(11-09-2010, 01:08 PM)ReIyZa Wrote: How can an 8600GT be greater than a 310m? Is the 8 GeForce series greater than the 9xxx and 3xx series?
It's complicated... 8600m gt is a 3/4 generations older "middle range" card and the 310m is a one gen old "lowest end" card, the 310M is still weaker than the 8600m gt going by raw power, the one that would compare to the 8600m gt would be a 320m which is still a low end card for the 3xx generation. The cards naming is just way too confusing...
The first number just says the generation of the card not the raw power, not exact dates but goes something like this: 7xxx ~2006, 8xxx ~2007, 9xxx ~2008, 1xx/2xx ~2009, 3xx/4xx ~2010
The raw power is usually represented by the second number (actually more like price range...) and is from lowest to highest so for example "8800 > 8600 > 8500 > 8400 > 8300 > 8200". Each new generation tends to improve the older generation card in that same range if even a little, so 9600 is better than 8600 but not better than 8800. Keep that a couple gens and then you can get a low end card that can compare to an old generation mid range like the 320m does to the 8600m but the 310m is still not good enough, the 415m which is the lowest of the 4xx however is about as good as the 8600m
There's also the GTX/GTS/GT/GS at the end or beginning of the card name that also adds more confusion x.x
But anyways the naming for graphic cards is pretty bad, especially because they tend to rename cards as a new card on the next generation, like in desktops the 9500GT is basically a 8600GT, the first 9800gt were the same as the 8800GT, GTS 250 is a 9800GTX+ etc etc etc
Edit:
Right... what tallbender said is simpler, I guess I took too much to try to explain and ended up with gibberish