Notebook GPUs: 7950 GTX or G84/86M?

[gls5000]

Hi all, I want to buy a Dell XPS. I hope this isn't a stupid question but I'm hearing that the G84 and G86M mobile GPUs are going to be mainstream/value cards, which aren't words that usually go with a high-end gaming machine. It made me wonder:

Are these G84Ms and G86Ms going to be higher-performance cards than the current 512MB DDR3 nVidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX sold in the XPS laptop with Vista and DirectX 10? Perhaps being DirectX 10 compliant cards doesn't necessarily mean they're going to set any records.

I know I ought to wait for the high-end G81M (?) in autumn but I really need the laptop before mid-May.

EDIT: no responses after 2 days :-( , anybody? I don't need a detailed response; even a quick opinion would be much appreciated. Is a low-end 8 series mobile graphics card likely to notably faster than the highest-end 7 series under DirectX 10? As I have no idea, even a 'yes' or 'no' would enlighten me. Thank you. (as the desktop version seems to have jumped straight to the high-end I can't even use that as a reference).

[-=DVS=-]

I think low version of 8 series will be faster and better then top 7 series notebook chips. If you can afford waiting , i would wait , i know im waiting. New notebook GPU's should be just around a corner.

[gls5000]

Thanks for the reply. That helps. Although the lack of other responses makes me wonder if a lot of people are uncertain.

I also wonder if the so-called mainstream/value cards (G84/G86M) would actually be sold in the high-end Dell XPS notebooks (or Alienware M9700 or whatever) or if they would stick them in lesser machines and wait for the G81M for their XPSs.

I'll wait as long as I can but if nothing turns up by late April I will definitely have a decision to make.

Any other thoughts would be much appreciated! Thanks.

[Rytr]

If your notebook will be your gaming rig you might want to wait for 8800 solutions. However, a 7950 should meet most if not all expectations gaming with a notebook, I have just never used or seen a notebook with a 7950.

[gls5000]

Thanks. Basically my gaming needs would consist of playing all current generation games at max settings and next generation DirectX 10 games a la Crysis at mostly max settings minus unnecessary anti-aliasing (I assume that's realistic for a high-end gaming laptop) and then of course it would be downhill from there but that's to be expected.

I also have considerable office needs but I figure if it can handle Oblivion it can handle MS Office.

Could a 7950 handle that or is it more likely I'll have to wait for the 8 series?

[Toss3]

Thanks. Basically my gaming needs would consist of playing all current generation games at max settings and next generation DirectX 10 games a la Crysis at mostly max settings minus unnecessary anti-aliasing (I assume that's realistic for a high-end gaming laptop) and then of course it would be downhill from there but that's to be expected.

I also have considerable office needs but I figure if it can handle Oblivion it can handle MS Office.

Could a 7950 handle that or is it more likely I'll have to wait for the 8 series?
The 7-series doesn't have Dx10 support... :/

[gls5000]

My understanding is that the 8 series is optimised for DirectX 10; but 7 series should still run with DirectX 10 but not as efficiently as an 8 Series which is designed especially for DirectX 10... otherwise all machines running Vista without an 8 series card wouldn't work, and in that case only the most high-end machines would be able to run Vista.

[einstein_314]

My understanding is that the 8 series is optimised for DirectX 10; but 7 series should still run with DirectX 10 but not as efficiently as an 8 Series which is designed especially for DirectX 10... otherwise all machines running Vista without an 8 series card wouldn't work, and in that case only the most high-end machines would be able to run Vista.
Your understanding is wrong. Only the 8 series supports DX10. A 7 series card WILL NOT be able to run DX10. And Vista does not require a DX10 video card to run. It doesn't use DX10 to run itself....

As to your initial question....personally I'd wait until a high end 8 series card makes it into laptops....The 7950GTX would work...but it's getting old.

[gls5000]

That's very interesting; I didn't know that. That would mean that Vista must still use DirectX 9 in the absence of a pre-8 series card, right? Or am I getting out of my depth here? :-/

I'm definitely getting the feeling I should wait for the Dell XPS to put in an 8 series card. I hope it's earlier in Q2 rather than later; otherwise it's no games for me when I work abroad for 5 weeks.

[-=DVS=-]

Windows would work perfectly fine without DirectX , its a game thing :p random definitions for DirectX.

DirectX is the term given to a collection of common APIs, including Direct3D, which are owned and developed by Microsoft. Simply put, DirectX is a Windows technology that enables higher performance in graphics and sound when you're playing games or watching video on your PC.

This Microsoft Windows API was designed to provide software developers with direct access to low-level functions on PC peripherals. Before DirectX, programmers usually opted for the DOS environment, which was free of the limited multimedia feature set that characterized Windows for many years.

A utility that enhances multimedia capabilities on your computer. DirectX provides better playback of different types of multimedia and manages 3D graphics. Every new version of DirectX incorporates more advanced 3D graphics capabilities with the result that software programmers and video card manufacturers usually require the latest version for their newest products.

DirectX (originally called "Game SDK") is a collection of APIs for easily handling tasks related to game programming on Microsoft Windows. It is most widely used in the development of video and computer games for Windows. The DirectX SDK is available free from Microsoft. The DirectX runtime was originally redistributed by computer game developers along with their games, but later it was included in Windows. DirectX 9.0c is the latest version of DirectX. ...

[SH64]

IMO going for a DX9 mobile-GPU now is pointless. i'd wait for the DX10 GPU's even if the first batch were mid-ranges.

[gls5000]

Great comments, thanks. I couldn't find any info like this on the internet so you've all been a great help. I've been having trouble getting my head around the pros and cons of getting a 7 series or 8 series but at least I can now see that the 8 series is definitely the way to go even if I can't get it in the timeframe I need.

Any more comments are welcome.

[SignorSalad]

Here you go:

http://sg.vr-zone.com/index.php?i=4851

NVIDIA will be launching GeForce Go 8800 GS in May and GeForce Go 8800 GTX in July and will compete against ATi's mobile DX10 M76XT GPU. GeForce Go GS is pretty interesting as we don't see it on the desktop SKUs yet. Looking at the Device IDs for the desktop G80 SKUs, we saw 0x0191 "NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX" and 0x0193 "NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS" but 0x0190 and 0x0192 are missing. Usually 0x0190 is the most high end SKU so it could be 8800 Ultra and 0x192 could be 8800 GS.

[Richteralan]

Here you go:

http://sg.vr-zone.com/index.php?i=4851

NVIDIA will be launching GeForce Go 8800 GS in May and GeForce Go 8800 GTX in July and will compete against ATi's mobile DX10 M76XT GPU. GeForce Go GS is pretty interesting as we don't see it on the desktop SKUs yet. Looking at the Device IDs for the desktop G80 SKUs, we saw 0x0191 "NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX" and 0x0193 "NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS" but 0x0190 and 0x0192 are missing. Usually 0x0190 is the most high end SKU so it could be 8800 Ultra and 0x192 could be 8800 GS.

The guy who wrote this "news" obviously has no clue of what he's talking about.

0190 and 0192 will ALWAYS be DESKTOP part. There's NO sign about mobile 8800 yet.

Just take a look at Go 7900 GS, it's 0298.