nVidia NVS 3100M (T410/T510)

If you can believe the following website, the new NVS 3100M graphics card in the T410/T510 is worse than the ATI 3650 that was in the T500.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-Quadro-NVS-3100M.24738.0.html

There is comparison table at the end, although done with 3dmark 05, it gives about 7100 points to the NVS 3100M, while the ATI 3650 gets about 7500 points. For 3dmark 06 it is about 3400-3500 points on average. If I recall from the T500 review correctly, the ATI 3650 had over 4000 points.

Any T410 (or T510) owners who received their notebook care to share benchmark results?

 

But on the bright side, you get 95% of the performance for only 46,7% of the power consumption.

NVS 3100M (14 watts) vs ATI 3650 (30 watts)

 

Well with that argument they could have used an ATI 5650 ... 15-19W, and you also get about 200% performance

 

True I am not a big fan of nVidia, so a ATI 5000 series card would be welcome, the problem for Lenovo is probably that the 5000 are not available yet, or if so, only sparsely.

Edit: Since nVidia uses rebrands, they where probably more likely to be able to guarantee delivery date at the launch on the T410/T510 series.But what do I know(?)

What is certain is that the performance figures are disappointing

 

Well, Nvidia's driver are better than Ati's, especially with opengl and linux.

 

I heard just the opposite: while nVidia drivers for linux used to be good, nowadays ATI is better. I cannot settle this argument as I do not use Linux. And I also remember nVidia having lot of problems when Vista came. Not to mention all the problems previous ThinkPads had with nVidia graphics.

So no thank you, no nVidia for me

But I did not want an nVidia vs ATI argument, rather to point out that the newer version of a notebook has a video card that is worse at performance (or certainly not better) than the previous generation (T510 vs T500).

 

Correct me if I am wrong. Neither of these are dedicated gaming/CAD laptops. They were never meant to be so in the first place. If you desire performance check out the W series.

 

You are right of course. And I would also like to know how the new W series graphics solution compares to the previous one used.

 

The integrated GMA HD chip vs nVidia NBS 3100m



You get roughly twice the performance, but what can you use it for. It is still too slow to play games, and the intel is capable to decode HD material

 

Under linux, there are two 3D drivers for ATI (and another one only supporting 2d, but who cares). One is made by ATI and is a mess and another one is made by the community based of specs that ATI released (less of a mess, but lower performance).

On the other hand, you have Nvidia, with only a close-source 3D driver, but one that actually works.

For a corporate environment, if we exclude the fact that last year nvidia had a general failure that tarnished their image, Nvidia>ATI: better performance (because of opengl) and better stability.

Finally, about performance compared to previous generation: for CAD, NVS3100>3650, simply because the 3650 is not designed for it.

So for some people, the nvidia is clearly better than the ATI. Of course this does not change personal preference, but it was not a random move from Lenovo (probably some major consumer asked for Nvidia+Nvidia's offer was cheaper for them).

 

For non-linux, I'm sure some gaming would capable on this new card?
I've got my eyes on 410 and like the opition of being able to play some of the older under $10 games on steam. Like the older unreal games.....is this ruled out with this card?
According to notebook check

I was happy to hear they would be having an nvidia card, from what I understand they have good video decoding, are great for cad, and probaly some light gaming.

I'm like to do a little light gaming or some light CAD once and awhile. Seeing the performance numbers over the intergrated it looks like a smart choice.

 

Well, since the NVS 3100M is pretty close to the 3650 in performance, I don't think you would have problems running games on the T410. I also have some cheap games from Steam (for example Medieval II was 3€ ). I also play Left 4 Dead 2 and I tried the Star Trek Online beta, no problem.

And while I realize that the T series is a business notebook, I would not want a separate notebook for gaming and work. With occasional gaming in mind, the T500 does both for me.

And given all reasons listed above I still don't see why Lenovo didn't increase graphics performance same way as they do CPU performance, etc.

 

When you look at it from the perspective of the 14" T series models, the NVIDIA NVS 3100M is a big step up compared to the previous 2 generations. I was disappointed when the T400's ATI HD 3450 had hardly any change in performance compared to the T61's NVIDIA NVS 140M. So it's good to have the 14" model pack the same graphics power as the 15" in the T410. (Compare NVIDIA NVS 3100M, ATI HD 3450, and NVIDIA NVS 140M.)

 

Sorry but I do have to correct you.
I am a graphics developer and work on Linux and Windows.
Neither Linux nor Windows ATI drivers are good. It is a shame because ATI hardware actually is very good, but the software is a joke.
About 90% of the driver bugs that we find are in the ATI and only 10% in Nvidia.

 

I got over benchmarks a few years ago. They're great for comparing laptops when youre buying, but they hardly matter more than the system as a whole.

We all bought our T410/T510 for a reason right? I get it, we should always demand the best but no need to make ourselves feel worse about our purchases lol. (This is all assuming you own one and are not on the fence about purchasing one though)

I can play games like L4D, Borderlands, NFS: Undercover and Starcraft 2 with native resolution on medium settings and I still get very good playable FPS. I'm happy

EDIT: Of course, I'm only an incoming college student, so I dont do any intense CAD and cant say anything about performance relating to that.