Fire GL 128MB VS Mobility Radeon 9600- DOOM 3?

[Patrick]

I am an entering college student and I need to buy a laptop for the fall. Since I am majoring in engineering I need a very powerful machine that can run all my stuff like mathematica and matlab, and also run games, especially the recently released doom 3. I shy away from a "desktop replacement" with a full p4 platform because the battery life is useless and its so unportable I might as well have a desktop. Im considering IBM t42p right now, but I dont know whats up with this mobile "workstation" graphics card. How does this behave on games? How does it compare to a radeon card like the 9600? The other stats im set on are:
1.8ghz P-M
1024 MB DDR SDRAM
7200 RPM 60GB HDD
Integrated v.92 modem and bluetooth III

Which graphics card is best? Fire GL has twice the RAM but is it really better? i also do need the visual design power for engineering tho. Which is best? Please comment.

[austin785]

I can run Doom 3 at 1024x768 High Quality with a FireGL 1.8GHz 1GB RAM T42.

It's like.. 15-20 FPS, but it's enough for me. It's all eye candy.

[erik]

Which graphics card is best? Fire GL has twice the RAM but is it really better? i also do need the visual design power for engineering tho. Which is best? Please comment.

i run solidworks, autocad, 3dsmax, photoshop, and illustrator on my R50p all day long without any hiccups.   you'll want the FireGL 128 for screen rendering speed.

It's like.. 15-20 FPS, but it's enough for me. It's all eye candy.

correct me if i'm wrong, but i think the average human brain can only process a maximum of 30fps anyway.

-erik

[austin785]

No, I definitely can see the difference between 60 and 30fps.

call me weird tell me I'm wrong if you want.. but I swear to you.

[Patrick]

Thats what I've been wanting to hear austin785... Doom 3 in XGA! What drivers did you use for that may I ask?

[hmphargh]

he's running the latest ibm ones. btw- he also has a gig of ram...that might help too, dunno what you are running

[Patrick]

One other thing... does the 1GB RAM really boost the performance there (on doom) or am i just wasting money for no extra gain? Im planning on getting a Gig of RAM.

[hmphargh]

it helps- my laptop couldnt run it nearly as well. if you are getting RAM, i'd advise installing it myself http://www.crucial.com/store/PartSpecs. ... 35&cat=RAM i'd go with that stuff i think IBM reccomends it, but Kingston would be just as good im sure...

[austin785]

John, any RAM that meets the specs in TABOOK is fine. RAM is lifetime guaranteed, almost every brand.

BUT I HEAR that the RAM IBM recommends runs a wee bit faster.

[Patrick]

Do you think its cheaper to install myself rather than have it preinstalled? If so, is corsair ram worth getting? Ive heard its fast.

[austin785]

Definitely install yourself. 1 minute job.

So easy.

[hmphargh]

any ram will be fine...cas latency is what really matters. I know IBM reccomends the stuff i showed you and is supposedly a bit faster. If its just a few bucks i would go for the upgrade...but thats just my 2 cents (or $10)

[Patrick]

what is the price difference tho? also- does anyone know how the 9600 performs on doom 3?

[austin785]

IBM charges you approx. three times as much to put in a gig of RAM as it would cost you to upgrade with a 512 stick.

But that's because they use ONE of the RAM slots. Not two.

Installing a 512 stick, or even a 1024 stick is going to be a wee bit cheaper than upgrading to a gig on IBM's site.

That's the reason. They won't add another stick. And 1 gig sticks are quite expensive compared to 2 512 sticks.

[Patrick]

since youre playing doom 3 on the t42p... how does the lcd display look in game- color, contrast, blacks, response? my lcd on my desktop istn terrivly fancy or anything. its about 3 yrs old and does have a litte ghosting but pretty good color. how do you think the t42p's lcd is?

[hmphargh]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.a ... rty&DEPA=0

some good prices there. some not so good ones too. but thats the stuff you need. personally, i'd pay a bit more for something i know is quality, i would go w/ kingston or crucial, but ive never had any experience w/ corsair, if you trust them, then buy away. im just saying what ive heard. some people say ram is ram is ram, i notice a bit of a difference, whether it is just a bit faster os load or a bit smoother game play, to me it makes a difference. that's why i bought a thinkpad (and why i'm broke due to my computers)
and the UGXA screen is excellent, very sharp, great contrast, but there is a bit of ghosting, but its not enough to ruin gameplay for me at least...

[Patrick]

hmpharg have you run doom 3 on your t42p? just want to make sure were still talking about the same thing here. im also interested in knowing what sound setup you use on your t42p

[plucky duck]

Is there a demo copy that's out already? I know about the leaked beta, but I'm not speaking of that.

When you guys run 1024*768 do you stretch the screen or run it smaller screen natively?

[Patrick]

yeah id be interested in knowing if the screen fits the 1024*768 well. 800*600 should be good because thats just splitting the full 1600*1200. 1024*768 would rock tho.. especially in doom 3. And plucky, dude the game is out here in the US man.

[Kenn]

correct me if i'm wrong, but i think the average human brain can only process a maximum of 30fps anyway.

-erik

That is the most completely wrong statement I've yet read on this board, but don't worry, for some reason it's a common misperception Any human can easily tell the difference between 30 and 60 fps if shown side by side. Many gamers can tell the difference between 100 v. 115fps, or 200 v. 250fps. People just believe th 30fps myth because that's what they're told, and it's uncommon in everyday life to be able to see and compare framerates greater than 30fps.

In fact, the military has some test results that show pilots who were flashed a sillouette of an aircraft at several hundredths or even thousandths of a second can not only see it, but can identify the plane.

[austin785]

I'm running Doom 3. 1024x768 HIGH quality. 15-20 FPS.

10 FPS when there's loads of monsters, but that's only when I cheat and spawn things like cyberdemons and Guardians

The screen is incredible. I notice intricacies that put my CRT to shame. Playing Counter-Strike, there IS noticable ghosting, but the accuracy of the screen makes up for it tenfold. I can actually aim for the head now. It's quite amazing. I feel myself seeing the crosshairs now rather than just shooting on instinct.

I love this screen. It makes using this CRT a pain.

[VC15]

So has anyone tried Doom 3 on the radeon 9600?

[Kenn]

yeah id be interested in knowing if the screen fits the 1024*768 well. 800*600 should be good because thats just splitting the full 1600*1200. 1024*768 would rock tho.. especially in doom 3. And plucky, dude the game is out here in the US man.

You'd think so, but I tried lowering my desktop resolution to 800x600, and it's still doing uneven filtering to the image rather than a crisp 1-to-4 pixel magnification. Too bad, I like nice sharp edges.

[erik]

That is the most completely wrong statement I've yet read on this board, but don't worry, for some reason it's a common misperception

that is exactly why i said, "correct me if i'm wrong," and left myself open to correction.   be careful making such comments unless you can guarantee 100% accuracy in 100% of your posts.   i can only name a few users here who meet such criteria and you aren't on that list.

anyway, thanks for the frame rate info.

-erik

[Kenn]

that is exactly why i said, "correct me if i'm wrong," and left myself open to correction.

Erik, note that I 1) said not to feel bad as it's a very common misperception that many smart people buy into, and 2), ended with a to show it's not personal - my strong feelings were not directed at you, but rather at the continuing perpetuation of a patently false assumption. So I'm sorry if it sounded unkind, but again, it wasn't meant to be personal.

Be careful making such comments unless you can guarantee 100% accuracy in 100% of your posts. i can only name a few users here who meet such criteria and you aren't on that list.
-erik

Actually, it is completely irrelevant how any of my past posts are conducted (as I have absolutely no problem with anyone correcting me in a similar manner if I ever say something as blatantly false; I neither claimed to be right all the time nor have I ever demanded special treatment), so your legitimate concern with my position should only to this subject alone; and it is on this subject that I CAN guarantee my position as 100% certain and accurate. Also, it's funny you should mention it, because if you do read my past posts, you'll see that I am quite meticulous in what I claim and disclaim, and that I qualify nearly every opinion and subjective statement made (which partially contributes to why my posts tend to be quite long). So in reality, I am quite comfortable speaking on this subject with confidence because it is indeed one of the few times I am so sure about something as to be able to "accurately" state it in such a way, and not - as you insinuate - because I make a habit of carelessly and flippantly throwing out unsubstantiated claims as cold, hard fact.

But to stay on topic, the FACT remains that the 30fps myth is simply that, a myth, and one that really deserves to be squashed. But, as I said before, don't take it personally because a lot of people just hear ""humans can only see 30fps" in passing, and because it sounds witty they take the whole thing on faith without ever testing it or seeing any evidence one way or the other.

Peace,
-Kenn

[erik]

Erik, note that I 1) said not to feel bad as it's a very common misperception that many smart people buy into, and 2), ended with a to show it's not personal - my strong feelings were not directed at you, but rather at the continuing perpetuation of a patently false assumption. So I'm sorry if it sounded unkind, but again, it wasn't meant to be personal.

fair enough.   i had taken your "most completely wrong statement" commentary personally as i, as well, try to be meticulously accurate in my statements.

as the saying goes, "we learn something new every day."

-erik

[Kenn]

No hard feelings - it's just hard to get tones and inflections across on a web board sometimes.