ATI renaming some Radeon mobility series GPUs

[Madcatatlas]

Hey, being rude makes you look cool. Noones forcing you to read my drivel, but even after reading yours, i dont call it what it is. Being polite doesnt cost a liver.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I really dont like the way AMD is naming the notebook GPUs. I guess it is the responsibility of the consumer to know what he is buying, but it seem confusing at best and bordering on deceptive to basically use one model level higher name for the notebook parts than is corresponding to the desktop part. I saw an Asus laptop in Best Buy for 1199.00 with a mobility 5870 and got really excited. However I was less excited to find out that it really corresponds to a desktop 5770.

I can understand using the same model number if the core is the same but just downclocked or something, but it seem to me that if they are using a core from a lower level desktop model they shoud not use the model number of a higher level desktop.

BTW, is it really necessary to have all of those different models in the 5000 series laptop lineup?? Seems like to many GPUs and too confusing.

 

[frozentundra123456]

General consumers? Hell Ben, I don't even know what I'm buying when it comes to mobile GPU's, and I'm on anandtech everyday. I was looking around at laptops a few weeks ago and saw an Asus with an HD5870, I figured it would be hella fast. Come to find out it's pretty much just a 5770. I also saw one with a nVidia GTX360, still haven't figured out WTF that is. Is it faster than the GTX280M, slower? You'd sure think it would be faster, but I have a sneaking suspicion it's not.

I believe the GTX360 is fairly comparable to the 260M, except maybe with DDR5. I think the GTX280M would be still faster than the GTX360.

 

[thilanliyan]

Those things are discussed mainly in a forum like P&N. On a video card forum? Not so much

Just making sure.

 

[GaiaHunter]

When you bring emotional stances on issues into a technology forum you are surprised when it is laughed at? That is the point. We are talking about binary operations here. Not societal impacts of modern corporate structures and how it relates to a consumer driven populace. I have no problem with either discussion, just using one to try and make points on the other is flat out ignorant.

I'm not sure on what you're on about.

Knowing what you are buying is an important part of these forums, vide all the requests for help and clarification on what are the differences between several products.

Rebranding and selling several very similar named products with widely varied specs is something that isn't helping the consumer. Just because it is called marketing it doesn't mean that sometimes it doesn't look like a con job.

I can't criticize either one because of their current design choices because they both are doing what they aimed to do extremely well. The Subaru Brat is a much better pickup truck then a Corvette. Pretty stupid comparison isn't it? That is what the majority of drivel I read looks like here.

What is pretty stupid is using car analogies, especially when those analogies aren't answering the original question .

The use for the GPU the large majority of the people in here looks for is PLAYING GAMES or BENCHMARK GAMES. Occasionally someone looks for advice on HTPC or professional use.

So most people in here all want the pickup or the corvette.

That is why no one (well there might be someone) in here asks for a Matrox or a S3.

The person looking for a family car won't be comparing that type of car to a 2 seats sport car. Of course if what you want is a car to drive from place A to B, then all the cars are a valid comparison, with pros and cons.

Someone buying a GTX470/480 or a 5850/5870/5970 are looking for cards for gaming.

So yes, you can compare gaming cards!

If a product has other uses but they aren't relevant to me that doesn't magically make it a pro or erase the cons associated to those other uses.

In this case if two graphic cards do the same workload, within 15% of each other, and one uses much more power and is much hotter and more expensive, its pros are being faster and its cons are being hotter, power hungry and more expensive.

 

[GaiaHunter]

I really dont like the way AMD is naming the notebook GPUs. I guess it is the responsibility of the consumer to know what he is buying, but it seem confusing at best and bordering on deceptive to basically use one model level higher name for the notebook parts than is corresponding to the desktop part. I saw an Asus laptop in Best Buy for 1199.00 with a mobility 5870 and got really excited. However I was less excited to find out that it really corresponds to a desktop 5770.

Unfortunately both companies do so.

The GTX280M is the equivalent to the desktop 9800GTX, for example.

But it is just normal business and we shouldn't protest or even dare to think it might not be the most correct/honest approach. Honesty and business, TT, who wants that?

 

[OCGuy]

Are you saying that AMD isnt some sort of charity that has customer's interest in mind instead of stock holders?

You just broke the hearts of 1,000,000 fanbois.

 

[GaiaHunter]

Are you saying that AMD isnt some sort of charity that has customer's interest in mind instead of stock holders?

You just broke the hearts of 1,000,000 fanbois.

Yeah, I had to re-establish the balance after all those heartbroken fanbois from last month. ()

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Whats really confounding here is that someone with a little background in naming schemes would know that a 4670m is actually a pretty decent laptop gaming card, that it is faster than the 4350m, and slower than a 4850m but that same person is going to have no freaking clue whats going on with a 560v, why its named differently than all the other mobile cards and where it fits with the scheme of things.

As was mentioned earlier, the 9800GTX+ to GTS250 name change actually made it easier to understand where the G92 core fit with NV's overall product line, this does no such thing (Kinda like the GT3xx series).

 

[blanketyblank]

I really dont like the way AMD is naming the notebook GPUs. I guess it is the responsibility of the consumer to know what he is buying, but it seem confusing at best and bordering on deceptive to basically use one model level higher name for the notebook parts than is corresponding to the desktop part. I saw an Asus laptop in Best Buy for 1199.00 with a mobility 5870 and got really excited. However I was less excited to find out that it really corresponds to a desktop 5770.

I can understand using the same model number if the core is the same but just downclocked or something, but it seem to me that if they are using a core from a lower level desktop model they shoud not use the model number of a higher level desktop.

BTW, is it really necessary to have all of those different models in the 5000 series laptop lineup?? Seems like to many GPUs and too confusing.

Both companies have been doing this for a long time. There really isn't a reason to look at desktop parts at all when you consider mobile GPUs it's a simple fact that they will always be slower no matter what they call it. Even mobile CPUs are slower than their desktop counterparts, it's the tradeoff you have to make for lower power consumption and less heat.
I do wonder if there is at least an architectural relationship between corresponding model numbers though or if they just put the numbers on based on relative performance even if the real difference is just clockspeed.

 

[NoQuarter]

I do wonder if there is at least an architectural relationship between corresponding model numbers though or if they just put the numbers on based on relative performance even if the real difference is just clockspeed.

What I've read in the past is the naming scheme nVidia and AMD use is based on the performance segment the laptop part targets. Like the 5870m is AMD's fastest laptop part targeting the gaming enthusiast market, so they call it a 5870m. Nothing at all to do with the 5870 desktop part as far as their naming is concerned.. just the fact that its their fastest laptop GPU.

 

[frozentundra123456]

What I've read in the past is the naming scheme nVidia and AMD use is based on the performance segment the laptop part targets. Like the 5870m is AMD's fastest laptop part targeting the gaming enthusiast market, so they call it a 5870m. Nothing at all to do with the 5870 desktop part as far as their naming is concerned.. just the fact that its their fastest laptop GPU.

I understand what you are saying, and am criticizing the companies, not you or your comment.

But isnt this like calling the fastest compact car a corvette just because it is the fastest in its class?? It is still not really comparable to a corvette at all. It still seems to me that they should make a more clear differentiation between the desktop and laptop parts. nVidia started this, and unfortunately AMD seems to be folowing suit.

 

[Dribble]

I understand what you are saying, and am criticizing the companies, not you or your comment.

But isnt this like calling the fastest compact car a corvette just because it is the fastest in its class?? It is still not really comparable to a corvette at all. It still seems to me that they should make a more clear differentiation between the desktop and laptop parts. nVidia started this, and unfortunately AMD seems to be folowing suit.

The mobility radeon 7000 from 2001 is a cut down radeon 7000.

 

[evolucion8]

Actually my dead laptop had an Original ATi Mobility Radeon, codename M6 which was simply a lower power version of the Radeon 7000.