Graphics Card Synopsis?

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GJOB

Bronze Level Poster
I've had a search but cannot find what I'm looking for.

Is there a list of Graphics cards that PCS supply, their performance and the chassis they come in?

I'm struggling to get my head around the various options as I seem to be able to spec Genesis, Enigma and Optimus models up to similar prices where the only variable is GPU and battery capacity.

Is the rule of thumb the higher the number is better?

What happens with a lower numbered card but with more RAM?

Thanks in advance.
 
Finn

Finn

Enthusiast
Of course it gets complicated when you consider the 600 series too however, a 630m is less than a 580m, more equivelent to a 540m

the first digit refers to generation, so 6 is a next generation after 5, and then the last 2 digits define speed. The next generation is usually slightly quicker than the previous generation but not enough to significantly affect the comparison of the last 2 digits. So a 630M is roughly similar to the 520m/540m. In some cases they even rebadge the previous generation as the next generation with a slightly smaller number, eg a 675m is a rebadged 580m. Of course there may be other advantages to a newer generation, less heat produced for example so a longer battery life or can fit in a smaller chassis etc.

In general texture size doesnt affect speed, it affects the amount and size of textures a game can have loaded. Of course more higher res textures makes a game look more detailed but its still quite rare for games to use more than a 1GB of texture memory, unless they are your typical high end "benchmark games".
 
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G

GJOB

Bronze Level Poster
Thanks both Andy and Finn, much appreciated. So it is not clear cut, with the new Gen....

So will new generation 6xx series replace the 5xx imminently or are they running side by side for the foreseeable?

I note the Optimus has the 555 - is there a 6 series equivalent yet?
 
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PylinJ

Member
The nvidia GT 555m which is pretty much the mid-range standard, but it does play games well only when you have at least 2GB graphics memory I would say on the card though
 
dangro474

dangro474

Bright Spark
PylinJ said:
The nvidia GT 555m which is pretty much the mid-range standard, but it does play games well only when you have at least 2GB graphics memory I would say on the card though
Click to expand...

I wouldn't consider the GPU memory volume to be an issue unless it is below 1GB.

The GT 555 is the most powerful current gen MXM 3.0A card available. Its strengths lie in its low power consumption and heat generation (and therefore low form factor), but its performance is dwarfed by the GTX series GPU's (560M and above). Unless price is a factor and if you intend to game with your system, I would recommend against opting for a 520M / 540M GPU.

The 555M powering the PCS Optimus laptops is the 144 cores 590MHz (GF106), 128Bit DDR3 version. Not the best but far from the worst. The real life performance difference between this version and the highest spec 555M is barely noticeable if at all.

In this case your best bet would be to check benchmarks for your choices of GPU relevant to the games you would like to play:

555M GT
560M GTX
580M GTX

For gaming purposes I would strongly recommend opting for the 560M GTX at a very minimum. The 555M GT is a decent card to opt for if you are looking to play recent titles in medium/high settings while retaining a decent battery life, but for high/ultra settings gaming it simply isn't powerful enough for GPU heavy games. The 560M, 580M and 6990M are very power hungry cards that require a more potent cooling solution than the 555M GT, hence the Vortex range of laptops are generally thicker to allow for said cooling solution. Battery life also suffers.

At the end of the day it all comes down to your buget and intended use for the system.
 
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G

GJOB

Bronze Level Poster
Thanks, I'm looking for long battery life so the 555, I'm not a massive gamer (just don't have time) but I would like a good compromise in case I get a chance.

Thanks very much again, this helps me move closer to my ideal spec machine:)
 
I

iain_m

Member
dangro474 said:
The GT 555 is the most powerful current gen MXM 3.0A card available. Its strengths lie in its low power consumption and heat generation (and therefore low form factor), but its performance is dwarfed by the GTX series GPU's (560M and above). Unless price is a factor and if you intend to game with your system, I would recommend against opting for a 520M / 540M GPU.
[...]
For gaming purposes I would strongly recommend opting for the 560M GTX at a very minimum. The 555M GT is a decent card to opt for if you are looking to play recent titles in medium/high settings while retaining a decent battery life, but for high/ultra settings gaming it simply isn't powerful enough for GPU heavy games. The 560M, 580M and 6990M are very power hungry cards that require a more potent cooling solution than the 555M GT, hence the Vortex range of laptops are generally thicker to allow for said cooling solution. Battery life also suffers.
Click to expand...
This info is very helpful to me too, thanks for posting it.

In my own case I am looking for a 15.6" laptop with 1920x1080 resolution, not primarily for gaming, but I do have a small number of (quite old!) games that I run occasionally: Doom 3, Half-Life 2 (& episodes 1 & 2), Portal, GTA San Andreas, Myst 5 (I know, I know...), Mirror's Edge, Bioshock 1. That's it.

I am such a slow gamer that these alone will keep me busy until it's time to get a new laptop! :wheelchair:

Would a 555 be enough to play these at 1920x1080? I haven't been able to find benchmarks online, but I'm not sure if that's because to those who know, the answer is obvious... ;)

Thanks for any advice!
 
dangro474

dangro474

Bright Spark
the 555M GT would be perfect for the games you've listed, including Bioshock.

Although i do not own a 555M GT it is more or less on par performance wise with the 2009 Geforce 280M GTX. I played Bioshock 1 in 1080p with that at 60 FPS. It should give you decent performance in Crysis at high settings at 30 fps.
 
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