New Laptop Video Card

Hi there everybody, I hope I posted this in the right from *crosses fingers*

I have been now for quite some time in SL and always loved it. So now it was time for my PC to move out and time to get a laptop...

I been looking now for 2 months at the HP HDX18t and the HP Dv7t.

The Hdx18t comes with an 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 130M
and the Dv7t with an 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4650.

Theoretically would the dv7t be fine for my needs and its also cheaper but on the SL Requirement page it sais that there might be soem issues with certain Mobility video cards and thats why I am not sure which one to get because SL and WoW (Maybe some other gaming too) will mostly be done with it.

So now to my Question, does anybody here tested or know if the 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4650 will run with SL? Please only asnwer if you are sure because I cant afford to by a wrong laptop by accident...

Thank you already so very much for all your help.


Kiyo

Most would tell you not to get a laptop for SL. Unfortunately.

ok
1. My first Laptop HP the high end of all they offered was a great little machine if the system board didnt melt more then once with there AMD Watch out for that.
2. I love my current laptop it rocks last year I got it and its better then most ppl's desktops.
it was 1300 by GateWay FX 6860.
http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/2008/GodzillaFX/1015340R/1015340Rsp2.shtml

Now it really depends on the laptops graphics card as far as if it can handle it. So yes Laptops are great for SL

Thank you so far for the nice answers. Still looking to resolve the problem with the ATI one, because I want to be sure that it can run SL because if not the laptop would be worthless to me. I dont really worry much about the wireless etc. (will get N-Draft anyway) But aslong I am indoors will try to hook it up to cable.

I dont use ATI my friend does. And seems to be good w/Snowglobe viewer. However find a better source on ATI then me Now wireless, never a problem at all I am in my home most of the time wireless.

Problem with ATI is each driver version seems to support OpenGL less and less. They must be paid off by Microsoft or something, only supporting DirectX.

For those not so technicaly inclined. OpenGL is the graphics system SL uses. It's also the one ATI is infamous for barely supporting.

So you guys think I should save the 200 extra buckies and get the HDX18t with Nvidia instead?
Darn there goes my new land *snaps* Alright. Well thank you already for all your comments.

SL eats laptops for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

It ate 2 of my laptops, one of them it ate twice and HP replaced the motherboard both times - even when it was out of warranty, thankfully.

And then, how did it do with SL, with the new motherboard?

The first motherboard was fine. Then eventually fried.

The second motherboard is still going, but i never play SL with it, i use a desktop.

The first computer laptop to fry was a Sony Vaio, the 2nd was a HP DV6000.

I have been told a laptop cooler can stop this.

Most would be depriving themselves of a fun SL experience without being desk-bound! True, many laptops, particularly budget models, are simply not cut out for heavy 3-D gaming, but many are. The key thing to look for is a discrete graphics card or GPU with separate video memory, shunning "integrated" graphics and anything using "shared" memory.

That said... Normally, I would say that the ATI Mobility HD4650 should be more than sufficient for SL even at ultra settings, BUT ATI drivers have been having major quality control issues lately, and you have to cripple some functionality of your card (particularly the vertex buffer) in order to get SL to render properly.

I don't know how the nVidia GT130M measures up against the HD4650 in terms of raw benchmark, but it should also be able to competently handle SL at ultra settings. If you want the least amount of trouble (particularly with drivers), or if you plan on installing Linux on your laptop, I highly recommend the nVidia-equipped system.

After comparing both systems - ATI driver issues aside, either laptop's configuration will basically ensure that any lag you experience in SL is not likely to be client-side lag. Both should also handle WoW without breaking a sweat. However, if you're going to be trying to play games like Crysis, then your best bet is the HDX18t.

The nVidia GPUs - particularly the 8xxx and 9xxx series GPUs - seem to be really sensitive to overheating and burning out. It's not the laptop, necessarily, but the GPU used in the laptop. The fact that laptops are harder to cool than desktops doesn't help.

I had my HP dv9630US die on me in the middle of a SL session last year. One minute I was panning around in the viewer, and next minute my entire screen was flickering and flashing and became otherwise unresponsive. Thinking that X had crashed (this was on Linux), I rebooted, and there was no more display - not even the BIOS startup screen! After I got my laptop repaired (like yours, they replaced the mainboard), I installed temperature-monitoring applets on my Gnome panel, and generally keep my GPU temp from exceeding 80-C (the nVidia driver auto-throttles the GPU at 115-C, but I'm being very conservative). So far, I've had no issues *knocks on wood*

Keep your laptop cool, and - this is important - make sure that the air vents are NEVER obstructed! Keep a can of compressed air handy, and use it to blow out the vents periodically (once a week is good).

Thank you already people for all the helpfull posts...

Here some benchmarks

NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M = 10817
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 = 13123

So the Ati reaches in sole benchmarks tests about 30% more effincency and in most game benches reaches acceptable frames (Crysis can be well playable) Which the GT 130m cant.

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650
Crysis - CPU Benchmark: - Low 1024x768
min: 95.43, avg: 95, max: 95.43 fps

NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M
Crysis - CPU Benchmark: - Low 1024x768
min: 47.88, avg: 58, max: 73.97 fps

But it doesn't need to play Crysis just SL, WoW for sure (and of course Diablo 2 ^. ^)

What also has to be thought about is that the HDX18T has a 16:9 (1920x1080p) resolution which will also put quite a strain on the Video Card since I would like to use my Max. Resolution while in SL etc.


Thank you so very much for all your help...*waits patiently for more answers*

My Lenovo 2.8ghz Core2 machine with the built in Nvidia graphics adapter runs SL just fine...it isn't even breaking a sweat no matter what I do.

Correction, the 2nd motherboard fried as well. It is the THIRD motherboard in the HP DV6000 that i will not play SL with.

I wouldn't exactly call 48-74FPS in Crysis "unacceptable"!

As I expected, the ATI will give you a better raw benchmark than the nVidia, but the differences between the two in the real world are not as significant as the numbers would suggest.

However, Briana did bring up a good point. nVidia GPUs have a bit of a reputation for self-immolation in laptops. While I believe this is mainly confined to specific Geforce families, it does leave a bit of uncertainty. In all, I think the nVidia-based system will give you better performance in the long run; but an extended warranty would not be a bad investment.

In response to your inquiry, I recently upgraded an ailing Nvidia 5700LE that worked fine for over 2 years on SL. I replaced it with a Radeon HD4650 1Gb agp video card. I logged into SL briefly and after trying to relog I keep getting a message that my Drivers are not current. Sooooo I updated the drivers and guess what?......................Same message. Now, live chat tells me to send the entire dxdiag in a ticket. WTF?? I've been off SL for a week and my business is hurting. My advice>>>>>> if this isn't resolved within 24 hours ATI is history in my book.

Hi Kiyo

I run SL on a Dell laptop with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 (I would assume from the numbers that's a "lesser" version than the one you're considering) and have had no problems at all *touch wood*.

I just bought this -and SL runs marvelously. The machine does not heat up at all running SL. You may want to consider Asus too. I did based on recommendationns here in the forum.

I used this video card benchmarking site when I was shopping for a new computer and comparing different models. You might find it helpful http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php

My 2 Cents:

If you're getting a laptop for SL, go for a "Desktop Replacement" laptop. The 'beefier' the laptop, the more it should handle the strains of running SL.

The problems with a laptop become obvious- Heat. Biggest killer of 'em all. Even with one of those fancy-schmancy coolers under it, eventually they'll fry. You can even do away with the cooler just by raising the back of the laptop up an inch or so.

If you REALLY want an external cooler for a laptop, maybe something like this would help force a lil' more cool air into it? http://www.xoxide.com/evercool-nbfa1-notebook-fan.html