Gtx 485m or Ati 6970?

Hi,

Which one is better and why?

The reason i am asking this is because i am ordering a Clevo P150hm with a gtx 485m as i heard the performance benchmark is higher than the ati 6970, even if only marginally, and i am getting it for a good price. I am not paying much more than i would be getting the Ati 6970 because the option is on special with my reseller.

However i saw this thread where there was a poll of 11 votes where clearly the ati 6970 is the favorite. This was a concern to me. Here is the thread:

ATI 6970M vs nVidia 485M

Am i right to get the 485m or is the ati 6970 better in areas i am unaware of?

Thanks for you're help.

 

The 485m benches a few % faster on average (around 2-5%), but they both flip flop on which does better in specific games. Some say Nvidia driver support is better, others like AMD- that much is personal preference. The Nvidia card gives you the option of 3D Vision as well as CUDA support, so take that for what it's worth.

Here are links to both cards for comparisons:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 485M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

AMD Radeon HD 6970M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Most people were hung up on price, because the 6970 is generally a much cheaper card compared to the 485m (200 USD + cheaper). If price isn't that much of a difference, then it makes it more difficult to say one is better than the other.

There are also reports that the 6970m idles at a higher wattage than the 485m so that battery life may be diminished, but it's not substantial. Current owners can correct me if new drivers have completely negated that point though.

 

From what I've read the 485 is just slightly stronger and the savings on the 6970 make it a better bang for the buck purchase. I'd discount that thread you linked as it seems to be almost an Alienware owners forum. Those guys all have AMD cards so I'd say their opinions are slightly biased.

 

It all depends on what you will be doing, like if you are going to be playing games then it is split 50/50 between the two because depending on what game you play each card will perform differently. In some games the Nvidia Geforce 485M performs better in others it’s the ATI Radeon 6970m. Personally I would go with the Nvidia Geforce 458m because of CUDA. CUDA is NVIDIA’s parallel computing architecture that enables dramatic increases in computing performance by harnessing the power of the GPU to speed up the most demanding tasks you run on your PC.

So basically if you are using something like Photoshop or a 3D rendering program or video editing or special effects etc… you will get a huge benefit from this. I think you get the best of both worlds with the 485m you have the gaming performance and you get a boost in software performance too which the ATI card does not offer. I’m a web designer so this is perfect in my case that’s my opinion anyway oh and apparently Nvidia has better driver support than ATI so take that into account too.

 

Thanks for you're prompt responses. It does appear that the thread i linked was a somewhat bias. Im not paying much extra for the 485 so the price doesn't factor into the choice.

Based on this:
Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards - Notebookcheck.net Tech

You can see that the performances vary between different levels of detail and different games with the two gpu's.

From what i gather i'll be happy with the 485m. Thanks everyone, you were helpful as always.

 

If $$ is not an issue, go with 485m gtx for the better driver support. I experienced some stuttering playing TF2 with my 6970m which is nonexistence when I had 280m gtx SLI.

Regarding CUDA, The only consumer content creation program that I noticed a difference is Adobe Premiere CS5. I use Photoshop, AE, Illustrator, Coreldraw, 3dmax and autocad. Neither of the two run well with industry level softwares.

 

Thanks .

 

I have the 6970m and I can tell you right now that if your used to using nvidia definitely go with them. nVidia gains better driver support, and has easier over clocking over ati. Other then that if your planning to use your notebook without ocing or are fine with driver updates maybe every month or so then go for ATI. I simply chose it for the cost. It is efficient for its cost thats definitely true.

 

A few weeks ago if i didn't even know what the term oc'ing was and as for drivers support, well, i now know what they after doing a quick google search a minute ago. Up till now i had an old Sony Vaio with an nVidia g210m i think it was (definitely nVidia) and i never worried about anything else. But yea i see the 485m has its benefits and its cost.

 

agree~

The upgrade price from 6970m to 485m on a Sager NP8170-S1 is $300 while the actual part cost difference between the two is only $100 on eBay. Knowingly paying $200 more for the same part doesn't please me at all! This is why I wouldn't go for 485m when I have the budget. I just don't like the idea of being ripped off.

Also, if you ever planning to sell your laptop in the future, I can promise you that the $300 you spend on a 485m won't be reflected on the resale value when taking the identical performance into consideration. Buyers who are interested in used system are "vaule" driven and will only want best bang for their buck.

 

Im will be paying $100 extra for the 485m from Logical Blue One.

 

then, go with 485m at least you aren't being exploited

 

I'm happy with my 485m at $100 more, it would have been a no brainer for me. I've got Nvidia in 5 desktops and 3 laptops now, and they've been rock solid. AMD is known for having iffy drivers, and the 6970 has issues with high idle power usage anyway. Not sure why AsusS is spamming all the boards about AMD/6970 though. On paper and on synthetic benchmarks, the 485m is slightly better. It also offers 3D Vision and CUDA, if you want them (I use 3D vision so this is a big plus)

 

He provided a link to a thread where your AMD enthusiasm might be more fully appreciated. There's always the Alienware M18x owners board here on NBR too.

 

Lol, I see a rabid fan boy trolling the forum. Anyway, most importantly, if you want 3D support, you have to go with the nVidia. I didn't really factor that in when I got my 6970, but looking back on it, I may have switched to the 485 for the 3D support.

 

Whoa.. a $100 difference? That would probably tempt me... but as a student I'd have to refuse lol..

 

You can do 3D on AMD GPU.

AMD Talks HD3D | bit-tech.net

 

Thanks so much everyone for their support it really helps.

I was just looking into the 3D capabilities you were mentioning. I found this:
NVIDIA 3DTV Play?

Originally i had thought that to play 3D you needed a '3D capable' laptop. Am i correct that all you actually need is the software i linked above for $40, and of course a compatible gpu?

 

You need a screen with 120Hz refresh rate as well, in addition to software and a compatible gpu.

120Hz because the screen will display slightly different images for the left eye and the right eye, and alternate them in quick succession. Have you noticed that 3D movies are slightly blurry when you watch them without the 3D polarized glasses? That's because the left eye image and right eye image are slightly offset from each other causing the blurriness. That visual disparity coupled with the 3D glasses is how we perceive 3D effects. So the 120 Hz refresh rate is essentially 60 Hz per eye, which is what our normal standard screen refreshes at.

 

Unless the notebook/platform you are buying the card with supports 3D with the built in screen and you don't plan to use an external monitor that supports 3d, then whether or not the cards has 3D support is really a moot point.

If the 485M is just $100 more than the 6970M where ever you are buying it from, then I say go for that. If it's $200 more then you should go for the Radeon.

 

Oh ok i see. Would either of these cut it:

http://www.notebook-lcd.ru/pdf/B156HW01_V_4.pdf
http://www.logicalblueone.com.au/docs/v7.pdf

I found it difficult to sift through the specs but i think it says 60 Hz at one point. Oh well. Thanks though.

 

Nope, both of those are 60hz monitors. As far as I know, only the Satori P170HM (8170) model comes with an optional 17" 120hz display upgrade. There are 3rd party screens out there at 15.6" that can do 120hz.. but they're all 720p, not 1080p full HD. This may change in the future though.

 

485m hands down better drivers. Cheaper doesn't mean much when you get crummy drivers.

 

Thanks for you're responses.

I have already made my decision.

Also, please read my requirements and the background to my question before posting.

Thanks.

 

Also, i suppose if you won't go for SLI/CF system you might get a decent gameplay experience with either of cards. Single GPU solution of both brands are pretty driver optimized than dual cards. I'd say: GO RED's!