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    the geforce 8600GT from DELL

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by lordofericstan, Jul 2, 2007.

  1. lordofericstan

    lordofericstan Notebook Evangelist

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    On the Nvidia site, they say the 8600GT has 512Mb of video ram, but dell says that their 8600GT only has 256 Mb of video ram, am i getting hoodwinked?
     
    lordofericstan, Jul 2, 2007
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  2. sco_fri

    sco_fri Notebook Evangelist

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    Some models have 256, some 512. The Asus G1S and the Dell have 256, but the Compal IFL90 and I believe the Asus C90 have 512mb. It's unknown whether the extra 256mb will do a heck of a lot for anyone currently though.
     
    sco_fri, Jul 2, 2007
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  3. Baserk

    Baserk Notebook user

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    Bear in mind there is also a differance between types of ram, GDDR2 or GDDR3.
    The Asus G1S has 256MB GDDR3. Not sure what's inside your Dell.

    nVidia's own site seems to be incomplete/outdated.
     
    Baserk, Jul 2, 2007
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  4. xerxes106

    xerxes106 Notebook Consultant

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    everyone says the dell has ddr3 from what ive heard
    that's my main concern though, is the extra 256mb going to do anything? I want to know before making my purchase
     
    xerxes106, Jul 2, 2007
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  5. lordofericstan

    lordofericstan Notebook Evangelist

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    The dell 1520 has ddr2, thats what it says when you go to "build your own notebook"

    What are the differences between the ram?
     
    lordofericstan, Jul 2, 2007
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  6. xerxes106

    xerxes106 Notebook Consultant

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    that seems to be the issue, but apparently when you confirm it'll say ddr3....and the dell reps say ddr3
     
    xerxes106, Jul 2, 2007
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  7. unnamed01

    unnamed01 Notebook Deity

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    GDDR3 is be much faster then GDDR2. I think the extra 256mb or ram will be useful with dx10 games...so I would recommend getting it with GDDR3.
     
    unnamed01, Jul 2, 2007
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  8. lordofericstan

    lordofericstan Notebook Evangelist

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    That throws a major kink in the system, I was going to buy my own ram and install it to save around 80 bucks. Will i have to buy ddr3 or is ddr2 and ddr3 compatible with one another?
     
    lordofericstan, Jul 2, 2007
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  9. zeppelin68

    zeppelin68 Notebook Guru

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    gddr3 is the ram in the 8600gt which you cannot replace/upgrade. Do you mean the normal Ram? Because you will be able to upgrade that.
     
    zeppelin68, Jul 2, 2007
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  10. lordofericstan

    lordofericstan Notebook Evangelist

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    Ohhh, i guess i got confused when people stopped sayin video ram. Thats better then. Will people experience a notable difference between the 256Mb of vid ram and the 512 version?
     
    lordofericstan, Jul 2, 2007
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  11. wave

    wave Notebook Virtuoso

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    It does not matter if the dell uses GDDR2 or GDDR3. What is important is the frequancy it runs at. The IFL90 has 512MB VRAM @400mhz and the G1s 256MB @700mhz. This is what makes the differance in speed. RVTune says that the IFL90 uses GDDR3 but it runs much slower then the G1S.

    GDDR2 and GDDR3 are both based on DDR2. This might explain why Dell sometimes says GDDR3 and sometimes DDR2. GDDR3 is DDR2 type memory. So if you ask a Dell rep if it has GDDR2 or GDDR3 dont forget to ask about the speed of it.
     
    wave, Jul 2, 2007
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  12. Scavar

    Scavar Notebook Evangelist

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    That's true wave, but the also skewing it a bit. GDDR2 and GDDR3 running at the same frequency, will show GDDR3 being the better performer.


    As for the amount of memory, more is better unless it is all virtual. Virtual RAM is essentially a card that is using your system memory over it's own memory, this is generally much slower then any dedicated memory options.
     
    Scavar, Jul 2, 2007
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  13. masterchef341

    masterchef341 The guy from The Notebook

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    it depends on the situation.

    some cards aren't fast enough to make full use of 512 megs of video ram.

    with a 128 bit bus, i just dont think there is going to be that much of a difference.

    now, the 128 meg cards do show decreased performance against 256, but its not THAT significant, and i would expect the difference between 256 and 512 to be even less significant. Also- 512 megs at 400mhz is not going to give you nearly as good of a result as 256 at 700mhz.

    go for the 256, if its clocked properly it will perform right up there with the 512 meg version. its not a big a deal as you might think (2x memory = 2x performance!??!)
     
    masterchef341, Jul 2, 2007
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  14. lordofericstan

    lordofericstan Notebook Evangelist

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    sweet. thanks
     
    lordofericstan, Jul 2, 2007
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  15. xerxes106

    xerxes106 Notebook Consultant

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    talked to dell rep today, tried to see if there was a way to get the 512mb card, said they couldnt
    but he said that the the 8600GT they have runs at 700mhz
    and I ended up with free next day shipping after the conversation
     
    xerxes106, Jul 2, 2007
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  16. lordofericstan

    lordofericstan Notebook Evangelist

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    lol nice. ill give it a try.
     
    lordofericstan, Jul 2, 2007
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  17. MechAnt

    MechAnt Notebook Geek

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    Damn you lucky. I went thru a whole bunch of question asking and holding and i got no free next day shipping :mad:
     
    MechAnt, Jul 2, 2007
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  18. ihavenofate

    ihavenofate Notebook Evangelist

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    GDDR3 means itll run cooler, thus being able to be overclocked more. thats all it means. no immediate big differences.
     
    ihavenofate, Jul 2, 2007
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  19. xerxes106

    xerxes106 Notebook Consultant

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    well the trick for me was the online chat, click on it when youre ordering and ask the people questions, he asked if I wanted him to check the lowest price, I said OK. With 350 coupon it was lowest price already, so they threw in shipping instead, which was cool. Now I just have to call 'em and finish the order.
     
    xerxes106, Jul 2, 2007
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  20. Petrov

    Petrov Notebook Deity

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    Just out of curiosity, is anyone aware of any notebooks with 8xxx series cards that have *both* 512MB video ram *and* having it clocked at 700mhz?

    Petrov.
     
    Petrov, Jul 3, 2007
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  21. B4TCH

    B4TCH Notebook Consultant

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    The 8700m-GT has 512mb GDDR3 at 800mhz (1600)
     
    B4TCH, Jul 3, 2007
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  22. Cancer777

    Cancer777 Notebook Evangelist

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    Does anyone know if the MSI 1719 (GX700) 8600gt runs at 400mhz or more???
     
    Cancer777, Jul 3, 2007
    #22