Advice about Laptop Graphics Cards

sdog

Hi all

I am thinking about buying a laptop. I want to be able to run 3D games. Having looked around and read reviews, I had decided upon a Dell XPS M1530 with an Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 processor and an NVidia GeForce GO 8600GT graphics card. Costs about €1100 at Dell.ie.

I came across an article saying that lots of NVidia laptop graphics cards are overheating/dying (http://http://gizmodo.com/5021713/lots-of-nvidia-laptop-graphics-cards-are-overheating-dying).

Has anybody had this problem? Should I be worried? Should I choose a different laptop/graphics cards?

Would the XPS M1710 with an Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 processor with an NVidia GeForce 7900 graphics card be a better option?

Or the Dell Studio 15 with Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 processor with an ATI Mobility RADEON 3450 graphics card?

My budget is about €1000-1200.
Usage: most programming web apps/flash also 3D gaming
Mobility: not too important
Warranty: usually just take 1 year

THANKS is advance

AlmightyCushion

That article says that a driver update fixes the problem so I wouldn't be too worried about it.

Voodu Child

This is a situation to keep an eye on (for laptop owners with Nvidia 8-series cards). Theres no firm details at the moment, just speculation, but talk is that all G84 and G86 cores are effected (8300GS 8400GS 8500GT 8600GS 8600GT 8600GTS).

Dell updated the M1330 Bios yesterday to include more aggressive fan settings, if you havent gotten it through windows update, you should d/l it from the dell site.

Ditto for owners of other brands using 8M cards, keep an eye on the news and the manufacturers website for updates.

Overheal

I have the 8400M GS and have to say I never had the overheating issue I-Dont-Think. Running CS:S I'd notice artefacts after an hour or two of play which could be evidence of overheating but it I never found it to be a serious cause for concern - I mean to compare, I got it running Crysis (Bare minimum specs, 15 frames per second. go me!) without going into meltdown.

an 8600 GT should be ok performance wise but still, Id shop around. some 7-series cards perform very well. And dx10, to date, is still not all that much utilized. I mean it is a bit, but not much. Games Devs I think are too wary of the current market-state of vista, so none of them are really headstrong about making dx10-only games. which is why you could probably chance a better performing series 7 card; or look out for a 9m series card if theyre available yet.

AlmightyCushion

I'd say the reason they aren't making dx10 only games is because not everyone has dx10 capable hardware and vista. If they make it dx10 only they are severely limiting the amount of people who can play the game.

Overheal

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

I'd say the reason they aren't making dx10 only games is because not everyone has dx10 capable hardware and vista. If they make it dx10 only they are severely limiting the amount of people who can play the game.

my point exactly

TerrorFirmer

Overheal wrote: »

I have the 8400M GS and have to say I never had the overheating issue I-Dont-Think. Running CS:S I'd notice artefacts after an hour or two of play which could be evidence of overheating but it I never found it to be a serious cause for concern

That actually sounds quite dodgy, I've had marathon 5-6 hour sessions on my 8400GT and my older cards in LAN play and never experienced any artifacting, even capping 95c....normally a sign of overheating, or worse, bad vram....

Dartz

Mine runs so hot enough at idle to bother the ambient temperature sensor on a piece of equipment I'd been testing in work, and left behind the Laptop near the vent...

We were wondering how it couls possibly be 25 degrees in a cool air condition room for quite a while until I moved it.

It runs noticeably hot, but I've never had artifacting or any serious problems with it. Even running games, nothing happens. Only artifiacting I get is a known glitch in the games engine which I also get on a desktop...

Just keep the fan and vent clear and it'll be fine.

I bought a 1530 in may for 1440 and would recommend to anyone. Most irritating thing about it is keeping the damn thing cleanm and the reflecty screen

Overheal

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

That actually sounds quite dodgy, I've had marathon 5-6 hour sessions on my 8400GT and my older cards in LAN play and never experienced any artifacting, even capping 95c....normally a sign of overheating, or worse, bad vram....

well i saved the image on photobucket for reference:



Runs other things grand, but i only get this problem in CSS and its very occassional/rare for me.

But given recent developments about 84/86 graphics cards i cant recommend them at all.