchef341

    masterchef341 The guy from The Notebook

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    ok.

    first, the stock fx 570 is not going to outperform the 8600m gt in games.

    i have heard of some people having a good experience with using alternate drivers (a good experience means approaching or equaling the performance of an 8600m gt)

    the vBIOS of the 570 is something else that separates the cards. that does not change even with drivers.

    thats probably it.
     
    masterchef341, Aug 17, 2007
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  13. whatevs

    whatevs Notebook Consultant

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    The FX 570 approaches / equals the performance of 8600M GT GDDR3, correct? Because from what I understand, there's a pretty big difference between GDDR2 and 3.

    And what's in the vBIOS that makes the 570 different from 8600? Default clock speeds? Are these differences tweakable in order to make a FX 570 perform like a 8600M GT GDDR3 in every single way?
     
    whatevs, Aug 18, 2007
    #13