GAMING laptop

CivilServant

Now how did i miss that little benchmark first time round

Black Swan

Be sure to check your specs on games for compatibility with laptop versions of graphics cards. Some are not supported and may or may not work as specified.

TerrorFirmer

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

Be sure to check your specs on games for compatibility with laptop versions of graphics cards. Some are not supported and may or may not work as specified.

Most games state that, so technically no laptop gpus are supported on most games, so people take it far too literally when they read 'Laptop cards not supported' and think they won't work. The game will work as long as it meets the requirements, there is no compatibility issues with laptop cards just for them being exactly that.

Cunny-Funt

BostonB wrote:

Theres your answer so.

if only it was m8, if only.

many disregard that since its posted by nividea and many are saying that, currently anyway (due to drivers bla bla bla) the 8700m plays a little worse then the 7950gtx in dx9 games anyway.

But theres hints that when better drivers are out it will do a bit better then the 7950gtx. + its dx10.

So rumours put it, around the same...ish..ness... of a 7950gtx. So it might be ok to call it a dx10 version of the 7950 rather then a full replacement.


But all this is still so much speculation.

I want a laptop that will play CRYSIS on high settings. at least...highish....

And tbh I have no idea if this one can do it or not

TerrorFirmer

After this interesting conversation I've been reading alot up on the 8700MGt, the general view is that although the 3dMark scores are good (for the 8 series in general), the real world performance is not as promising and will be unlikely to meet or exceed the 7950GTX.

Someone on Notebookreviewforum posted this - very interesting, and answers a few questions, although its not concrete it seems to be the generally accepted view.

3DMark06 has tended to be fairly inaccurate with the 8xxx-series cards. I've found a fairly accurate way to "preview" real-world performance between the 8700 to the 7950:

1. The 8700M GT is almost identical to an overclocked desktop 8600 GT. (exact same Core, very close clocks)
2. The Go 7950 GTX is almost identical to a desktop 7950 GT. (exact same core, very close clocks)

Compare the specs:
G84 Core:
(desktop) 8600 GT "XXX": 32 Stream Processors - 128-bit bus - 620 Core/800 Mem/1355 Shader Clock
GeForce 8700M GT: 32 Stream Processors - 128-bit bus - 625 Core/800 Mem/1250 Shader Clock

G71 Core:
7950 GT: 8 Vertex/24 Pixel shaders - 256-bit bus - 550 Core/750 Mem
Go 7950 GTX: 8 Vertex/24 Pixel shaders -256-bit bus - 575 Core/700 Mem

And there just so happens to be an article that compares these two desktop cards: Click here and compare the "XFX GeForce 8600 GT" (not GTS) and the 7950 GT.

Notice the XFX 8600 GT actually performs very close to the 7950 GT in 3DMark06. (just like what we're seeing with the mobile cards)

But then look at the game benchmarks. In FEAR at 1600x1200 (the blue lines), the 7950 GT (AKA, Go 7950 GTX) averages 42 FPS vs. the XFX 8600 GT (AKA, 8700M GT) at 25. Or look at Prey. Again at 1600x1200 (the blue line), the 7950 GT gets 50.1, vs. the overclocked 8600 GT's 29.8.

Of course, this isn't a perfect comparison - you probably won't see those exact framerates, for example, the desktop has a Core 2 X6800, and 1600x1200 isn't a typical laptop resolution (but it is close to 1680x1050). But this just gives an idea of how these two cores with similar clock speeds perform relative to each other.

It doesn't look good for the 8700M GT.

Cunny-Funt

Some say its only bad due to no good drivers being out yet. Could that reeeally? be the case here? I'm not so sure.

I'm not sure of anything

Cunny-Funt

Is there anywhere in Ireland I can get a laptop where I can pick everything from barebones?

like this : https://www.rjtech.com/miva/merchant.mv?Session_ID=01C7BE6CB71B85F200000E4000000000&Store_Code=RT&Screen=BASK

Or at least somewhere that delivers to Ireland

TerrorFirmer

Cunny-Funt wrote:

Some say its only bad due to no good drivers being out yet. Could that reeeally? be the case here? I'm not so sure.

I'm not sure of anything

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's bad, it's still a good performer! Just perhaps not as powerful as was first thought or claimed. But by no means dismiss it entirely...

Cunny-Funt

If it can play crysis on high settings I wont!

CyberGhost

tbh, if I was aiming for a specific game(i.e. Crysis), I wouldn't even get a laptop before it game out.

legs11

i clocked the 7900gs on my m1710, can play stalker on all high settings, not slowing down at all.
before i over clocked it was painfully slow. its prob giving my 7900gx performance or thereabouts.

my temps are 70 and 60 degrees at the moment - cpu and gpu.

im not eve playing games but its on my bed for a numbe of hours,
giving it a god early night now.

Cunny-Funt

Right. So now my circumstances have changed, and although I will still need a laptop. It wont be my only machine.

So, instead of getting a feckin 2k lappy. I'm gonna split it and spend 1k on upgrading my PC and the rest on a laptop.


I'll still want one that can game though (Just wont need it to play crysis on high etc) and so far, from what I can see for around 1 grand this one is looking like a DEAL



:http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Acer_Aspire_5920WSMi_Laptop_LX.AGS0X.015/version.asp

# Processor: Powerful Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2GHz (x2), 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache
# RAM: 2GB Fast DDR2 RAM! (2 x 1024Mb)
# 1GB Turbo Memory - for a faster boot time
# Hard Drive: 160GB Hard Disk
# Screen: 15.4" Widescreen TFT (1280x800 - 16:10) with CrystalBrite Technology
# Optical Drive: DVD Re-writer (DVD±RW Super Multi Double Layer)
# Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 1GB of TurboCache memory - ideal for playing the latest games!
# Wireless LAN: 802.11a/b/g/n - Wireless Internet Connection
# Battery Life (Depending on Use): 3.5 hours 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
# Weight: 3kg
# Warranty: 1 Year Collect and Return (Europe-wide)- Upgradeable to 3 Years for only £49 - Call for details!
# Operating System: New Windows Vista Home Premium
# 1GB of Intel Turbo Memory
# Built-in 0.3Mp CrystalEye Camera
# Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000
# HDMI port with HDCP
# 5-in-1 card reader


Anyone know what the craic is with this 8600GT 256mb??

In my current desktop I have a 6800GS.

Also, any reason why I shouldnt get this? I heard ppl say they wont go near Acer?

Anyone know of a better gaming laptop for around 1k?

Cheers in advance.

TerrorFirmer

It's a great card. Right now Dell have fantastic deals on the Vostros - you can get the 8600MGT, 160Gb HD, 2Gb Ram for about 800...so will perform more or less the same in games for a few hundred less.

Cunny-Funt

O rly??? /me looks up Dell :eek:

TerrorFirmer

Yup, Vostros 1500. 1.8Ghz Core 2 Duo, 2Gb ram, 8600MGT, 1 year basic warranty. 659 ex. Vat or 797 in total....a truly unbeatable price for that sort of mobile hardware.

PS - 8600MGT is better then the 6800GS.

Cunny-Funt

Having trouble finding such a dell

**edit** woops I see it now. Very interesting!!!

TerrorFirmer

It's in Dell Business....but it's easy for anyone to buy them. Just put down HSE, or AIB, whatever.

Cunny-Funt

Yeah nice one m8 this is looking to be a winner! :cool:

btw how much better is the 8600 then my 6800? A good bit better? or just a tad?

TerrorFirmer

Not exactly sure to be honest. The 8600MGT is supposed to be similar to a desktop 7600GT, which is definitely a nice improvement over a 6800GS so I'd say you'd notice a marked difference. Plus, remember, this is a laptop after all, it's incredible to get this kind of performance from a laptop that costs 797 euro....

It's a fantastic deal....makes me wish I could afford one and get rid of my laptop with it's crappy 7400....ah, well...:(

Cunny-Funt

Yeah indeed, it is a fantastic deal!

Which leads me to my next question:

Is there any downside/catch I should know about from buying a....

<_<




>_>


"business" laptop?

netman

business laptop?

well.. they come in any colour you want, as long as you want black.

and they come with vista business or vista ultimate (premium? whatever is the highest spec crap os these days).

another upside might be that hopefully they don't install tons of bloatware on the business spec machine. in any case the whole dell install is going to get nuked as soon as the laptop arrives here with a nice clean windows xp setup.

i got myself a nice vostro 17" for just over 900 euro.. with 8600gt, t7300, 2gb ram etc.

ressem

Also for the business laptops, they send out coupons

if you're spending over €800 excluding VAT and you ring them up to order, the promo code for August '07 (till 29/8/07) is FIRSTBUY-0203 for 70 quid off, before VAT.

They'll ask you if you've a VAT number. If you don't, there's no problem.

gunsofbrixton

where'd you get the coupon??

Also i just ring them up get the Vostro 1500 up over €800 excluding VAT then tell them I have a coupon give them the one above and bobs your uncle.............................

netman

i didnt know about any coupons, the 70 euro discount is applied automatically if your order qualifies. i have it on mine. and free shipping too.

unless we're talking about another 70 euro off

Cunny-Funt

netman wrote:

and they come with vista business or vista ultimate

in any case the whole dell install is going to get nuked as soon as the laptop arrives here with a nice clean windows xp setup.

i got myself a nice vostro 17" for just over 900 euro.. with 8600gt, t7300, 2gb ram etc.

Does anyone know if the Vista we get comes on a disc aswell? I'll want to run XP on mine, but I'd like to have the Vista handy incase I do wanna have vista someday. Or even a duel boot.

ressem

Dell send out business versions of the junk placed in the Sunday papers. There's a slip of paper with them which gives a "code" as mentioned.
You need to order by phone. And it's on top of any existing offers advertised.

Last laptops I ordered had the reinstall CD. Can't remember whether it cost a fiver extra.