ATI 9600 vs nvidia GeForce 4 440 Go

[wjgollatz]

I am considering an AMD 64 notebook, but can not find a reasonably priced system with a DVD recorder AND a faster AMD 64 chip. I prefer options on an HP/Compaq system (XP Professional, better battery, faster DVD RW) but the nvidia 440 graphics chip seems tobe a real downer from what I have read. I would like a system that can last me as long as possible - and it seems the nvidia card is already obsolete while the ATI 9600 is still current (not being a gaming platform - I prefer an Xbox for that - I won't need the 128 mB versions - so I can keep the whole system 1400-1600)

Can someone tell me what the differences between the ATI 9600 and the nvidia 4 440 Go (both 64mB) are? If the ATI is that much better - then I must go with an emachines.com notebook - which does not present the option to upgrade the operating system, DVD RW, or upgrade the battery (battery somewhat important as I want to use it for astronomical observing at night - and the better the battery - the longer I have to wait to start tapping into my other portable energy sources - but primary use is a desktop replacement otherwise I would get a Centrino)

Also - does the DVD RW speed make a difference if I were to ad TV tuner options - to record TV shows?

 

[AmigaMan]

Yes, the ATI is "that much better" than the nVidia. I had a Dell Latitude C840 with the GeForce 440 64MB and a year later my boss bought me an HP/Compaq NC8000 with the 9600Pro 64MB. Playing the same games on both, I can definitely tell a difference. Call of Duty and MoH:AA are both a lot faster on the 9600 than the 440. The machines were almost identical, Dell had the Pentium 4-M 1.8Ghz, and the HP is Pentium M 1.7Ghz. 1GB RAM vs 1.5GB RAM and both were running XP Pro and had 5400 RPM HD's.

The 440 is close to being obsolete and probably won't play many of today's games at a decent framerate/resolution. If you play mainly older games (several years old) or don't care about running them at 640x480, or surfing the net, or doing basic office work, then the 440 will be ok.

 

[wjgollatz]

Is your 9600Pro - the same as the 9600? I haven't seen - at least yet - 9600 Pro's.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: wjgollatz
Is your 9600Pro - the same as the 9600? I haven't seen - at least yet - 9600 Pro's.

It's a Pro

 

[wjgollatz]

There might be two versions of the 9600. The 9600 I would be looking at - would have just 64mB of memory - same as the GeForce.

 

[cheesehead]

The P4-M 1.8 ghz is about 25% slower than the Pentium M at 1.7 ghz. Just thought you should know.
The GEforce4 is an aging bit of machinery, but you might be able to get the best of both worlds. TigerDirect carries a refurbished Emachines with an A64 3000+, a 64mb Radeon 9600, and 512mb of RAM (amongst other things) for 1100$! I'm farily sure it has a DVD-burner, although you may as well just get an external FireWire drive for the difference in price.

 

[Connoisseur]

Do yourself a favor and get a Radeon 9600 equipped lappie. It's leaps and bounds ahead of the 440Go. They're not even in the same class. The ONLY reason i'd go with a 440lappie is if it had a P-M and battery life was a concern. But honestly, if DTR is more important to you, the 440Go shouldn't even be a consideration.

 

[xcrunner51]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
The P4-M 1.8 ghz is about 25% slower than the Pentium M at 1.7 ghz. Just thought you should know.
The GEforce4 is an aging bit of machinery, but you might be able to get the best of both worlds. TigerDirect carries a refurbished Emachines with an A64 3000+, a 64mb Radeon 9600, and 512mb of RAM (amongst other things) for 1100$! I'm farily sure it has a DVD-burner, although you may as well just get an external FireWire drive for the difference in price.

How the hell is the P-M 1.8ghz 25% slower than the P-M 1.7? Besides the 100mhz advantage, the P-M 1.8 has the Dothan core which has double the L2 cache of the Banias core P-M 1.7

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: xcrunner51

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
The P4-M 1.8 ghz is about 25% slower than the Pentium M at 1.7 ghz. Just thought you should know.
The GEforce4 is an aging bit of machinery, but you might be able to get the best of both worlds. TigerDirect carries a refurbished Emachines with an A64 3000+, a 64mb Radeon 9600, and 512mb of RAM (amongst other things) for 1100$! I'm farily sure it has a DVD-burner, although you may as well just get an external FireWire drive for the difference in price.

How the hell is the P-M 1.8ghz 25% slower than the P-M 1.7? Besides the 100mhz advantage, the P-M 1.8 has the Dothan core which has double the L2 cache of the Banias core P-M 1.7

I think you misunderstood the post. He and I were talking about the Pentium 4-M, not the Pentium M. I believe you're comparing Pentium M's in which case you would be correct.

 

[fbrdphreak]

eMachines M6811 - ~$1699 retail, usually has $200-$300USD MIR
A64 3400+, 80GB (4200RPM?), DVDRW, 15.4", 64MB 9600, b/g wireless

 

[wjgollatz]

an emachines supervisor told me the M6811 is no more. The "M6812" is/was supposed to be out now, and he has no way - or any idea to find out what the specifications might be - or when it wold be released (if in fact there is one - he can't confirm there even is a new model - only that a new one comes out every three months, and one should have been out in Oct)

 

[bcoupland]

For the record, there was no Banias 1.8Ghz, the max. on Banias was 1.7