Best Laptop Graphics Card?

MrMonkeh

MrMonkeh

MrMonkeh

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Joined
29 Sep 2005
Posts
39
Hi all,

I can't find any laptop gfx roundups, so does anyone know what the top 3 laptop cards are? Also, info on what they compare to on the desktop cards would be good to know! :)

Any idea if I'd be able to get one of these top performing cards in a lightweight thin chassis?

Cheers

Monkeh
 
As a rule, laptops have integrated graphics (as in it is hardwired into the motherboard).

And that is why they suck. I was lucky i got a laptop with 1.3gb of graphics RAM, it handles left 4 dead on min just fine, and left 4 dead 2 with minimal lag. Was only £320 as well.

but if you want gaming, a desktop is the way!

There are gaming laptops (MSI make some, as do alienware), and very rarely you get an XGP port on your laptop, for external graphics cards.

But apart from that a new computer is in order!
 
Thanks :)

I just want to know what the top performing cards are so I can use that as a "filter" for selecting a laptop

I know it'll never beat a desktop but I'm on the road quite a bit and could do with some mobile gaming :)

Cheers

Monkeh
 
Jamiman said:
As a rule, laptops have integrated graphics (as in it is hardwired into the motherboard).

And that is why they suck. I was lucky i got a laptop with 1.3gb of graphics RAM, it handles left 4 dead on min just fine, and left 4 dead 2 with minimal lag. Was only £320 as well.

but if you want gaming, a desktop is the way!

There are gaming laptops (MSI make some, as do alienware), and very rarely you get an XGP port on your laptop, for external graphics cards.

But apart from that a new computer is in order!
Click to expand...

Laptops have had discrete GPUs for some years now.

The 5650 in my 14" is awesome and handles BC2 on med/high, any source game on high with all the bells and whistles etc.
 
If your looking for a lightweight thing chasais that can blow away any game you would be looking for any gaming laptop in the Clevo range. ( however they are never called clevo ) overclockers used to stock them but have since stopped.

You you use google you will be able to find someone who deals with them.

They generaly are 15.4 to 17" gaming laptops with anything from a GTX 260m up to a 5870 m in them and ususaly have a mobile 15 or i7 that is ran along side about 4gb of ram.
 
My laptop has a ATI HD 5650, with 1GB dedicated memory. 18" screen, plays GTA IV on medium settings and full res, Sims 3 on max settings. Just Cause 2 plays smoothly (I can't remember what settings). I know it's not the best of the best, its still bloody good for what it is though.
 
IceWind said:
If your looking for a lightweight thing chasais that can blow away any game you would be looking for any gaming laptop in the Clevo range. ( however they are never called clevo ) overclockers used to stock them but have since stopped.

You you use google you will be able to find someone who deals with them.

They generaly are 15.4 to 17" gaming laptops with anything from a GTX 260m up to a 5870 m in them and ususaly have a mobile 15 or i7 that is ran along side about 4gb of ram.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt say clevo are lightweight, they are usually very bulky and heavy and you will struggle to get parts for when they fail.
 
Best Laptop GPUs right now (please note some of these are only just coming out)

480m>470m/5870m>460m

Depedant on title and settings, theres usually not a lot between the 5870m and the 480m however, and due to the massive cost differential, you can sometimes get a crossfire 5870m machine, and likely soon the 460m SLI in a similar price bracket to a single 480m powered machine. Thats economies of scale, and niche parts for you! :D

There are also dual card setups available in DTRs, which can actually be quite potent and up there with the gaming desktops, but they cost...well...a lot, and a desktop will always be faster.

As a rough guideline for performance, the 480m and 5870m are about in the region of a desktop 5770, so you'll be able to play anything out there on the market, just dont expect maximum settings, 1920x1080 AND AA.
The dual card setups are around the same region as a desktop 58xx series card in games scaling is decent, so surprisingly potent for something you can unplug and walk off with (and in most titles actually capable of 1080p, max settings and often AA), but again as I mentioned before you pay a premium for this, a real premium, and as DTRs, they're not quite what you're classify as truly laptops, although certainly portable.

If you have the cash, the MSI with the 5870m OcUK have in stock is one of the best relative bang for buck machines in the UK, you're getting a lot for a grand, compared to the rivals. (Its more expensive to buy gaming laptops in Europe compared to the US).
 
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