the REAL difference between dx10 cards and dx9 cards?

Since I'm going to buy a laptop with a go 7700 card now,and I heard that the dx10 card like go 8600 will be released soon,I have second thought about the notebook.But I don't want to wait any longer for something which is not so sure yet coz I've been waiting for 3 months.What I'm asking is,are there going to be any big performance difference between the go 7700 and go 8600?I don't need all that dx10 effects like shade model etc,what I need is performance.What is the estimated benchmark the go 8600 will get in 3dmark 05?If the difference at performance is not big and only the dx10 effects is noticeable,I won't hestitate to buy the go 7700 cards.

 

Real Big Difference?

Unified Shaders.

 

afaik its just a level of performance. dx10's design allows for a card to put out more of the same at faster frame rates. Unified shaders means nothing on the card needs to stand idle. Its just a level of optimization in 3d drawing that cant be done without a DX revision.

 

so dx10 cards run dx9 games faster than their dx9 card counter parts? (if theyre like clocked the same etc and the only difference is the unified shader)

 

It's really hard to compare GPUs from 2 different generations at the same clock speeds because they are architecturally different. Especially with DX10. My feeling of the theoretical is that with nVidia's stream processors which are simple scaler units, is that 4 scalar stream processors equals about 1 previous generation vector unit. That would make the GeForce 8800GTX something of a 32 pipeline card in GeForce 7 terms which sounds about right. The GeForce 8800GTX is no doubt help back by lack of bandwidth and is also clocked lower so the architecture isn't reaching it's full potential yet.

Regardless of architectural differences, the GeForce Go 8600 will almost certainly be faster than the GeForce Go 7700 simply because it's newer. In theory the difference will be similar to that between the GeForce Go 7600 and the previous GeForce Go 6600. I believe the Go 7800 (non-GTX) is slower than the Go 7900GS and the Geforce Go 8600's performance should be somewhere between there. The only concern though is how much power it consumes and heat it generates, which may force them to clock the GPU lower than anticipated.

 

According to some rumors appeared on the internet, the 8600 will score 4500-4600 on 3DMark06. A Go 8600 will score about 3500-4000. So it will be something similar to a 7900GS. Maybe the unified shaders will guarantee an even better performance, compared to a Go 7900GS. With a 15.4" screen it is a very good performance.

 

8600 is also a 256 bit interface card. It is a lot like a 7900 gs

So really you cant compare it to a 7700 it might be twice as fast.

 

DX 10 is mostly a hardware/software standard that manufacturers(AIT/NVIDIA and others) have to meet in order to stamp DX10 on their cards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_x

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2000442,00.asp

now, for ATI and NVIDIA to meet those standards that had to completely remake their cards and with those revisions they absolutely scream in DX9 games.

 

Last I heard it was only a 128 bit interface. http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37697
From The Inquirer though, so might not be true.

EDIT: Actually the Ultra has a 256 bit interface, the other models 128.

 

how much is the 8600 equipped laptop gonna cost?I have ordered the g1 with go 7700 and hearing what you all guys said I become unconfident with my system and thinking to reconsider it again.But the laptop market must need some time to adjust with all the new santarosa and dx10 gpu rite?So I think that dx10 card equipped laptop will only be really ready for the market by the 2008 (I'm trying to cherish myself) lol

 

so dx10 cards will rock dx9?
awesome

 

In DX9, you won't see a major performance difference. A rough guideline is always that performance doubles with each generation. So a 8600 will probably be roughly twice as fast as a 7600, in the same games.

As for performance in DX10, well, obviously only DX10 cards will even be able to go there.
Microsoft claims that everything is a lot more efficient in DX10 (up to 80% better performance, which is a lot), but it's still a bit too early to tell.

Nope, that's only an architectural difference. Doesn't matter for the game, for the player or for the developers. It matters for the team writing drivers for the card, and... that's it.

All it means is that each shader unit has to be bigger and more complex and costly, and on the other hand, each are capable of running any shader program type, meaning the load can be better distributed. It's a tradeoff that, in DX10 appears worthwhile for GPU designers. But that's all it is. It doesn't by itself magically improve performance or make new effects possible. It also is not tied to DX10 in particular. It's just that some of DX10's features are a bit easier to implement if you go with such an architecture. But it's not neccesary, and it's not neccesarily faster.

Yes, they will, because they're newer. Just like a Geforce 6 will run games faster than a Geforce 5. Unified shaders have nothing to do with that.

 

To ericksakti: Nobody knows when a mobile 8 series is coming out. Nobody knows what the scores will be like. Nobody knows what the specs/power consumption will be.

Your questions can only be answered with speculation right now. Its up to you to decide whether or not you want to wait. If you can't wait any longer I would say the G1 is a good option.

 

If you wait for that, be prepared for the price difference. It's going to cost a lot more than the G1. So if you have the patience and the higher budget, wait for it then. Time is the only variable here. Performance increase, is without a doubt, undeniable.

 

The performance increase will no doubt be great, and keep in mind that DX10 games will only run on a DX10 card. Recent news seems to suggest that DX10 cards will arrive with Santa Rosa platform, which is only a few months away. So if you can wait, it wouldn't be a bad idea. But the cost will likely be high as eeek mentioned, so really, it's up to you.

 

Thats what I always figured.

But overall will games designed specifically for DX10 have MUCH better graphics or just SPEED up things with SLIGHTLY better graphics?

 

Well, look at these screenys:

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6164940/index.html?tag=topslot;title;3

certainly DX9 can do those effects too, but it would take a large preformance hit. I think that that shows what effect you can do while having the same fps each time.

but I'm not completly sure, maybe they are just full of it. Personally I am waiting (and have been since January or so when I joined these boards).

 

DX10 games will have better graphics because of the new engine.

Check this out:

http://us.download.nvidia.com/downloads/videos/GF8800Demoreel_High_8000.wmv

The new DX10 cards will be more powerful than the old DX9 cards, just because of the new architecture of the DX10 cards.

Of course, DX10 cards will also be compatible with DX9 games. The DX9 games just won't be able to use some of the features of the DX10 cards.

 

That was a sweet video