what is up with the X1700?

Why is the support from ATI for the X1700 so crappy. It's supposed to be more energy efficient and better then the X1600 is it not? Also, why does EVERYONE say the Go 7700 is sooo much better whe there is only like 10% difference!?

I think the X1700 is just as good as the Go 7700 what do you think?

 

I've been wondering the same thing. Looking at 3dmark benchmarks, they seem to be *almost* equally powerful.

 

They seem to be built the same. But why do they perform different?

 

You might have answered your own question in the first line (an issue of support from ATI, perhaps?).

 

GeForce Go 7700 benefits from 80nm fabrication processes.So it can hit higher memory clocks.Also remember,the inner workings of the GPU might be drastically different.You cannot judge just by these on paper specs.
EDIT : stamar is right.The number of pipelines is different but the performance is not much different.

 

x1700 is a 8 pipeline card 7700 is a 12 pipeline card

 

The best part is that i still dont see great drivers for X1700. Look at ATi's support web...no X1700. Only X1600 then jumps to X1800.

 

ATI doesn't offer support for the X1700. This was a big hullabaloo topic in the Asus boards, when the A8JP and V1JP came out, but ATI didn't have drivers for the X1700. Back then, the X1700 was so new that people just thought ATI needed to make the drivers. After a few months, seems like they still haven't offered it.

I won't repeat everything in the thread concerning why the 7700 is better, but it IS better.

 

By no means am I saying any of you are wrong, since you know way more then I do but I checked on the ATI website (not being sarcastic, nothing but resspect for you guys & girls) and:

Mobility Radeon X1700 Product Features:
157 million transistors on 90nm fabrication process
Twelve pixel shader processors
Five vertex shader processors
128-bit 4-channel DDR/DDR2/GDDR3 memory interface
Native PCI Express x16 bus interface
PowerPlay 6.0 power management technology
Avivo Video and Display architecture

Also from and A8Js press release from NVIDIA:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_35500.html

i Based on GeForce Go 7700 GPU 12 pixel pipelines versus GeForce Go 7600 8 pixel pipelines.

Also, several other sources I've read state that both X1700 and Go 7700 have 12 Pixel and 5 vertex shaders. The main difference is the X1700's 90nm fabrication vs. the G0 7700's 80nm fabrication. In addition, the crappy support from ATI. Which equates to the 10% difference in performance.

I'm just trying to get this straight as to the differences between each and the actual performance difference, and I have read all other threads regarding this here.

I just want to thank all the super knowledgeable people on Notebookreview as you all helped me pick my V1JP (which I wish had the freaking Go 7700). I almost picked the G1, as it is an amazing machine but the shiny plastic, lights, size and fake carbon fiber are just not my taste.

 

Well, with the lower manufacturing process with the Geforce 7700, you'll see more transistors on the actual graphics processing unit. That amounts to more raw power, enabling the core clock of the 7700 to be ultimately higher.

If you're right that the X1700 and 7700 both have the same number of pipelines, then it must be the Geforce 7700's smaller manufacturing process and higher clock speeds that make it faster.

Also, don't blow off 10%. 10% amounts to about 400 points in 3DMark05.

 

Not only that, but 10% is the difference between 27 and 30fps. It'll let you crank up the details that little bit more, and the resolution, and still have a playable game, which is what the whole thing is about, right?

 

Of course 400 points in 3dmark is very important, since 3dmark is the only game we play (sarcastic), and is completely synthetic. Also, 3fps is definately going to make the game better (sarcastic). I mean, when I'm playing WoW on my X1400, and it goes from 40 to 36fps, I scream and throw a tantrum (sarcastic).

Laptop GPU's are so weak to begin with, when you go with comparable cards, you're really not going to tell that much of a difference (X1700 vs. 7700), rather your choice should be based on hardware support, the games you play, and if you absolutely must have that .24870fps, overclockability. I've seen both cards in two systems side by side, and watched the fps in both systems being monitored in CS:S and WoW, and even though there may be drops here and there in frames, you visually will be hard pressed to tell the difference. If making a choice, look at what the manufacturer offers you as the consumer. (i.e., I'm sure not buying a Chevrolet Malibu over a Honda Accord, even though they both get me from a to b.).

-Josh

P.S. Sorry for the tirade, i'm a huge 3dmark h8t3r!

 

RacingNorth, don't use things like "WTF" in thread titles, I don't want to see that. Thanks.

Although the X1700 is still fabricated on a 90nm process, it uses a new strained silicone technology:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3202
It doesn't provide any performance advantage though.

 

No problem Chaz, didn't know that would be offensive. Thanks though for changing it!

 

7600 < x1600 < x1700 < 7700. But the performance difference is so marginal (probably 15% max between 7600 and 7700) who really cares anyways.

The only time I'd care if it was the handicapped versions of the 7600 or x1600.

 

http://www.nvidia.com/page/go_7600.html



http://ati.amd.com/products/mobilityradeonx1700/specs.html