ATI HD 6990m

Hi Everyone,

May I ask your professional advice regarding which GPU to purchase with my 17.3" Sager NP8170 laptop?

I am heading off to university in September, and I want a powerful machine. I will be using programs like 3DS max, photoshop, Solidworks etc. and playing games like SC2 and Skyrim (if I have time).

Assuming the price difference is negligible, should I get:
a. nVidia GeForce GTX 485M
OR
b. ATI Mobility Radeon HD6990

But please keep in mind the following:
From what I have been reading, the Radeon 6990 only very slightly out performs the nVidia GTX 580m, and therefore would outperform the GTX 485m.
However, nVidia offers CUDA, which Autodesk (the developers of 3ds Max) utilize in their software, which (according to nVidia) greatly improves rendering time.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
- Inventor22

 

What i've read is that cuda isn't that big of a difference for any of these softwares it's mostly hype and that the amd cards run just as good, but don't take my word for it def. research it more.

As far as raw performance the 6990M is the way to go, i just ordered mine today with the 6990M from malibal can't beat their price!!!!

I hope the amd drivers don't do teh suck on mehs lol a bit scared, but yet again what am i going to do get a outdated 485m?

 

If you're looking to use those 3D modeling programs, you'll want to look for a professional GPU that will have drivers optimized for those apps.

I know Mythlogic has some in their 17" machines. Not sure about the other retailers.

 

Yeah supposebly the qaudro or firepro cards are for 3d modeling programs like that, but quite frankly i don't think they make much of a difference. My cousin has an old gateway with a 8800m GTS and runs those programs perfectly fine.

Also, you can install quadro drivers on any nvidia card, i just did it on my gfs toshiba, you just mod the .inf file.

Anyway my opinion not much of a performance difference to justify and extra nvidia or workstation card costs.

 

Yes, you can modify the .inf file, but it's not 100% the same. I guess it depends on how long you want to wait for the rendering to happen.

Then again, you can always do that stuff in a lab.

 

Thanks =).

So I guess I will go with the Radeon 6990m then. I'll do a little more research, then make a final decision tomorrow....I mean later on today =P.

- Inventor22

 

Yeah of course not the same, but still very good. IDK again like i said just my opinion. Probably the AMD would run better just because it is a more powerful card.

Here this is all the info you would need.

Nvidia Quadro FX vs. ATI FirePro: Professional Graphics Accelerators Roundup - X-bit labs
I wouldn't depend on this one to much since it is about 3 years old and the tests are using a special nvidia driver which is comparing apples to oranges, im sure amd has the same support now.

A more recent one test has the more closer together but in 3ds max in the graphics portion of the test looks like nvidia is better a bit not much.

Workstation Shootout: Nvidia Quadro 5000 Vs. ATI FirePro V8800 : Introduction

And according to this review workstation cards destroy regular cards, but that is most likely do to the quadro drivers and like i mentioned before you can install them on your regular nvidia card, will it work 100% like a workstation card im not sure.

Hope all this information helps and good luck

 

I will try to run a benchmark on my cousins laptop with the 8800m gts i just installed the quadro drivers on it and he has all that software on it, i will let you know if they improve performance or anything.

Do you know what i can use to benchmark those softwares?

 

did everyone get affected by this? like Mythlogic? XoticPC?

 

Get a complicated model or scene to render and use a stopwatch.

 

I think they did the prices before they realized how much it would cost them to get the cards. Xotic didn't list them until they knew for sure, and now Malibal has their pricing the same as Xotic. Mythlogic, on the other hand, still has it for cheaper.

 

Hopefully Myth will announce their release date soon (today)

 

guys is it possible to flash 6970m with 6990m bios to unlock the extra shaders???

 

I doubt it, since isn't the actual chip differant and not just locked Bart? Plus I don't think the 6970m has the extra texture units.

6970m:
960 Stream Processing Units
48 Texture Units

6990m:
1120 Stream Processing Units
56 Texture Units

 

maybe from the ES 6970m which has only the unlocked shaders??

 

The words AMD used was "trimmed" when referring to the 6970m core and "full" when referring to the 6990m core.

Could be physically or electronically disabled. Anyone know?

 

It is very likely the 6970M is physically different, having a couple of pipelines laser cut.

 

but even if someone made the order with the old prices would they keep it that way or would they charge him later the difference that was implemented?

 

As we have several times, Sager doesn't announce until they have a firm ETA and pricing. Some might have guesstimated a little low on the GPU pricing. Sager branded models will start shipping first.

 

Is your shipping estimate the same as Xotics?

 

Sager and their Resellers will be shipping first this has been confirmed by Sager.

 

My modest opinion:

Rendering is better with professional cards but very very expensive.
Gaming will be almost equal in 580M and 6990M, but the 6990M is cheaper by $250 (according to Sager's recent pricing)

Since you need this notebook for both rendering & gaming, get a middle solution: Get the 580M with CUDA for extra $250, you will get the maximum gaming potentiality and some more potentiality for rendering with out costing too much. And really forget about the outdated 485M.

 

Is the 10% worth $250 though. I say no.

If CUDA is important, the 485M is the most logical selection. It's not like the 580M has more cores.

 

i've been using the 580M for about 3 weeks now with straight extensive gaming. i must say im very happy for its performance. coming from asus g73jh with ati card i must say nvidia 580M runs cooler and more stable. also updating the driver is very easy compared to ati where you need to delete the old drivers before installing the new. or else it wont install.
the biggest factor i think in nvidia 580M is how it handles the temperature, im running wither 2 for 3-4 hrs straight and my temp max at 87-89 degrees, unlike in my hd5870 it can go up to 103 and sometimes it shutdowns the laptop to cooldown.
but if 6990M can perform the same then it will be a good buy and worth the wait.

 

awwww +245 to upgrade, i was hoping malibals 175 would stick

 

If it's any consolation, it was originally $245 to upgrade. The reduction to $175 was for less than a week. For like 5 or 6 days actually.

Thankfully for those of us who ordered when it was $245, Malibal honored their reduction and gave it to us for $175.

Just another reason to go with Malibal.

 

We aren't constrained by Sager's pricing, so ours will be staying the same price FYI, and we should start shipping mid-next week (Probably before the 12th)

 

Hopefully by the 10th so I don't have to have it shipped to my college

 

Hi, we are still giving customers the previous price on the 6990M, but it ends at midnight tonight! PM us for details.

 

D: sent you a pm, eagerly awaiting your response!

 

Good evening everyone, just want to give a heads up:

Playing crysis 2 @ full on Extreme everything @ Full HD resolution. (1920x1080) with DX11 enabled and the High Res texture package, its more than playable. It stays up at 60FPS when there is not a TON going on, it drops a bit when there are explosions and other pretty things, but overall very smooth.

Temps after an hour of doing so: 93.5 degC. Hot yes, but perfectly stable and not a single hiccup. So as I said before be prepared for this bad boy to be warm, but its ready to play. Also that temp is with IC Diamond applied.

And yes we really do have one in a Pollux 1611 right now =)

 

^...with what kind of setup?

 

Full Specs:

Pollux 1611, latest BIOS / EC
Intel 2720QM
AMD 6990m
16GB 1600MHz Patriot Memory
120GB Patriot Wildfire SSD
Windows 7 Ultimate

Just as a note tested with 8GB of RAM and fared the same. So the extra 8GB aren't keeping it humming along just as a FYI.

 

Sounds like you guys really are ready to ship shortly

 

We've been ready, we are just waiting for the lawyers to say go.

 

Its all fun and games 'till the lawyers show up with pesky NDAs

 

wow for a single mobile GPU that's amazing! what driver was the 6990m on?

btw. so for my desktop all I have to do is install the Nvidia driver over my current driver and restart...and boom I'm done. Are mobile AMD GPU drivers the same?

 

Yep. It's still recommended to uninstall the old version before installing new drivers to head off any issues, but it's not strictly necessary either.

 

Was most of the heat towards the back? How warm was the palmrest/keyboard?

Thanks!

 

Wow, that seems very hot will it run this hot on all laptops or could it be different? I orderd my NP8150 from MALIBAL with the 6990m and 93 deg. seems really hot, should I be concerned?

 

I would be concerned at such high temperatures, but I'm so paranoid about temperatures that I would never let any components go above 75C on my laptop.

Mr. Mysterious

 

can you also tell us about the heatsink design? is it the same as the GTX 580m and 485m with 3 copper pipes (one over memory)? and is the PCB really red? lol

 

The highest temp my old laptop got was around 70C so I'm a little worried. Also what is the max temp you would want a laptop to get.

 

You shouldn't be worried about those temperatures, kenny. That is just me being extra-careful.

The max temperature I would personally allow a component to get, for any length of time, is 90C.

Mr. Mysterious

 

@mythlogic

Can you perhaps give us (besides fps & benchmarks) a comparison of temperatures between 6970M & 6990M (idle/full load) and any accurate TDP numbers in same test situations (same game/benchmark ran)? Just wondering how they compare in that area...

 

Is this a final production Clevo ATI 6990M? Since we have been talking with Sager on this for some time they have said there is no Final Production Cards that have shipped yet from Clevo. That could explain the high temperatures.

 

Yes its a final production card, with a production Video BIOS on it.

I don't have a full benchmark list on it.. Because I can't post hard numbers on it.. yet =)

Heatsink design, it looks just like the heatsink for the 485m/580m/6970. TDP as I said before under load it pretty much is 100W, it idles pretty cool however. Fan noise isn't bad with the new EC that changed the fans all around, its more of a dull hum than loud, which could account for the temps also as we do all of our testing in normal mode, not hair-dryer mode. =P

And all the heat was out the back, when we were gaming on it, we just had a hand on the keyboard, and had an external mouse (FPS on a touchpad ... *shudder* ) and it never got at all hot or changed temperature noticeably at all.

 

Is it a Clevo card or a Dell card ?

 

Can anyone comment whether it would be better to wait for this or stick with the 560M on a NP8130 (I assume it resellers would offer HD6990M soon?). I expect to use the computer for moderate gaming + college/graduate school work for the next 3 or 4 years.

Also, what's the tentative price range on this?

 

Its a clevo, we also confirmed the same basic temp profile on the AMD (Actually from AMD) engineering sample.