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    Thinkpad with greatest graphics power

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by stevenator128, Oct 2, 2008.

  1. stevenator128

    stevenator128 Notebook Evangelist

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    I just got a nice Student refund check from my university and I've had my dreams set on owning a thinkpad someday. Well now it's going to happen. But which one has the greatest graphics power? I prefer a T model, and nothing above 15.4" but I'd most prefer 14.1". Any help is greatly appreciated.
     
    stevenator128, Oct 2, 2008
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  2. melcron

    melcron Notebook Guru

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    That's the same way I purchased my someday to arrive U330 :) Have to love Grants.
     
    melcron, Oct 2, 2008
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  3. jonlumpkin

    jonlumpkin NBR Transmogrifier

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    If you mean gaming graphics, then the T400/500 with a switchable Radeon 3470 is the best option, it also has a GMA4500 that you can use for normal windows tasks and video playback for better battery life. If you mean workstation graphics (Maya, CAD, etc.), then you need to go with a W500 for a FireGL or the very expensive and heavy W700 for QuadroFX.
     
    jonlumpkin, Oct 2, 2008
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  4. stevenator128

    stevenator128 Notebook Evangelist

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    Yea grants are good. But mine was just a refund for overpaying tuition. Gotta love SCHOLARSHIPS. And I was thinking the T400, it seems pretty sweet. If the T500 has no better graphics option that's what I'll probably go for. Any good deals coming up I should wait for?
     
    stevenator128, Oct 2, 2008
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  5. StealthTH

    StealthTH Notebook Evangelist

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    The T400 and T500 actually have different graphics cards. The T500 has the Radeon HD 3650 w/ intel. The T400 has the Radeon HD 3470 w/intel. The T500 graphics chip is actually a fair bit more powerful than the 3470. I went for the T400 cause I like portability > power.
     
    StealthTH, Oct 2, 2008
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  6. Bashar

    Bashar Notebook Evangelist

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    W500 all the way
     
    Bashar, Oct 2, 2008
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  7. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    W500's GPU (Fire GL V5700) is based off the T500's GPU (HD 3650), ie. it will perform the same in games.
     
    sgogeta4, Oct 3, 2008
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  8. McBrainless

    McBrainless Notebook Consultant

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    If you're gaming then the T500 is for you.
    The Fire GL V5700 (W500 GPU) is the same GPU hardware wise, but the drivers are performing better in graphics programs and a bit slower in games, but you could change the drivers. Although the difference is fairly small.

    But it seems some people are having problems with the hybrid system and when connected to a 2nd display, when doing the clean install and then downloading and installing the drivers.
    I suggest not fiddling with the drivers yourself, since there aren't quite complete drivers yet, there seem to be some problems for some people...
     
    McBrainless, Oct 3, 2008
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  9. cfoo

    cfoo Notebook Consultant

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    I would argue that if you're gaming then the W500 is not for you. There are issues with both the Fire GL and Quadro when it comes to gaming. Almost all games are tested against consumer line of cards, not the commercial/professional line.
     
    cfoo, Oct 3, 2008
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  10. elfroggo

    elfroggo Notebook Evangelist

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    On what do you base this statement?

    My T61p begs to differ. 600 hours of TF2 time here.
     
    elfroggo, Oct 3, 2008
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  11. Black Diamond

    Black Diamond Notebook Guru

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    Why have all the new Thinkpads (with exception of the W700) Ati GPUs? I always thought that Ati where cheaper than Nvidia. So why do they use those Cards in premium Laptops?

    What about the Linux support of these Ati Cards? Are there problems?
     
    Black Diamond, Oct 3, 2008
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  12. Bashar

    Bashar Notebook Evangelist

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    try checking the linux forums

    i also read at thinkpads.com forum that someone has good support

    i will let you know when i get one
     
    Bashar, Oct 3, 2008
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  13. eaadams

    eaadams Notebook Consultant

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    Too bad you can't get a HD 3650 in a T400.

    I guess the idea is that on a 14" screen the HD 3650 would be overkill? aka cpu limited in most cases?

    While I hate these sort of benchmarks - I'd rather see real life benches - that is a significant difference.

    Notebookreview.com 3DMark06 Score
    Lenovo T500 (2.80GHz Intel T9600, ATI Radeon 3650 256MB GDDR3) 4,371 3DMarks
    Lenovo T400 (2.80GHz Intel T9600, ATI Radeon 3470 256MB GDDR3) 2,575 3DMarks

    Can this be used to reference against?:
    http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/...q3-2008/3DMark06-v1-1-0-3DMark-Score,794.html

    Wow that puts everything way down on the list.
     
    eaadams, Oct 3, 2008
    #13