Which one a better video card: NVIDIA Quadro FX or NVIDA GeForce Go

For comparing between M90 and e1705:
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1500M 256MB OpenGL
or
256MB NVIDA GeForce Go 7800

 

Go for Go, Quadro is a tuned down version of the Go if I'm not mistaken. I'm not sure here, so maybe someone can confirm this

 

It depends on what are you going to use your laptop for. The Quadro FX is used for CAD, modeling, rendering applications such as 3dsMax, Maya, Softimage XSI, Engineer Pro, Solidworks and such. These usually are considered Professional applications since it's used widely by 3d animators, designers, engineers and such.

The Geforce is different as it's aimed towards the home consumer or pretty much anybody else. It's mainly used for games.

Mind you, the Quadro can run games but it's generally accepted that it's slower than the Geforce, which is somewhat true (it double checks for calculation errors since 3d modeling must be precise) but games won't be drastically affected by this. The Geforce also has more vertex and pixel shader units which means, draws and renders faster (someone else can confirm this?). Generally, they will perform about the same, it really depends on the application you'll be using your laptop for.

PD: Some games can have compatibility issues with the Quadro FX, but it's not frequent.

 

When choosing between the Quadro of the GeForce line, you have to choose based on the apps you use - as zicky said. Essentially, the Quadro line is optimized for OpenGL and requires different drivers. If you are using apps like the ones listed above, it will make a DRASTIC difference in your rendering ability. The GeForce line is optimized for gaming, but doesn't usually outpace the Quadro series by too much. The only problem with the Quadro line is that it is usually much more expensive. I believe the 7900 GO and the 1500M are both built off the same G71 series.

Before the days of PCI-Express, a simple driver hack could convert just about any GeForce card into Quadro (the same applied to ATI's Radeon/FireGL series), saving many dollars. My dad is an architect and uses several high-end apps. Long ago I converted his Radeon 9600 into a FireGL T2, and the picture quality and OpenGL rendering both improved dramatically. He recently upgraded to a GeForce 6800GS, which I converted to a Quadro FX4000 and once again, huge gains in speed/quality for his applications.

Unfortunately, most PCI-Express videocards (including notebooks) are no longer unlockable. I was hoping to convert his 7800GO into a Quadro, but there is no method that works...

 

This has been moved to the gaming section since it is more related to graphic cards than specific Dells.

 

the quadro is for workstation PC's not for gaming. If you are doing cadd and not gaming go for the quadro, otherwise go for the go...

 

Don't listen to everyone here. The Quadro is just fine for gaming. I have only run across one game that did not work properly on my 1500M, and that was Ford Racing 3. It had a tendency to stall and stutter a lot for some reason, but I'm sure it could be hacked to run on a Quadro much more smoothly as this card is more than enough to handle it. Below are some benchmarks I did of my card:

3dmark05: 6413
3dmark06: 3926
F.E.A.R. at max settings (4xAA/16xAF at 1024res)
Min 15
Max 99
Avg 43
-during an intense firefight
Min 28
Max 125
Avg 57
-during walking around inside w/ some gunplay
Here are some benches for the Prey demo at Max settings 1280 res.
Min 15
Max 63
Avg 60
Quake 4
Min 28
Max 62
Avg 60

Quake 4 and Prey are both OpenGL based games and are capped at 60fps. Basically, the Quadro 1500M will perform as well at Direct3D games and better at OpenGL games (such as Quake, Prey, Doom) due to its OpenGL optimization. Those were stock settings out of the box, 60 processes running in the background, including antivirus and firewall.

 

Nobody said that the Quadros can't game. Everybody said they're better suited for other applications but they can certainly game.

 

I wasn't trying to imply anyone said that. But several people did say "don't buy a Quadro if you're a gamer." I know of plenty of gamers over on NBF who bought an M90. Quadros are designed for workstation purposes, which is why most people buy it, including me. But if you're a gamer but don't like the looks of the XPS or the quality of the Inspiron, the M90 is a fantastic alternative. Just know what you're getting into and know that a Geforce is the status quo 'gamer's card.'

I will also add that besides 1500M, 2500M, and possibly even the 1400 in the Precision M70, Quadros are generally junk for gaming from what I've heard.

 

Ill chime in:
my quadro 1400 is a pretty good gaming card, but its definitely got some issues with playing oblivion. it looks like that 1500m is a big step up for games.

ftw, how did you get such high 3d marks? is that right out of the box?
im down around 3600 for mark 05!

 

Yes, those 3dmarks are stock right out of the box. Dell drivers, no overclocking. I tried the Xtreme-G mobile drivers 91.33. The Control Panel is nice, but my 3dmark06 went down over 100 points and my contrast was killed. So I went back. But again, those are all stock settings.

 

Nice, thats a good card. the 1400 is not on the same level as far as gaming 3d goes, but i am very excited to say that i just broke 4135 on 3d mark 05.
a very mild oc'ing made a big difference on this card.
and if it burns i can go out and buy that 1500m!

 

The QuadroFX Go1400 is based on the Go6800, 4125 is a very nice score.