T42/P Radeon 9600 vs. FireGL T2 vs. X300

[mlykke]

Hi

I've just ordered an IBM T42P Thinkpad(2373-P1U) becuase i after searching for months and reading on this forum got the impression that the graphics-chip on that machine is pretty fast and should be able to handle current modern games quite nicely.

BUT now i am in doubt becuase i just read a review somehwere stating that the FireGL T2 is more or less an OpenGL version of the Radeon 9600 - Is this true?

And if it is - How big of a difference should i expect from the FireGL T2(128 MB) compared to the 9600(64 MB)?

The reason i ask is because the laptop will mainly be a work machine but on occasion i do play some FPS games like Call for duty, Doom 3 etc. But i havent been able to find any info on how performance in this department is. And does anybody know how this compares to the X300 chip in the T43?

I was also thinking of getting an T43 instead but after hearing alot about the noise and not being able to actually see one myself i wasnt shure.
The funny thing is that the T42P and non P machine i have listened to - They are VERY quiet so im wondering how bad the T43 actually is?

[K. Eng]

The extra memory in the FireGL T2 will give you a boost in games like Doom 3. 64MB is barely enough video memory for Doom 3, and will allow low-quality textures at best. 128MB will certainly help you out there. The processing engines of the T2 and the 9600 are pretty much identical.

The X300 is about the same as the 9600 in some tests, although anecdotal evidence suggests that the X300 in the T43 is actually weaker than the 9600. ATI's website says that the X300 with integrated memory uses only a 64-bit memory inteface, which may explain this.

Hi
And if it is - How big of a difference should i expect from the FireGL T2(128 MB) compared to the 9600(64 MB)?

The reason i ask is because the laptop will mainly be a work machine but on occasion i do play some FPS games like Call for duty, Doom 3 etc. But i havent been able to find any info on how performance in this department is. And does anybody know how this compares to the X300 chip in the T43?

[mlykke]

Ok thank you for the info. How does the FireGL V3200 fit into the picture then(Its the one from the new T43P)?

[K. Eng]

I believe the V3200 uses the same basic hardware as the T2.

Ok thank you for the info. How does the FireGL V3200 fit into the picture then(Its the one from the new T43P)?

[Bluecat]

V3200 vs T2 see the comparison chart at the end of the PDF. Seems the v3200 in about 20-25% faster than the T2 and does stereo 3d.

http://www.ati.com/products/fireglvseri ... ochure.pdf

[chbone]

I think the material is about Desktop, not laptop.

[jeeva]

I think that doesn't matter, because it's the same GPU with PowerPlay added.

Correct me if I am wrong.

[Bluecat]

Definately a PDF that popped up from the Mobile section.

[chbone]

one intersting link: V3200 and V3100 are together.

http://www.ati.com/products/Mobilityfir ... specs.html