I travel a fair bit for work, and need a laptop that can be used in coach class on an airplane. I also carry my laptop to and from work every day. That means it needs to be not too heavy (4 lbs is cool, 6 lbs is pushing it). I also work on software that uses 3D graphics intensively, so 64-bit and built-in graphics is somewhat of a pain point. So far, I've been using a Sony SZ-140P, which has a switch to select between Intel Integrated and NVIDIA 7400M (yeah, it's old). The nice part about that is that I can compatibility test my code on a single system, plus the Intel does draw somewhat less battery. Unfortunately, the new Sonys with switchable graphics seem to have taken a step backwards -- they use the 9300M which is an 8-processor GPU, which is only twice the number of processors of the Intel 4500 that you can switch to. I would have wished they chose the 9400M and got 16 processors, but what can you do? Anyway, I've waited for many years for someone to come out with an 128-bit graphics part in a really portable laptop (13" or 14" form factor, 3-5 pound range), but I haven't seen anything from the usual suspects (Sony, Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc) during all those years. Does anyone know of a current laptop that flils that requirement?

Have you considered the 13" Macbook?

Quote: Original post by CmpDev
Have you considered the 13" Macbook?

Second on that. The new aluminium-unibody MacBook is exactly what you are looking for, although the price may be higher than you are looking: http://www.apple.com/macbook/graphics.html

The best competitor I know of is the Sony Vaio Z, the only advantage of which is an express card slot, at the expense of DVI out, multi-touch, and a generation difference in video card.

Edit: Oh, and get this - it cost more than the MacBook.

Quote: Have you considered the 13" Macbook?

It has nothing on the available 13" Dells, unfortunately. It's still a 64-bit graphics chip (the 9400M). The reason I considered the Sony was that it has the ability to switch (on the same laptop) between Intel and Nvidia graphics, which is GREAT for testing. The MacBook doesn't do that, which means it's no better than the Dells and the HPs.

However, I really do feel I need a 128 bit graphics chip, in a 13" laptop, and I've felt that way for many years. I can't be alone in the world?

Right now, I'm looking at the Dell Precision M4400, which has 128-bit graphics, and can be had with a quad-core CPU (w00t!) but a 15" screen, and weighs almost 7 pounds.

Quote: Original post by hplus0603

Quote: Have you considered the 13" Macbook?

It has nothing on the available 13" Dells, unfortunately.

Huh? The best 13" Dell I can find is the XPS M1330, which is only slight better than the Vaio (and that is with the price hike for the graphics upgrade).

Quote: It's still a 64-bit graphics chip (the 9400M). The reason I considered the Sony was that it has the ability to switch (on the same laptop) between Intel and Nvidia graphics, which is GREAT for testing. The MacBook doesn't do that, which means it's no better than the Dells and the HPs.

However, I really do feel I need a 128 bit graphics chip, in a 13" laptop, and I've felt that way for many years. I can't be alone in the world?

Right now, I'm looking at the Dell Precision M4400, which has 128-bit graphics, and can be had with a quad-core CPU (w00t!) but a 15" screen, and weighs almost 7 pounds.

So you want a super-computer in a light, 13" package? Not going to happen, my friend - not unless you wait a few years ;)

What about the Dell Latitude E6400. It's 14.1" and weighs 4.3lbs. With the productivity package it comes with an NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M and carries a pricetag of $999. Fits your criteria if you can live with the extra screen space.

Sorry to be away from this thread.

The Quadro NVS is a 64-bit chip, similar to the GeForce 8200M.

The MacBook with the 9400M uses shared memory for graphics -- it's similar to the Radeon Xpress and Intel Integrated solutions. It doesn't have fast, dedicated RAM, so it's even slower than the laptops with 8400M graphics.
Consider: the MacBook Pro 15" comes with a 9400M chip set AND a 9600M GPU. If the 9400M was a true 128-bit interface GPU, then adding the 9600 wouldn't be worth it.

Btw: the 15" MacBook Pro looks pretty good, BUT you can't have it with quad-core CPU, so the Dell M4400 still beats it at the same price. Also, I don't understand why Apple doesn't specify whether they use the 8000 or 9000 series Core 2 processors; they just specify the CPU speed, which is kind-of useless.

Quote: Original post by hplus0603
they use the 9300M which is an 8-processor GPU, which is only twice the number of processors of the Intel 4500 that you can switch to. I would have wished they chose the 9400M and got 16 processors, but what can you do?

What 8 bit GPU?
GPUs have different units that operate at different precision.
The TnL units operates with floats, 32 bit.
It might even support unsigned short for vertices.
It might interpolate color with 12 bit precision integer or 32 bit float.

There is not such thing as a X amount bit GPU.

Quote: Original post by V-man
What 8 bit GPU?

8 processing cores, not 8-bit.