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    any1 order W500 instead of T500?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by acerbits, Aug 30, 2008.

  1. acerbits

    acerbits Notebook Consultant

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    seems like you get a better video card for less than 100 bucks more based on the pricing rite now.
     
    acerbits, Aug 30, 2008
    #1
  2. Johnny T

    Johnny T Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    The V5700 is a HD3650 based workstation card, in terms of gaming performance the V5700 would be slower as it's drivers are optimised for OpenGL applications.
     
    Johnny T, Aug 30, 2008
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  3. Paul386

    Paul386 Notebook Evangelist

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    It is not slower. Typically people think that the workstation cards are slower than the gaming cards. This is because the gaming cards normally come with faster memory (because the workstation cards just don't need it). In this case both the 3650 on the T500 and the V5700 have GDDR3 memory.
     
    Paul386, Aug 30, 2008
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  4. Arki

    Arki Super Moderator

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    No, Johnny is right. Workstation cards are slower than gaming cards when it comes to, as Johnny has correctly said, gaming performance.
     
    Arki, Aug 30, 2008
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  5. LaptopGun

    LaptopGun Notebook Evangelist

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    All things created equal, the workstation card will have about 90-95% of the gaming performance. You could install the "regular" card drivers to narrow the gap a ton. People did that with the FX 570... ne` GeForce 8600 GT in the T61p and got great results. However the switchable graphics in the T500 are kinda nice to have, so I'm not a fan of the current gen mobile workstation vibe. Ironic given that I bought a T61p and love it. :)
     
    LaptopGun, Aug 30, 2008
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  6. Enki

    Enki Notebook Geek

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    The W500 has switchable graphics too. The W700 and the R500 are the ones that don't have switchable graphics.
    http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=154

    Now back to your graphics performance debate.... A blanket statement that workstation cards are slower makes no sense. The graphics cores are the same so you should be able to look at the GPU MHz speed and the memory type/speed. Sure the workstation graphics drivers may be slower as they have different optimizations but you should be able to switch to the gaming drivers.
     
    Enki, Aug 31, 2008
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  7. Johnny T

    Johnny T Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Yes you can switch to gaming drivers but then you have just wasted money on a ISV certified work stationed GPU. Workstation drivers are slower for games because it's drivers always uses an older version of catalyst control center. So really, what is the point of spending an extra $100 of something that is precisely the same for the OP's needs?
     
    Johnny T, Aug 31, 2008
    #7