GPU question

[Mike01]

Quick question...

A friend asked about a laptop and gaming. The laptop he was asking about had a MR9700. I passed along what I hear here all the time, that for modern games you want something more powerful, like a 6800 or an x700.

He asked specifically what games would give him problems, and all I could think of was Doom 3 and maybe Far Cry.

Is there anything else? Are we spending money on these GPUs just to play those two games?? Because quite frankly...those games sure are pretty, but they also suck.

 

[Jassi]

I have heard that BF2 will make even the 6800 choke on high settings. HL2 and its variants will play without a problem on the 9700 but don't expect the newer engines to have mercy on it.

Also, the X700 is not *that* powerful. The best on the ATI side is the X800XT and that one is rarer than ambrosia.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Chronicles of Riddick.....can't think of anything else off the top of my head (I play mostly older games). Anything made w/in the last year you'll really want a recent DX9 PCI-E card in a lappy.

For a budget gamer I would wait for Gateway to release their new 72xx series with A64 3700+ & X600 graphics.
But yes, X700/X800/6800 are the GPU's to aim for today.

 

[Mike01]

So for someone who doesn' like those three or four games...what's the point of a mobile 6800??

btw....an x600 isn't noticeably faster than a 9600/9700.

 

[fbrdphreak]

SXGA+/WSXGA+/UXGA/WUXGA? You can't play even older games at those resolutions without the performance of a 12 or 16 pipeline card. Not to mention turning on AA, AF, and other pretty eye candy.

Heck, I'm even playing the old Jedi Academy game on my desktop (A64 3200+ 6800GT) and loving it in 1600x1200 w/4xAA & 8xAF. Not to mention when newer games come out, an AGP video card in a laptop won't cut it (unless its an MR 9800, which are very rare).