Which graphic card should I choose?

[caniknowdis]

Hi I'm buying a new laptop. I have two in mind. Their CPUs are fine but I can't decide which GPU to choose. One of them is a NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M and the other is an AMD Radeon HD 8670M. I want to use the 1.5x-2x resolution for Super Mario Sunshine. So, which should I choose. And if just in case you need to know all the specs of the laptops I'll give 'em out now.

Laptop 1:
Quad-Core Intel Core i7-4700MQ @2.6 GHz w/ Turboboost up to 3.4 GHz.
8 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M
Windows 8

Laptop 2:
Dual-Core Intel Core i5-3230M @2.4 GHz w/ Turboboost up to 3.2 GHz.
8 GB RAM
AMD Radeon HD 8670M
Windows 8

Thank you very much.
-caniknowdis

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I almost forgot! Both laptops are 64 bit.

[DJBarry004]

Don´t know the others, but in my opinion, the one with i7 CPU and GT 740M GPU looks more suitable for Dolphin.

[kinkinkijkin]

Woah, stop there.

You're just going to ignore the fact that the haswell i7 is obviously a much more powerful CPU than the ivy i5? Hell, you're even forgetting that x7xx and x2xx are rarely even CLOSE in performance, with most nomenclatures.

The GPUs are pretty similar in performance, if not with the 740M out on top, though.

Seriously, buy the Haswell machine, 4 cores haswell i7 vs 2 cores ivy i5, with a more powerful GPU on the haswell. All of the bits are also current-generation on that one, the other one's last-generation everything.

It might not make a difference for sunshine (not CPU nor GPU), but for heavier games, if you ever buy them, you'll want the better machine.

I'm trusting these are similar in price, though. Iirc, AMD actually makes their mobile GPUs more expensive than nVidia, but that might have just been a bunch of crazy people lying through their teeth.

EDIT: also, DJBarry's post hadn't shown up until I posted this, so act as if that weren't there when reading this

[DJBarry004]

@kinkinkijkin: Can I consider your edit like "ninja´d"?

And, the 740M is better because it has bigger memory bandwidth. That´ll help a lot when handling high IR.

[NaturalViolence]

Both nvidia and AMD generally charge almost identical prices for matching products.

I third kinkin and DJBarry. Option 1 is much faster all around. Especially the cpu which is the only thing that really matters for dolphin.

[kinkinkijkin]

It's also got a higher core MIPS, seeing as the old nomenclature of AMD (HD xxxx) had x6xx pinned below what nVidia called x40, in the same year. But these aren't even the same year, and, if I remember correctly, the 8670 is one of the 8000-series GPUs that was just a 7000-series GPU with a bigger number and lower power consumption. Might be wrong on that, though, don't know too much about 8000.

[NaturalViolence]

If you're confused just look at benchmarks and specs. Those are far more reliable as a means of comparison than model numbers (which are generally pretty arbitrary from one generation to another or between different brands).

[DJBarry004]

(02-12-2014, 11:34 AM)kinkinkijkin Wrote: It's also got a higher core MIPS, seeing as the old nomenclature of AMD (HD xxxx) had x6xx pinned below what nVidia called x40, in the same year. But these aren't even the same year, and, if I remember correctly, the 8670 is one of the 8000-series GPUs that was just a 7000-series GPU with a bigger number and lower power consumption. Might be wrong on that, though, don't know too much about 8000.

Just to clarify what you said, indeed the Radeon HD 8000 series are GPU chips corresponding to the HD 7000 series; but this time with GCN technology implemented.

[NaturalViolence]

Some 8000 series models are rebranded 7000 series chips and some aren't. Both the 7000 and 8000 series are a mix of VLIW5, VLIW4, and GCN based chips.

[caniknowdis]

OK Thanks for the help guys.