AMD HD6850 vs Nvidia GTX460M

What would be a better video card for laptop. My main uses are Video and some moderate gaming.

I am looking at the Envy 173D...and there might be an option for the Nvidia...

Which to choose.

Nvidia better with driver support, although AMD seems to have some places where mobility drivers are available upon release.

Thoughts?

Thanks

Bob

 

driver support is no issue with ati/amd (mobility) anymore.

the 6850m is a rebranded mobility radeon 5850, but still very powerful. the gtx460m seems to be some 10-20% stronger (in terms of gaming and synthetic gaming benchmarks), but mostly a bit below the mobility radeon 5870/6870.

the huge advantage of the envy 17 3d is the display, which you can only compare to other 3d displays, so if the other choice hasnt got one, go for the envy, definitely. if the other notebook with the 460m also is a 3d one, you should check with the video apps, which gpu brand they prefer more. opencl & direct compute are the main features to look at, and depending on the video app, one can favor ati/amd more, another nvidia, and this results in some great differences in performance.

 

Thanks for the input...yeah...my only other choice is an Asus G73SW, but it doesn't have the 3D panel. Pound for pound...or lack thereof....the HP is starting to really intrigue me. The gaming side of things...I don't see much difference...but I do see more advantages to the HP...

 

Well it came down to two machines:

HP Envy 17.3" 3D 1900 x 1080
i7 2360QM with 8 GB of DDR3
AMD Mobility 6850 with 1 GB DDR5
640 GB HDD 7200 rpm
4 Year on Site Warranty with Accidental Damage
Beats Audio
Blu Ray Playback / DVD Burner
USB 3.0 / 2.0
6 Cell Battery (2 hour 20 min)
Intel N Wireless
Broadcom Gigabit LAN
Bluetooth
Backlit Keyboard
3D Shutter Glasses
HD Webcam

vs

Asus G73SW w/ 17.3" 1900 x 1080
i7 2360QM
8 GB of 1333 DDR3 SDRAM
Nvidia GTX460M with 1.5 GB DDR 5
500 GB HDD 7200
Blu Ray / DVD Burner
Creative THX Software Sound
2 Year Warranty with 1 Year Accidental (Depot service)
for an additional 2 years through seller...$229.00
8 Cell Battery (1 Hour 40 Min)
Atheros Wireless N
Realtek Gigabit LAN
2.0 MP Webcam

I am most likely going with the HP Envy. I am familiar with their technical support. With Envy, you get level one North American with On site. With Asus...you get depot service (some say that replacing a motherboard on the G73 can take upwards to a month). Pound for pound, dollar for dollar...I can get both for about the same price...I think HP is a better value with better support. The sound system in the Asus cannot come with 100 miles of the HP...I have heard the Beats...wow! Also...purchase from HP direct and you have a 21 day period where you can return for full refund.

 

agree absolutely.

ive been using my envy 17 3d now for almost a month, and i have to say i am really very satisfied with it. besides some design flaws (AC jack on the right side where it sometimes blocks the mouse cable while playing fps games) and the touchpad one really has to get used to, and maybe the cooling system (but the longer i have it, the better the temps get; now i am not concerned about them at all anymore), the envy is really a great notebook. ok, the customer service is really only something for people lacking any IT knowledge, otherwise one should avoid it, but i am talking about the usual hp consumer support here in europe - i am sure the exclusive envy support in the US is far better. and bearing in mind that ive been using hp elitebooks only for many years until now, and i am satisfied with the envy now, the envy really has to be very very good.