Radeon or NVIDIA?

[Javen13]

Radeon or NVIDIA? I have always owned NVIDIA and have liked them alot but I am trying to find a Laptop for under $1600 and alot of laptops have Radeon's but I just don't know enough on them or what are good and bad, or if I should just stick to NVIDIA. I am going to use this Laptop for playing WoW and I am currently over in Afghanistan and will be for another 2 months so I will be looking for a computer then, any help on a computer to get, what to look for or some info on Radeon vs NVIDIA would be really appreciated. Sorry if this is confusing but not alot of time to type all my questions out LOL.

 

[lostandwandering]

Right now ATi's mobile cards are outperformed by Nvidia's. The X1600 is a weak performer and is easily beat by the go 7600 or even Asus' go 7700. The highest Ati gets is the X1800 in laptops which is beaten by laptops with go 7900's and go 7950's.

I recommend that if you have to get a laptop when you return from overseas that you go with Nvidia. (they may cost a little more, but will perform better)

If you can stand to wait a little longer, hold off until the summer when mobile versions of DX10 cards will be available. (keep you from needing to upgrade twice just to play DX10 games, if gaming is what you are interested in.)

Asus A8J this is a pretty good deal for Nvidia route
Asus F3J as is this for ATi

 

[Javen13]

Awsome, thank you for the info and advice, I will put it to good use.

 

[lostandwandering]

Glad to help.
Let me know what you decide to go with.

 

[killernotebooks]

I disagree that at the mid-range level nVidia is a superior performer.
That is my opinion, and I have them both (not playing favorites here)
So, if you want a quick and dirty way to compare some of the aspects of the cards easily, check out the Mobile GPU Comparison Chart.

 

[lostandwandering]

I disagree that at the mid-range level nVidia is a superior performer.
/url]

Point taken. Good link, btw. I learn something new everyday here at the forums.

 

[Javen13]

Thank you very much, both of ya, that link was very helpfull

 

[killernotebooks]

Unless nVidia can get their heat and power consumption for these mobile GPU's under control, ATI may be able to make some headway in the higher end market... that is, if they ever get the cards out.

Now that AMD owns them, they seem more interested in changing the name of everything then making moves on the street.

 

[Javen13]

KillerNotebooks,
can you help me out and let me know what would be the best Laptop build I can do for Playing World of Warcraft for under $2000? I am having a hell of a time figuring this out and to tell you the truth, I don't have the greatest knowledge on this, I am learning but still need help.

 

[lostandwandering]

Unless nVidia can get their heat and power consumption for these mobile GPU's under control, ATI may be able to make some headway in the higher end market... that is, if they ever get the cards out.

Now that AMD owns them, they seem more interested in changing the name of everything then making moves on the street.

Yeah, this seems a little weird to me. ATi hasn't so much as mentioned a mobile gpu since the 1800 was released. At least no info has reached my ears. Which is strange since their high-end desktop gpu's like the 1950 are better than Nvidia's(G80 excluded). We'll have to see what 07 brings us.

 

[lostandwandering]

If you want to go with Killer Notebooks, both the Kodachi and Wakizachi would be good choices. Both provide strong performance for around 1800 when configured like I would get them. Personally I would go with the Wakizachi because of its larger screen and higher resolution.

(that is, if I could convince my parents to buy my college laptop from Killer Notebooks. Hate to say this but my parents are paranoid and think his company is a scam. I disagree with their view and trust the company.)

 

[killernotebooks]

With WoW, what setting do you want to play it at, and at what resolution?

I know WoW also requires vast amounts of RAM for online play.

 

[HardWareBoss]

ATI has the X1900 for Laptops.

 

[lostandwandering]

ATI has the X1900 for Laptops.

Really? The highest I've seen is the 1800. What laptop has the 1900? Link if you would.


Edit: never mind. Just saw it on ATi's/AMD's website.

 

[Javen13]

I would like to play at the highest possible settings I could get with a laptop for $2000 or less, and the resolution I would like to have at 1680 x 1050 or better also depends on price. I was told for laptops to look at Graphics card first, then Ram (which I will want to get at least 1 if not 2gb) then Processor in that order, is that correct?

 

[gress12000]

whats better ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4670 1gb or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M 1gb?

 

[lostandwandering]

The GTX260M is much better. ATI's equivalent would be the HD 4850.

 

[gress12000]

Ok maybe you can help me Asus- Intel® Centrino® 2 Intel® Core™2 Duo Mobile 2.0GHz WXGA widescreen with 1366 x 768 resolution 15.6" 1066MHz 4GB PC2-6400 DDR2 SDRAM Serial ATA (7200 rpm 320GB Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M 1GB DDR3 Built-in 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 connector VS Dell Studio XPS 16 XPS 1640, Intel Core 2 Duo P8700(2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3M L2 Cache) 4GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz 2 Dimm forXPS 1640 16.0 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p FullHD RGBLED LCD W/2.0 MP, XPS 1640 ATI Mobility RADEON M96XT - 1GB 500GB 7200RPM Free Fall SensorSeagate Hard Drive BluRay Combo Drive PowerDVD DX 8.1 Bluray Playback, True Theatre High Definition Integrated High Definition Audio 2.2 Intel Centrino 2. I'm not very good at this so if i left something out pls let me know. I have to buy one of then no latter then wensday.

 

[lostandwandering]

Ok maybe you can help me Asus- Intel® Centrino® 2 Intel® Core™2 Duo Mobile 2.0GHz WXGA widescreen with 1366 x 768 resolution 15.6" 1066MHz 4GB PC2-6400 DDR2 SDRAM Serial ATA (7200 rpm 320GB Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M 1GB DDR3 Built-in 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 connector VS Dell Studio XPS 16 XPS 1640, Intel Core 2 Duo P8700(2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3M L2 Cache) 4GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz 2 Dimm forXPS 1640 16.0 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p FullHD RGBLED LCD W/2.0 MP, XPS 1640 ATI Mobility RADEON M96XT - 1GB 500GB 7200RPM Free Fall SensorSeagate Hard Drive BluRay Combo Drive PowerDVD DX 8.1 Bluray Playback, True Theatre High Definition Integrated High Definition Audio 2.2 Intel Centrino 2. I'm not very good at this so if i left something out pls let me know. I have to buy one of then no latter then wensday.

It depends on what you are planning on doing with the laptop. If you are looking for pure gaming performance, the Asus with the GTX260 will be the better option despite the weaker CPU. If you only want to do some medium gaming and just want general performance, the Dell may be the better choice. The P8700 will be a better choice if you are going to be doing other intensive things aside from games.

 

[gress12000]

http/configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dydwfn4&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=laptop-studio-xps-16 and http/www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366651&type=product&id=1218092150636 links for both