NVIDIA Quadro NVS 120M - Dell D820 - Help Please

[remford]

To all,

I'm in a quandry and have been unable any useful benchmarking information about the Quadro NVS 120M GPU found in the Dell D820. I have the option to purchase one of two models. The one I prefer includes the Quadro NVS 120M, which I appreciate is a so-called "workstation" card, and while this notebook's primary use will be for business, I would also like to be able to enjoy some gameplay with it too; but I have absolutely no idea of its performance potential as a gaming accelerator. I'm not looking for earth-shattering performance, but I'd still like to be able to maintain a reasonable frame rate with some detail.

Has anyone run 3DMark03 or any other widely-used benchmark suite against this GPU? It would at least help me gain some semblance of its relative performance. The other system is an E1705; and aside from its 17" screen and X1400 GPU, both are virtually identical in components. I'd much prefer the D820, but am afraid to pull the trigger in the dark on this one performance characteristic.

I had hoped the benchmark page might help, but the link appears to be broken. Time is of the essence, as I need to place a final order within 24 hours.

Thanks in advance to any/all who might be able to help.

Remford.

Edited April 25, 2006 by remford

[Guest Guest]

I have the same question. Hopefully someone here knows...

[remford]

I have the same question. Hopefully someone here knows...

Well, here is some potentially helpful insight. Based on the X1400, I was actually able to crank out a consistent 20+ fps on FS 2004 with the settings buried to max on both drivers and software. I was actually very impressed, as it often ran consistently in the 30's range.

I found a table of relative benchmark results on the following site: (Click here)

http://www.kettya.com/notebook2/gpu_ranking.htm

It shows that in 3DMark03 performance, the NVS 120M is roughly 10% or so slower. Here's the pisser, though. the E1705, in the 3 days since I ordered it (and its arrival this morning), now offers the 7800 GO, which virtually doubles the X1400.

NOW talk about a quandry. The E1705 is wonderful and it's display is massive, but even for a 17", it seems very large, and calling it "portable" is a bit laughable. On the other hand, the D820 at 15" is much better in size, and saves at least 2 lbs in weight, but I can already see how tiny its pixel pitch is going to be at 1920x1200, not to mention about a 60% LOSS of GPU power over what I can exchange my system for.

The hardcore gamer and user in me says "Get the fast 17" dummy. Size and speed. What more do you need?" Then again, the 40-year old in me creeps in and says, "But the 15" is more suited to you personally, and 20fps at FS 2004 is just fine for your needs!" Pardon me while I now stick my head in a toilet for a few hours.

I may just have to be prepared to outlay for both and eat the restocking fees to find out for sure. Something tells me that I'm headed for more of a 2 system solution, with the highest 17" I can get for stationery use, and a 12" for the road and field. Now I'm scared that after all this, I'm going to wind up with the Panasonic Toughbook 51 and its X1300-based solution. Oy.

[mew905]

As a comparison, the GeForce FX Go5200 I have recieves 15FPS in NFS Most Wanted at 1024x768, everything off except card geometry (maxed), reflection update (maxed), overbright (on), and their new option... cant remember what its called lol (at the bottom of the gfx options, it's on high), I get 30fps at 640x480

Edited May 8, 2006 by mew905