NotebookForums.com › Forums › NotebookForums Gaming Community › PC Gaming Inquiry › Radeon HD 3470 and 3650 graphics cards, and battery performance
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Radeon HD 3470 and 3650 graphics cards, and battery performance

post #1 of 2
3/6/09 at 10:02pm
Thread Starter 
I'm looking into buying a Sony Vaio VGN FW35V, it has the option of either Radeon HD 3470 or 3650.

The 256mb Radeon HD 3470 uses 12 Watts, while the 512mb Radeon 3650 uses 30 Watts according to [this] source.

When you're not gaming, does the 3650 do anything to save power? Can it revert itself to equal the battery performance of the 3470?

Would the 3470 be able to play games like Racedriver:Grid?

Thanks!
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 2
3/9/09 at 11:29pm
I'm sorry that I can't give a definitive answer but the difference in power usage in 2D should be markedly less. Nvidia uses something called powermizer to decrease the power consumption (and now they've started hybrid sli too). ATI does something similar but I do not know specifics. Note that the 3650 will use more power in 2d mode than the 3470 simply because it has to power better components. Maybe you can find a review of a 3470 equipped laptop and a 3650 equipped laptop (almost all reviews include battery life). I would still say that there is negligible difference in battery life in 2D mode still.

And here's some data that backs up my claim I suppose: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/652/13/ . However, these are desktop cards. To be more technical why the battery life should be negligible is that the cards likely have similar 2D clockspeeds and are built on the same 55 nm process.

The 3470 is an entry level card and would not be able to provide a decent framerate in Grid imo. Plain and simple, the 3650 is overall the best choice given you can afford it. Battery life difference should be negligible while performance difference will be relatively large.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: PC Gaming Inquiry
NotebookForums.com › Forums › NotebookForums Gaming Community › PC Gaming Inquiry › Radeon HD 3470 and 3650 graphics cards, and battery performance