graphics card question
 

hey all...just wondering would a 512 mb NVIDIA Geforce 8600M GS be able to run SH4 graphics pretty well or no just wonderin...thanks

Should, no problem is it AGP or PCI-E??

And remember this is a sim and your CPU can make more of a difference then anything.

This is the gfc I have, built into a HP Pavillion laptop.

I've checked every option except volumetric fog and windowed mode and it runs very well.

I've got a GeForce 7600GT OC with 256MB RAM and the game runs well for me.

You should get better performance out of the card, as all laptop cards use RAm as there GRAM.

I have the same GF 8600M GS on my laptop and I also run SH4 with the afore mentioned setup.
All laptop cards use RAM as their graphics memory? That's weird because according to the manufacturer my GFX Card has it's own memory + it can use up to 1280MB of RAM if needed (TurboCache).

Maybe I said that wrong, most modern laptops may use a card with it's own set of memory, but that memory is GENERALLY left in an open RAM spot and then allocated to the card by use of a specialized driver or directly through the B.I.O.S., which can cause memory allocation errors and frequently dosen't allow the full release of the ram when an application is closed. Thats what Turbo Cache is for(glorified name for Virtual Memory), whenever the memory is deemed "insufficient" by the operating system, it will begin to turbo cache into the systems allotted RAM, which I'd say would cause undesirable performance.

Have you tried to run any DX10 apps, or 3d mark advantage??

Correct, the card got it's own 512 MB and a further 1 GB (out of 4 of the laptop's RAM) is also reserved for the gfc - but honestly said, I don't know if this one is used, will be used or is ever in use by the gfc when running SH4.

For me, with computer's, it's the same as with my car - I know it works, I know I can get from A to B with it, but heck I have no clue how the motor works :rotfl:

Please take no offense to my comment, if it seemed condescending or rude by any way shape or form, just sometimes my inner computer nerd takes over. The important thing that matter is it runs Sh4.

Offense? No way man, why should I ;)

It has 512MB of GDDR3 memory unless I'm reading this specs sheet wrong. And it has 767MB reserved from main RAM if needed(Total 3GB).

I've played Medieval II: Total War, EVE Online Premium and Supreme Commander also with this and they run nicely enough for me. And I haven't had any crashes or other anomalies so far.

I've actually had a nice heated "nerdrage" (No offense meant) discussions about the TurboCache causing performance loss because it's hijacking system memory. But from my own experience I won't sign that argument. Perhaps with laptops that have 1GB or 2GB RAM that argument might be plausible but when you have 3GB or more RAM I really have hard time even in believing that.

Oh and I dont play 3DMark. I find it a rather boring game. ;)
Bloody hell the cat puked on the carpet AGAIN... *sigh*

First off, I'm glad to see there are intelligent people capable of discussing things without seeming like a 3 year old with a load in his diaper :up:

First off 3dmark is VERY boring....and really of no use unless your trying to find your therma throttle when overclocking.

And I totally agree on the turbocache not causing a problem if you have 3gb of memory, even if it used a whole gig, i don't think you'd see anything noticable (maybe in 3dmark, but again...BORING).

I was talking with a co-worker today about laptop performance and we've came to the conclussion that laptop graphics have made huge strides in the last few years, especially from a quality manufactorer such as HP, Sony or Apple.

Nerdrage..I have a feeling that I'll use that at work very soon....:rotfl:

Indeed. Surprised I am hence Yoda speak I must. :know:

That is quite true. Laptops used to be gimped compared to Desktop PCs due to the fact that there were hardly any consumer available graphics chips for laptops. But now with the races between ATI/Nvidia and Intel/AMD we are really starting to see powerful CPUs and graphics cards for laptops come available to the normal consumer. And for a tolerable price I might even add.

I'm quite anxious to see what's the next big breakthrough in laptop development. I do remember reading/hearing that there's a NexGen cooling system in development that uses ionized air particles to generate air flow for cooling purposes and it has no moving parts like a traditional cooling fan has (Sorry if that sounds stupid but that's the best wording I can come up with by my limited vocabulary). And now if this is true... Ooooh Mama! Practically silent laptops with great cooling efficiency which could mean that even more powerful components could be used in laptops. Although the power consumption worries me a bit.

Another thing I'd LOVE to try out is a SSD replacing the old HDDs. But those are still a bit pricey.
I think I'll stop here before I forget again that this isn't notebookreviewdotcom. :oops:

I too have heard some things about the ionized air for cooling but that is at least 5 years down the road, what technology I think will be the biggest step foward in laptop technology is a unified CPU/GPU that ATI/AMD are designing...although with a unified core, I think heat would become an even bigger issue. Geez...wonder what poor Lynx did.....