Which one? (3650 Vs 8600GT)

[CrazeD]

So, I'll be going to school soon and so I'm getting a laptop with student loans (ftw!!).

I need to know which is better, the Mobility 3650 or the 8600M GT?

I'm trying to decide between these two laptops. One has a Mobility HD3650, the other has a 8600M GT. The one with the 3650 has better specs, but I want to make sure the GPU will be equal or faster than the 8600M GT. I don't expect to run games on highest settings, but I do plan to do some gaming with it and would like at least medium with decent frame rates (in COD4, BF2 etc).

Newegg.com - ASUS M50 Series M50Sa-AK023C NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T9300(2.50GHz) 15.4" Wide SXGA+ 4GB Memory DDR2 667 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 - Laptops / Notebooks
Newegg.com - ASUS G Series G1S-B1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T7700(2.40GHz) 15.4" Wide SXGA+ 2GB Memory DDR2 667 200GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT - Laptops / Notebooks

I don't know much at all about laptops.

Thanks.

 

[zedman3d]

The 3650 beats a 8600GT. And if the 3650 laptop is overall better then the other one is not an option.

 

[Prototype]

i think that it dpends on the game if it is for ATI or NVIDIA cards. i think 8600GT would be better for Crysis

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

I have an 8600M GS and it's pretty good (I play a lot of Source-based games) but the ATi one is faster than the 8600GT (which is faster than the 8600M GS). HOWEVER, remember that ATi's drivers are usually low quality and that you'll probably never be able to decently run Linux or anything other than Windows on that computer, as ATi provides horrible drivers for these operating systems. I personally would stick with nVidia just because of the better support, but if you want true performance I guess the ATi is better.

 

[CrazeD]

I have an 8600M GS and it's pretty good (I play a lot of Source-based games) but the ATi one is faster than the 8600GT (which is faster than the 8600M GS). HOWEVER, remember that ATi's drivers are usually low quality and that you'll probably never be able to decently run Linux or anything other than Windows on that computer, as ATi provides horrible drivers for these operating systems. I personally would stick with nVidia just because of the better support, but if you want true performance I guess the ATi is better.

Well I'm an ATi fan and I'm rockin an X1950XT at the moment. ATi drivers have always been great to me.

You can still run linux with ATi, just needs some tweaking. Not that it matters, I don't plan to run linux anyway.

So, if the 3650 is better than the 8600M GT, then I'm for sure getting that first laptop. It's cheaper too.

Thanks guys.

 

[zedman3d]

The 3650 is the way to go. Dont get the 8600M one.

 

[maroon1]

I don't think that HD3650 is faster than 8600GT in gaming, but I think HD3650 have lower power consumption

Get 8600GT if you don't care about power consumption

 

[Jorsoft]

The 3650 is the way to go. Dont get the 8600M one.

I'd agree, better performance, costs a little less, no reason to get the nvidia here. ATI's drivers are fine imo. Nvidia's seem to be better for hacks and linux use but that really doesn't apply here so it's sort of a moot point. Bottom line, the ATI card is the best choice here.

 

[maroon1]

I have checked a benchmark from vr-zone, and it seems that 8600GT performs better than HD3650

Here is the benchmarks
VR-Zone : Technology Beats - ASUS EAH3650 TOP Review

Those are the desktop version though

 

[veg1992]

I don't think that HD3850 is faster than 8600GT in gaming, but I think HD3850 have lower power consumption

Are you kidding me... the HD3850 is way better than an 8600gt

but the HD3650 is slower than an 8600gt