Graphics on T400, 500 vs. T410, 510

This has probably been addressed elsewhere, apologies up front.

I was wondering if the graphics chips on the newer line of laptops are a step backwards or forwards? From the looks of things, Lenovo went backwards (presumeably for cost reasons), but it's not always clear just by looking at specs.

 

Actually, the NVS 3100m matches the ATi 3650 performance-wise, so it's a huge step forward for the T410 (from the ATI 3470 in the T400), while performance is around the same for the T510 (from the ATI 3650 in the T500).

 

The NVS 3100M is still bound by its 64-bit GDDR3 interface. It should rival the low end ATI cards (HD 45xx and 54xx), which is still a bit below the HD 3650 at higher resolutions, due to the latter's 128-bit GDDR3.

 

You can find a T410 review on the front page of notebookreview.com.

The T410 got 3712 points in 3dmark06.
The T400 got 2575 points in 3dmark06 ( T500 review here / with dedicated graphics)
The T500 got 4371 points in 3dmark06 ( T400 reivew here / with dedicated graphics)

So according to this, T410 is a step forward for T400 owners (considering only graphics), but it still lacks behind the T500. Compare more performance scores in the reviews. And remember, these are synthetic benchmarks

I at least don't feel like I would be missing anything with sticking to my T500.

 

The integrated graphic option improvement on the new series is more clear cut: it is around twice as able as the old. For many, that will make more sense than getting a dedicated gpu.

 

Thanks for the numbers, lenardg! Put exactly what I said into quantitative perspective