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Is it worth upgrading to the ATI Mobility 9800 from the 9700?

M

MrAce72

Member
I have a Dell Inspiron XPS with the ATI Mobility 9700. I would like input on the practival value of upgrading to the 9800 mobility. Upgrading would cost $349 and would include a warranty covered installation by a Dell technician.

What do you guys think? I have no trouble playing any game at this point. Should I wait until the next ATI mobility card or move into the 9800?
 
from what i remember...

the M9800 is based off the x800 line(r420, but 8 pipelines) and its suppose to have way better power saving features...

im pretty sure anandtech had a review or a preview or something along thoes lines, must have been done only a couple months back, id try searching for it
 
If you have no trouble playing games so far .... i suggest wait.

It is not very probable that the price of the card will increase with time, my best guess is that it will get cheaper. So when you begin needing it, buy it.

 
Originally posted by: MrAce72
What do you guys think? I have no trouble playing any game at this point. Should I wait until the next ATI mobility card or move into the 9800?
Click to expand...

If you don't have any problems with your current games, there's not much benefit to upgrading.

There won't be another next generation graphics card upgrade for the current XPS though. The 9800 is the last and only upgrade they're going to offer. If you want something beyond that, you'll have to buy a new notebook.

I would say, stay with your current setup for now, then when you start running into performance issues with future games you can decide whether to pick up the 9800 or think about a new notebook.

 
350$ is high... is it from the 64 MB 9700? Cause upgrading to a 9800 in Canada is only 300$ Cdn (which means around 250$ US at this time)

Why not wait until the upgrade is free. The XPS's weekly deal in Canada this week is a free upgrade to 9800 which other than doubling the ram is probably the best you can expect from them. (Edit : Ooops, it wont help you since you already own the laptop)
 
Subtract $100 from that price if you install the card yourself. Once you order the card, you need to call Dell and cancel the installation. So, the upgrade is well worth the price considering the possibility of another card is not good.
 
I didn't realize that Dell will not be offering an upgrade for the current generation XPS laptops beyond the 9800M. I put an order in for one, but it won't be here until December.

I would put it in myself, but the protection plan is very valuable to me and I wouldn't want to risk not having it, so the Dell tech installation is probably the safe route.

Thanks for the input!
 
Originally posted by: MrAce72
I didn't realize that Dell will not be offering an upgrade for the current generation XPS laptops beyond the 9800M. I put an order in for one, but it won't be here until December.

I would put it in myself, but the protection plan is very valuable to me and I wouldn't want to risk not having it, so the Dell tech installation is probably the safe route.

Thanks for the input!
Click to expand...

If I understood my Dell rep correctly, the video card in the iXPS/9100 is user upgradeable. It would not effect your warranty or complete care plan.

 
Hi, I just bought an Inspiron 9100 (the last one before Dell pulled it out) :
2.8GHz Prescott, 512MB, 60GB 5400RPM, ATI M 9800 256MB 350MHz core/300Mhz memory. I got a 6500 3DMark2003 (1024x768x32 NO AA/AF) at stock speed. Using powerstrip utility I was able to get 7200. My friend has a similar laptop with ATI M 9700 128MB and she only got 3500 3DMark2003. I was surprised as that was better than I expected and that was only with inferior processor ( ATI reported only 5400 on XPS with better processor : http://www.gamers-depot.com/ha.../9800m/preview/002.htm )

http://service.futuremark.com/...&projectId=3309764
 
the next upgrade from ati will be for pci-e. the mr9800 and mr9700 is based on the agp standard. and 350 would be the best upgrade for the xps. the mr9800 is way faster than than the mr9700. i will find a article that says this
 
What the blazes is PowerStrip, and where the heck can I get it? I'm ordering a gigabyte of RAM, and figure I may as well get every bit of power I can out of my 9100. It's not as fast as I would like, but I attribute this to the crapware pre-installed and the lack of RAM (256mb as of now).
 
Originally posted by: masterdavy93
Hi, I just bought an Inspiron 9100 (the last one before Dell pulled it out) :
2.8GHz Prescott, 512MB, 60GB 5400RPM, ATI M 9800 256MB 350MHz core/300Mhz memory. I got a 6500 3DMark2003 (1024x768x32 NO AA/AF) at stock speed. Using powerstrip utility I was able to get 7200. My friend has a similar laptop with ATI M 9700 128MB and she only got 3500 3DMark2003. I was surprised as that was better than I expected and that was only with inferior processor ( ATI reported only 5400 on XPS with better processor : http://www.gamers-depot.com/ha.../9800m/preview/002.htm )

http://service.futuremark.com/...&projectId=3309764
Click to expand...


WTF, another 1 post user? :disgust:
 
You obviously have more money than sense. I suggest buying yourself a new laptop every three months, so you can say you have the latest hardware, even if your current hardware is performing perfectly.
 
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