nVidia GTX 260m put to the test with Sager NP8662 - comparision Core 2 Duo vs Quad

Yeah, it'd be good info to have!

 

Outstanding Thread... +1 rep to laptopnut and htwingnut. If it was up to me I would add +1 rep for each app tested per system. It takes loads of time to install a game or app, test it, test it again, etc... thanks for all the hard work and information!

StevenX

 

Thanks. Yeah it can be a pain sometimes, but it's fun, especially when you get a new PC. What's really hard is trying to compare without a set benchmark, like FSX, although I've started to dabble with one benchmark I've found, and can hopefully reproduce results consistently. FSX is a great CPU and GPU stressor to compare.

 

GTA IV benchmark updated for P9700.

Anyone willing to let me borrow their Street Fighter IV and/or Supreme Commander for a day to do benchmarks? I'll reimburse you for shipping expenses.

 

Was there a Supreme Commander standalone expansion? I picked up a copy of that cheap at Target cheap a while back for like $7.... would that help ya? If so, let me know. Not sure if I ever actually even installed it come to think of it.

Also, let me know if you have a good FSX benchmark, would like to run it on my machine.

 

So are you saying you have just the expansion or the original? I'm just looking for the original to benchmark. Expansion not needed.

If I can find it for under $10 then I'll probably just buy it. But cheapest I can find the vanilla Supreme Commander for is $20 and the deluxe (with expansion) is $30. I bought the game before and never cared for it much, so sold it on eBay or offed it to a friend.

 

Is there anywhere you could enter my key then download? I'm about to run it for you guys. The poker table is too hot right now.

 

Ok, added FSX Benchmark. I will post procedure here, although I got most of this from the flightsimworld.com forum.

SETUP:

(1) Get the file fsxmark07.zip file from avsim.com (registration may be required). I am working on allowing them to let me mirror the file. If you can't get it then PM me.

(2) Extract the contents of the fsxmark07.zip file to your Documents/Flight Simulator X Files folder.



(3) Dowload FRAPS to record the benchmark. It's a free download.

(4) After downloading and installing FRAPS configure the FPS tab as follows:



- disable overlay display hotkey
- set benchmarking hotkey to the "P" key (there is a reason for this)
- Only update overlay once a second: OFF
- Monitor Desktop Window Manager: OFF (newer version of FRAPS)
- Stop benchmark automatically after 300 seconds
- MinMaxAvg: ON
- FPS: OFF (or on, just more info than you need for the bench)
- Frametimes: OFF (or on, just more info than you need for the bench)
Minimize FRAPS when done (don't close)

(5) Start up FSX and go to the "Settings" menu.

(6) Before configuring anything else, select "customize" button on the bottom. This will adjust the "Graphics:" setting to "Custom"

(7) In the Custom "Settings - Display" window, choose the following:



Target Frame rate: Unlimited (slider all the way to right)
Full Screen Resolution: 1680x1050x32
Filtering: Anisotropic
Anti-Aliasing: ON
Global Texture Resolution: High
Lens Flare: ON
Light Bloom: OFF
Advanced Animations: ON

Click "OK"

(8) Back in the main "Settings" panel, choose the following:



Aircraft: Medium High
Scenery: Medium High
Weather: Medium High
Traffic: Medium High

Now you're ready for the Benchmark.

BENCHMARK:

(1) With FSX now running, select "Free Flight" from the left menu and select the "LOAD" button.

(2) You should see FSXMark07 in the flight menu, select it and then click the "FLY NOW!" button.

(3) Once in the game, press the "P" key. This will both start the FSX flight and the benchmark recording in FRAPS (reason for changing the benchmarking hotkey to "P" in FRAPS earlier). You should see the yellow frame rate counter disappear after you press "P" and the flight will go for 5 minutes.



(4) When you see the yellow FRAPS frame counter reappear then you know the final benchmark results are complete. Press ESC to exit the flight.

(5) In your system tray, right click your FRAPS icon and choose "Show Benchmarks". It will bring up your folder of saved benchmarks in the form of a .csv file. Load the "fsx (time stamp) minmaxavg.csv" file with notepad.

(6) Note your min, max, and avg fps.

 

So it looks like it's better to get the lower clock quad core than the higher clock dual core??

 

Not necessarily. I think it's two-fold. This shows that the 2.0GHz quad is as capable as the higher clocked 2.8GHz dual core for gaming, and for quad core optimized games, the higher clocked dual core can compete. The dual core has the advantage of the much lower power consumption and less heat (25W TDP vs 45W TDP) which means longer battery life and more room for overclock or cooler temps.

I think this helps solidify what a quad is capable of and lower clocked quads can hold their own with gaming, and that we will see improvements in the future as using more cores is optimized in future games.

 

agree with you 100% htwingnut, the lower clocked quads are quite capable of handling games, am i unhappy that i went with the higher clocked dualcore.....NO, it suits my needs perfectly, although from New Zealand i study in south India where temps are quite hot, not only that that fact that we get 12+ hrs per day power cuts having a cpu with less power consumption makes a big difference in every day usage, all and all this machine is fantastic with a higher clocked cpu or a lower clocked quad.....basically a great unit.

 

Obviously as quad cores become a more standard option, and clock speeds increase, we'll get an even greater benefit. But I think it will be a couple years before we get there. So for now, I'll take the higher clocked dual core to get the extended battery life and less heat.

Within a couple years, I expect to get a decent clocked quad core to put in this machine anyhow.

 

By the way guys, which video drivers were you using on all of these tests? Can you post a link?

 

It was noted:

" We will be using Windows 7 Ultimate RTM with 186.81 WHQL from nVidia's site "

http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook_winvista_win7_x64_186.81_whql.html

 

When I was downloading that Demo, in the requirements list on the website, it had links to desktop 3D drivers, two different ones and said that it would need these to run so I didn't bother lol.

After hearing that the Demo did in fact run fine without any of these, I also downloaded it and did the same benchmark.

 

Supreme Commander.

With my GPU @ stock clocks:

Medium Preset
T9800 - Composite: 16646 min: 14.60 max: 94.35 avg: 42.020

High Presets, but in LaptopNut's topic, he said he uses Low shadows, so I did too:
T9800 - Composite: 16401 - min: 12.39 max: 82.95 avg: 36.887

 

I didn't know about the Supreme Commander built in benchmark in my original topic but for this new comparison topic, I had everything on High preset, including shadows.

Very interesting results. It would be great to see your Fsx results if you have that game. The 2.85 Ghz does better on this one than my Q9000.

 

I was trying not to point fingers mate, you gave me valid info, i could have continued with the download.......so its still my fault really....too lazy i guess.

 

Okay, my all High, no AA min/max/avg is 12.75 / 81.49 / 36.867

I do not have FSX.

 

Added Batman Arkham Asylum and P9700 with Street Fighter 4.

 

Do you intend to add my SupCom results to the OP?

 

I notice your results have been added now. I was thinking, how cool it would be if someone who bought the new revision of the NP8662 (W860CU) with the i7 and the GTX 260M (instead of the GTX 280M) did the same benchmarks so they could be added also. I don't know if they offer that one with the GTX 260M though.

 

Is their anyway to overclock the CPU in the NP8662?

 

Yes, but I'll leave that to LaptopNut since he's already dabbled with that. I haven't.

The GPU can be overclocked too. Apparently a slight GPU overclock can go a long way too.

 

Overclocking is locked in the Bios and using software (Setfsb) is very unreliable and rarely even works. I wouldn't bother trying to overclock the CPU and if you want extra gaming performance, I suggest you overclock the GPU instead.

Even Overclocking the GPU to something like 600/900/1500 can give a performance boost. The default clocks are 550/800/1350, you can go higher but I will never push further than that. Note that each individual GPU, even if they are the same model may have different stable Overclock rates so be sure to test carefully.

The new (W860CU) revision of the NP8662 has built in CPU overclock /Turbo Boost at least which is great though!

 

Do you thing there will be bios update released that unlocks the cpu overclock option?......it would be nice to overclock the P9700 as ive heard the P series cards overclock very well indeed.

 

The chances are this will never happen. The only way that might occur is if some one in the community released a cooked bios or something.

 

It surprises me actually, i mean clevo are known to be for those that like to play with there machines, like to overclock etc but here we have a machine screaming for it and not being able to.

 

SetFSB does work though? What is the PLL for the NP8662?

 

The PLL for the M860TU is RTM876-660 and you will either get a hard lock up or a lame few Mhz increase.

 

That was a beautiful comparison and I am happy to see the P9700 as one of the best CPUs out there.

What I love about it is the 25W TDP, really good for battery life.

 

Very good Comparison, but for now id still get the dual-core over a quad-core.. its just hardware is Way Beyond software overall

 

If I was making a purchase now, I would go for a mobile i7 since that is the definitive answer to the Dual Vs Quad debate.

 

I was gonna say the same thing. The NP8690 is the successor to the NP8662 and comes with i7.

Either way, I don't think it matters, I think what we find is that either is more than powerful enough to power most of today's games, and most likely next years, just fine.

 

LaptopNut directed me here from a thread where I was agonising over a T9600 or Q9000, the work that you guys have done on the comparisons here helped me out a great deal, so I thank all who were involved in this for the tremendous help you have given myself and others!

 

I thought I'd post my results since we have similar configs.

Windows 7 64-bit using the drivers on page 1.

3Dmark06: 10408
Vantage: P5193

 

Great, good to see it's right in line with mine.

 

Looks like I won't be missing out on much if I opt for a C2D over C2Q. Some of the newer games and/or games with lots of AI like the quad core more. But everything else is almost equal. Although I would get an i7 if I had the socket...

I'll be getting an X9100 and pushing about 4 Ghz for bench runs only and 3.2 Ghz for daily use. Should extend this laptops life a little longer, although I have no problems running BBC2 maxed out with my current parts.

 

Yeah, my NP8662 is still going strong. USB ports are wonky, but I think that's my fault from a spill I had. Otherwise plays the games I want just fine.

I'm probobably going with a Sandy Bridge Sager with i7-2720QM and AMD HD 6870 in Feb/Mar whenever they're available. Will have had a good 18-20 months with this laptop, which is pretty decent considering I wanted something to game with.