mobile gfx question

So how well would the eMachines m6807 handle games with the "ATI® RADEON™ 9600 Discrete Graphics with built in 64MB Video RAM?"

What does the "Discrete" mean? If I should know this and am a moron, do let me know.

 

Hi!

Because of its AMD Mobile Athlon 64 3000+ and ATI Mobility Radeon 9600, the M6807 will fly through games.

"Discrete Graphics," as eMachines calls it, simply means that the M6807 has a dedicated graphics subsystem, as opposed to an integrated graphics subsystem. The M6807's dedicated graphics subsystem is the ATI 9600 video card. A dedicated graphics subsystem has its own (or "built in" per eMachines) memory - in the case of this particular ATI, it's 64MB. The term "discrete" is more commonly used to describe a video card's built-in/own memory (like the ATI 9600's 64MB).

The other type of video memory is shared memory. It is the system memory (RAM) that an integrated graphics subsystem uses because it doesn't have its own. So instead of discrete memory, an IGP relies on shared/system memory.

If you want to play the latest games at good detail level and speed, you should avoid notebooks with integrated graphics. And no, you're absolutely not a moron for not knowing about "discrete graphics." It's certainly not a common PC term, much less a mainstream (aka the "real world") one. Hopefully this post isn't too redundant for you, you probably know most of this already.

 

Actually I didnt know most of that, thanks! The m6807 is looking better and better now that I know the gfx card isnt wimpy. Thanks so much for feed back!

 

Although dedidated memory is obviously better than shared memory, how much of a performance difference will shared memory make in for gaming, DVD, etc?

The reason I ask is that the new M6809 that is going to be coming out has only shared memory video on its specs, which seems kind of strange to me as the M6805/7 (or at least one of them) have dedicated.

 

JOC,

Systems with integrated graphics (shared memory) play DVDs just about as well as those with dedicated/discrete graphics. DVD play depends on processor power and system memory. Dedicated graphics makes a big difference in new and recent games, especially when played at moderate and high detail levels. It would be folly to expect good performance from integrated graphics in those situations.

As for the M6809, it will have an ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 with 64MB of *dedicated* memory. I don't know where you saw the specs, but they are erroneous - J&R's website has the incorrect specs ("64 MB of shared DDR RAM"). You were right for being perplexed.

The M6809 should be dynamite with games.

 

Thats odd, because if you look at ATI (http://www.ati.com/products/mobile.html) they don't make a 9600 shared.

 

Thanks for the info M3, and I hope you're right about the M3809 have dedicated. I got the specs not only off JandR but from the link to emachines directly that was posted earlier:

http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_M6809#

 

Those specs, even if on Emachines' website, are not official - Emachines hasn't released the official specs yet. That's why they still don't have a product information page for the M6809. You'll only see it when the M6809 is officially launched. By then, Emachines will have the right specs, too.

Logic and ATI say that the M6809 will have a 9600 (just like any other 9600) that has its own memory. Just looking at the "preliminary" specs, you can see that the M6809 is the successor to the M6807, hence the upgraded CPU and HD. It wouldn't make sense for Emachines to sell a model that has a better processor and bigger hard drive but inferior (and non-existent) graphics. In any case, we'll know for sure soon.

As for ATI, Quikster's right - the 9600 is not an integrated solution. I can't imagine ATI making an integrated version of the 9600 just for Emachines and Emachines alone.

 

What you're saying makes total sense, which is why I found it strange when I saw the specs...any idea of the actual avialbility date (i.e. on another it said it will be announced Apr 1, but can you actually pick one up at Best Buy on April 1?). Also, BB still has the extra $150 off the M6805, making it $1299, do you think the faster processor, DVDR and bigger HD is worth the extra dough?

I read somewhere that they will be coming out with dual later DVD burners later this summer at around $230...if thats the case, I might stick with the M6805 and get myself one of those new burners.

 

Unless they have realy good rebates on the new 6809 I would stick with the 6805. The processor and HD can be changed later to match the 6809. For $1299 after rebate you can't go wrong. I had a new cashier check me out and I was able to use my coupon for 10% off that said not to be used for computers/computer hardware in the fine print.

 

What coupon are you referring to

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by JQC

 

JQC,

well, we don't know exactly how much the 6809 will cost. How much more do you think it'll cost?

whether the 6809 is worth the extra $ depends on if you need a DVD burner. What's your take on this?

btw, eMachines has corrected the 6809's web page. no more "shared" video. you should check it out

 

M3, well, its official, its the same price as the M6807. I ended up getting the M6805 from BB for $1299 after rebates. i decided to do this because the differences didnt just the price for me:

-M6809 has the faster processer - but if you're running 32 bit apps, its overkill, and the main program im concerned about running is photoshop. if it can handle that well, then im fine.

-M6809 has bigger HD. but i think its 4200rpm. i'd rather save the money and upgrade to a faster drive later.

M6809 has dvd burning - i heard about the dual layer drives coming out this summer, it thik id rather wait for that.

Lets just hope BB doesnt lower the price to $1299 with rebates, because then i will be pissed!!!!

 

Hi JQC!

$1299 is a great price for the 6805 - it has no competitors at that price.

The 6809 has a *slightly* faster processor, 3200 vs 3000. Of course, you won't even notice the difference.

As for the hard drives, you're probably right that both have the same speed. I can't imagine eMachines putting in a 7200rpm 80GB HD in the 6809 - I don't believe that HD is even available right now, and if it were, it would add at least $200 to the cost of the 6809.

Hopefully by the time you want to upgrade, a 7200rpm 120GB HD will be available and cost no more than $200.

I don't keep up with DVD news (because I'm waiting for one format to be adopted), so please elaborate on the type of DVD burner you're talking about.

You're right, the price difference ($1549 vs. $1249) isn't worth it for you because you don't need the 6809's type of DVD burner.

By all means, share your experience of the 6805! Many would be interested, including me.

 

So I've had the M6805 for about 2 weeks, here are my initial impressions:

1. Its just not as fast as I was expecting. I was coming from a PIII 1.4ghz desktop, and although there is a performance difference, its not as much as I expected. I was kind of disappointed with Photoshop and multitask performance (i.e. several internet explorer windows, messenger and photo shop open at the same time).

2. I am also coming from Windows ME and have not had extensive experience with XP. Although the computer shut down right away when I first got it, it now takes a few minutes to shut down. I was told its because XP is shutting down all the programs first and that this is normal, can anyone varify this?

3. I loaded Medal of Honour and it played smoothly with all the settings maxed out. nice.

All in all, a definite improvement from my old computer, but not up to my expectations...although these expectations may have been unrealistic.

Couple of questions:

1. If I swap the hard drive out for a 7200rpm one myself, will this void the warranty? If not, where's the best (cheapest) place to get one?

2. If I am running on A/C 99% of the time, is it recommended to still leave the battery in? i am concerned that the battery is constantly being charged on AC even though its full, which might affect battery performance/life?

thanks guys

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by JQC

 

"2. I am also coming from Windows ME and have not had extensive experience with XP. Although the computer shut down right away when I first got it, it now takes a few minutes to shut down. I was told its because XP is shutting down all the programs first and that this is normal, can anyone varify this?"

Have you installed any programs that run in the background or run components "secretly" since your comp shut down quickly? For example, Norton Systemworks dramatically slows down the shut down process.


"1. If I swap the hard drive out for a 7200rpm one myself, will this void the warranty? If not, where's the best (cheapest) place to get one?"

A 7200rpm 60GB HD costs around $200 right now. You can't really find any bargain deals on it because so many people want it and it's not exactly abundant.


"2. If I am running on A/C 99% of the time, is it recommended to still leave the battery in? i am concerned that the battery is constantly being charged on AC even though its full, which might affect battery performance/life?"

If the battery's full, the comp shouldn't be charging it. So I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. But since you basically always have the notebook plugged in, you should take out the battery. It'll probably make the machine less warm/hot.

 

another thing to look at is run a few programs to check if you have spyware installed these will run in the background and need to be shutdown. The also slow down the performance of your system overall.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 21,862

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Quikster