mid-end DX10 graphics and Santa Rosa... what's the point?

With future DX10 games requiring at least a desktop GeForce 8800 GTS to run smoothly at 1280x800 or above, I can't help but wonder - what's the point in getting a laptop with a Go 8400 instead of a Go 7400? Santa Rosa laptops are bound to be more expensive for the first three months of release and I highly doubt the 8400 (or even the 8600GS) would be able to handle anything DX10. Hardware-accelerated HD video playback? Come on now, it's like most laptop LCD screens can handle that high of a resolution (1920x1080 I believe it to be) anyway.

What's the point in waiting for Santa Rosa again? Most manufacters would opt for the 667MHz RAM anyway, making the 800MHz FSB advantage of the platform utterly useless. Seriously folks, I'm confused.

 

santa rosa doesn't support 800 mhz ram, so there really is no point in that. anyway, a lot of people who buy mid-end systems probably aren't planning to play hardcore dx10 games of the future and realize that if they do, they will be playing on low settings. plus, at least for the 8400m and the 8600m gt, they seem to be a good bit more powerful than their 7000 series siblings.

 

The 8400M GT, for example, is twice as powerful as the Go 7400. In fact, the 8400M GT approaches Go 7600/Radeon X1600 speeds.

 

I've seen very mixed reports about the new nvidia 8000 series and it's equivalent power. That aside, directX 10 is not necessary yet but unfortunately if ATi has dx10 ready cards and nvidia does not then nvidia will lose sales whether dx10 is relevant or not, because a lot of buyers want all these features despite there being no directx 10 games out because it just sounds better, the same reason that people have SLI 8800GTXs with hugely overclocked E6600/T7600 core 2 duos - it's not necessary for the most part, it just sounds good.

Santa Rosa is more applicable to the real world. The new cpus have dynamic frequencies, like a speedstep for the fsb that helps save power. Santa Rosa also has a new more powerful wireless cards, turbo ram... which i think is like a generic cache file for the hard drive and the new intel integrated graphics solution (on laptops without dedicated cards), the X3100 which is at least twice as powerful as the preceding GMA965.

 

Where did you come to this conclusion/find this info? Sounds like a stereotype to me. There are extremely few DX10 titles out and I don't think it is wise to assume that all DX10 games are going to need a super-GPU to run at a reasonable framerate. Yes there may be some games that need that type of GPU but I doubt all will. DirectX 9 games have extremes too - take a look at FEAR - mid-range laptops can barely run that at SVGA/XGA and you do need a fast GPU to do it above XGA. Other games like HL2, which looks great, can run just fine on a lower-end video card at high settings and resolution.

 

But that's HL2, the best optimalized game in my opinion. I prefer to wait for an 8800 or something like that.

And yes, it is a pity that Santa Rosa doesn't support 800 MHz DDR2. On CeBIT I heard from Kingston that the 800 MHz DDR2 RAMs were made for Intels next platform (Santa Rosa).

 

zepto has theri original 800mhz ddr2 rams.. probably overclocked or optimized in other way.

 

I can see what you are getting at here and agree in some respects. Someone buying a go8400 G and expecting to play dx10 effects at XGA is in for a big surprise. But as already mentioned, I would rather have a go8400Gs/GT as it offers more power in the same system that a 7xxx series card.

Think of it as investing for the future so that you can play games on low rather than not at all. I doubt the 8600GT will be able to handle DX10 with all the goodies at very high details anyway. just look for a link to that crysis video in the forum. That is a game with sick graphicsbut requires an equally strong computer spec.

Mobile laptop and gaming dont really go together apart from in a few cases. since 17" laptops aren't portable the Asus G1, Vx2 and V1J do a darn good job of proving a good gaming machine with portability. But if you look for very high performance you will never find a laptop good enough.

High end gaming is a pleasure reserved for desktop pcs. Think of having playable FPS for demanding games on a laptop as a bonus.

 

According to this guy DX 10 is much more efficient than DX 9 and DX 10 cards can benefit from this allowing the user to use all the power of the gfx card instead of partial.

He talks a lot of rubbish, but I hope some of it is true

Link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=x7aPvedU7cI



Heres a review