Quadro FX 570M or NVS 140M?

I'm looking to buy a 14" Thinkpad and I'm not sure which graphics card to go with. I've configured the system (XP Professional, SXGA+, T7300, 2 gb RAM, 100 gb 7200 rpm HD, Intel AGN wireless) with both and it is a $60 difference between the two. The computer will mostly be for using the internet, word processing, power point, photoshop, watching DVDs, and possibly some gaming. I already have a desktop that will probably be used for most of the gaming, so that really isn't a top priority. Thanks for any help.

 

I guess it depends on what games you want to play? Something very new, or something like Half Life, quake 3, CS?

 

The 14 inch T61p's FX 570m does not deliver true FX 570m's capabilities -- something about only one chip's used instead of two.

Some have said that the 570m and 140m are about equal when running benchmarks; I'm not sure about running actual games.

 

If that is the case, just get the integrated card - it'll run cooler, longer when on battery and still capable of some gaming.

 

i agree with unhooked, if you already have a desktop for gaming, no need to buy a laptop with only mediocre gaming abilities...unless you're a gamer on the go.

 

What I want to know is what the batterylife difference is between these two nVidia chips

 

shouldn't be much since the core of the cards are the same.

 

Thanks for the quick replies. I'll just go with the integrated card.

I also have another quick question, does it make sense to get the Intel Wireless 4965AGN so that I don't need to upgrade at a later point? Or should I just get the ABG and upgrade later if I decide to? I read a few things saying that it isn't worth it to get a card that uses draft-N, but I was just wondering what you guys thought.

 

since there is no industry standard for draft-N, using N networks may be troublesome as each manufacturer differs from another. However, getting the 4965AGN card puts 3 receivers in your lcd screen instead of two, making reception better.

this if from all the info i've read up on but it might not be accurate, so take it with a grain of salt

 

Hmm okay, I'll read a a little bit more about it... Since you're here and are answering so quickly, I have one last question, lol. I read a few things about heat problems with the 100GB 7200 rpm HD on the the 4:3 T61, should I go with the 120 GB 5400 rpm?

 

You're only buying this laptop once. Don't nerf yourself right out of the box, you can't upgrade it later. Get the better video card. The marginal returns are huge for only 60.00

Same goes for the 7200 rpm hard drive. HD speed affects how fast your processes run.

Always pick speed first. Heat,saving money, those are complaints for people who usually end up with not the best things in life, and live with the stresses of having something expensive that is almost good enough.

Should someone get the V6 Honda Accord or the 4 banger? Should someone get a Honda or a Hyundai? Answer those questions for yourself, and you'll clearly see what kind of consumer you are and what your choices ought to be.

 

Um, not really. The 570 has more executing units, hence why it scored higher in benchmarks including the one built into Vista. Seems like someone would put this information in a review of the laptops.

For example see this review of desktop cards:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/gpu-consumption2006_5.html

There is a industry standard know as Draft 2.0, all Draft 2.0 equipment is supposed to work correctly with the final 802.11n spec.

As to 3 antenna's helping with reception when not using 802.11n I don't see how. 802.11abg doesn't use MIMO technology so it can only use one antenna for sending and receiving. There are two because for receiving it uses the antenna in a diversity structure which basically means it picks the antenna with the best reception of the signal and reads off of that one. So no way of making use of the third as I don't think the algorithms for doing diversity work correctly with 3. A card that does abgn will be better then abg card all other things being equal in that the abgn card is newer technology so so should be improved over the older technology in the abg card (This assumes all things being equal as the 4965AGN seems to be worse then the Atheros based abg card since it appears as though Intel is still behind Atheros although this doesn't seem confirmed)

The problem with upgrading later is no one has confirmed if all three antenna are in the laptop if you don't get an 802.11n card.

 

$60.00? It's more like a 130-150 dollar difference depending on what discount you are applying. 150 might not be much nowadays, but it is almost 10% of the laptop price, that's something to consider.

 

Um, if you are always plugged into AC then sure but if you aren't the pick of the graphics card can have a big impact on battery life

From what I've seen the speed of the HDD effects battery life kind of minimally (yes it will use up more power reading and writing but as it can finish these tasks in less time it can return to idle faster) so I sort of agree with you. But if the HDD is under the wrist rest and a hot wrist rest is annoying then I could see why you'd want something cooler. I don't know how hot it runs though and HDDs unlike vid cards are easy to upgrade later.

 

I've read somewhere on these forums the Intel card is better than the Atheros card. Don't know which one to trust.

 

Thats what I meant. Just that the Intel abgn card should be better then the Intel abg card and the Atheros abgn card is better then the Atheros abg card.

Also while Draft 2.0 is out that doesn't mean the hardware out now is all that good as I'm sure there are lots of bugs to work out. The initial 802.11g chipsets were much worse then the current generation 802.11g chipsets.

 

If I wanted just speed, I would just carry my desktop with me all day and everywhere I go: Intel Quad Core 6800 [email protected] GHz, SLI 8800 GTX's, 4 GB ram, etc.

With a notebook, battery concerns are more or less important depending on your needs. If you are using your notebook frequently without nearby power outlets, battery life means something. If you leave your notebook on the desk all day, battery life is an afterthought.

My desktop runs circles around my notebook. My gaming experience on my computer is much, much better than on my friend's FX 570M T61p.

If you want so so but pretty good gaming, get the FX 570M. If you want something better, do yourself a favor and get a real desktop. I gave up gaming on a laptop long ago since there are too many compromises (battery life sucks but gaming is just okay). If battery life means something to you, get the NVS 140M. If battery life is of utmost importance and critical, get the Intel graphics.

 

60 for the video card is nothing. the upgrade to the hard drive is also nothing.

150 is nothing if you're buying a properly configured 2700.00 laptop.

 

"Properly configured" means a different thing to different people.

For some who don't game, don't watch movies or run CAD/Photoshop, "properly configured" means the lightest, coolest, longest running format thus the integrated video, 7 cell etc.
For others the requirements are totally different.

 

I have the 570m in the 14" t61p and i get about 3hours and 40minutes with the 6 cell battery.

 

dang that's pretty impressive with a 6-cell battery!
i wonder how far my 15.4" t61p w/ 9 cell can get.

 

Idling?

 

Nope, 3 hour lecture. Took notes via OneNote the whole time.

 

I was about to say... How are you sure the Nvidia chipsets use that much more power? Has someone sat down with all 3 models and tested power usage? They can always clock down, shut off certain parts, etc.

 

Yes, they can shut off certain parts, but supposedly can't do it as efficiently as the integrated X3100.
I've asked the same question here not long ago. Will try to find that thread.

 

Here it is:
"For comparison, IIRC the wattage rating for the T61's NVS 140M is 10-13W.
From Lenovo's own TABook, using a 7-cell battery in a T61 nets you about 3.8 hours for the 140M, versus 5.7 hours for the X3100 integrated graphics."

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=141854&highlight=unhooked

 

Thanks. Seems similar to the battery life the tabook says for the nvs 140 graphics card version of the T61 so maybe I was wrong and they do idle(well normal windows tasks) at the same wattage.

 

I don't know what 802.11n has to do with the graphics card, but I have a lot of experience with wireless and over the past year or so I am so much happier with "n" and "pre-n" and "almost-n" than I ever was with 802.11g and 802.11b.

Not having "n" now is a non-starter for me.

 

you realize that T61p's come with the 3rd antenna cable, you can literally get the cheapest wireless option and then swap out the cards later on, why spend so much money on a N card (which you cannot utilize fully) when you can just replace your card in the future for cheaper?

 

Because that hasn't been verified yet. Some say that if you get a non-g card there are only two antennas that come with the laptop preventing a future upgrade to 802.11n.

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=154997
and
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=160288

 

Those wattages you quote are misleading. Those are probably the max wattage the cards can use (i.e. for 3d gaming) which is very important for a laptop as that determines how the cooling system for the laptop works. But that has very little to do with battery life as that is mostly calculated from how much the graphics can throttle back. Integrated can trottle back way more then the nVidia stuff but I don't see any good numbers for how the 570 compares to the 140 when just doing normal windows stuff.

 

And how about the tabook numbers?