Cheap, solid gfx card?

***Fear-No-Evil*** · March 6th, 2008

I'm trying to customize a good laptop on the dell site, one that can smoothly,maybe not perfectly, run the latest games. I'm not sure about the best gfx card I can get with it though, the nVidia GeForce 8600GT. I couldn't find it on that list of graphics cards and how they stand in correlation to each other, so... where does it stand? Good? Medium? Bad?
Help would be appreciated, thanks.

***Tas*** · March 6th, 2008

If you want this laptop to last a little while i would go with a 8800GT of some kind, or the ATI equivalent.. that is if they make those for the laptop market.

I'll spare you the "laptops aint for gaming" speech, but i suggest you visit Tom's Hardware - Computer Hardware News, Tests, Ratings and Reviews for example and see how this card scores, i would asume tge 8600 is somewhat of a midrange card at this point, probably not the best thing if you want to play gta 4 and other upcoming games.

Research is your friend when it comes to picking graphic cards, the prices may differ a lot while the performance does not, so be careful.

***Fear-No-Evil*** · March 6th, 2008

Thanks a lot, awesome site there.
It's just this particular laptop model is a ridiculously low price to begin with, even when I shovel on 4 gigs of ram, and unfortunately its either the 8600 or an integrated crapfest... I guess I'll do a little bit more researchin', see if I can find anything better.
Thanks again!

***foodmaniac2003*** · March 6th, 2008

First of all, how much are you willing to spend on your laptop?

Also, Dell's M1730 has the option of an 8800GTX mobile version.
Dell XPS M1730 Laptop

An alternative is this Gateway laptop with an 8800GTS mobile:
Gateway Computers: Store - Product Details for Gateway® P-171X FX Edition

Just skip the 8600GT altogether, it's not going to do so well on the more recent games.

*The.Doctor · March 7th, 2008

What are you going to be using this laptop for?

If your looking for portability, a 8800GT/GTX is not going to be a good option, that would suck down your battery like there's no tomorrow, and make quite a bit of heat as well. Or if your just going to leave in sitting on your desk plugged in then its not going to matter.

***Vince*** · March 7th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tas

if you want to play gta 4 and other upcoming games.

GTA4 on PC?

***Bs|Archaon*** · March 7th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinceh

GTA4 on PC?

Almost certainly. Just like 1 (plus expansion packs), 2, 3, VC and SA...

***arcadeplayer987*** · March 7th, 2008

You should try getting 8700M which is the best value card for laptops, is somewhere between midrage and high end

xX_CENTURION_Xx · March 7th, 2008

i agree, 8700M the 8600GT is alright, its certainly not crap, but the 128-bit interface slows it down.

***Fear-No-Evil*** · March 9th, 2008

Would've replied sooner, computer had some issues >_< you see why I need something to replace it!
The problem is I'm really not looking to spend more than £600, and most Dell XPS models are considerably more than that. Unfortunately they're also the only ones with any decent gfx cards.
I might go for the one of the Dell Vostro series. I can upgrade it to like 4gb of ram and keep it reasonably priced... still stuck with the 8600GT though.