Sound & Graphics Card Question

[kamikrazy]

Would the soundcard that the T42 comes with support 5.1 audio? Also would the 128MB ATI Mobility FIREGL be able to handle games like Knights of the Old Republic or Doom 3 or HL2?

The reason I ask these questions is because I'm deciding between a T42 and a T42P. Thanks for your help

[G-Man]

5.1: No, only stereo.
KOTOR: Yes.
Doom3, HL2: Good question. I think it will handle, but you'll need to turn off some effects.

BTW there is not much difference between the "plain" ATI 64MB and the 128MB FireGL cards. Both of them are based on the same 9600 VPU, but the FireGL is optimizied for OpenGL applications.

Regards,
G-Man

[Kenn]

From what I've read, "not much" means "transistor for transistor identical," with the only difference being the drivers, which you mentioned were optimized for GL and stability rather than speed on the Radeon.

[boardmonger]

But don't you think there will be a difference because of memory? I woult think with the newer games having larger textures and sure the extra 64mb of memory might make a difference.... Does anyone have anything to compaire a 9600 64mb vs a 9600 128mb on newer games?

[Nabeel]

If you need 5.1 Surround, Creative now has SoundBlaster in USB flavor.