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Should a '9200' Brand Mean a 9200 GPU?

Posted by Cliff on from the false-advertising dept.

newsdee asks: "An enormous controversy is going on at the X1000 forums over laptop parts. Some Centrino-based laptops bear a label advertising the Mobility Radeon 9200 brand, but users have found out that the laptop actually contains the 9000 chip. The list of affected machines is as follows: Compaq Presario X1000, HP Pavilion ZT3000 and the HP Compaq NX7000. ATI's and HP's response have been that the label is promising performance and not a specific chip. Yet users seem to not like this at all, apparently because most of them define 'brand' as equating to product. According to reviews, there are no differences (same scores, same clock speed) between the chips other than AGP 8x support, which the Centrino chipset does not provide. I seem to remember that this is not the first time that this kind of thing has happened in PC hardware. Can anybody share insights of whether this is right or wrong? Should I complain about my 9000 chip that delivers what the 9200 brand promises, knowing it has not been overclocked?"

4 of 435 comments (clear)

  1. Sorry... Performance != Branding... by Svartalf · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Even if it performs like a 9200, if it does not have a 9200, it's False and Misleading advertising- and that is quite illegal. Even if it's a mistake, the companies guilty of this typically end up on the end of a class-action suit and pay out some small rebate or similar.

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    I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
  2. Truth in advertising? by carcosa30 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why is it that truth in advertising doesn't seem to matter in computer hardware and software?

    Companies seem to be allowed to say whatever they want and don't seem to be taken to task very often by the Federal Trade Commission. It seems that regulation of corporate activities is a thing of the past.

    --
    Intolerance for ambiguity is the mark of the authoritarian personality.
  3. First off... by SharpFang · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...would someone explain me why one wants a laptop with a highest performance 3D accelerated card that makes sense only in newest games - where you miss half or more the experience without a 5+1 sound system all around you, a decent quality, at least 17" monitor, a good heavyweight manipulator or at least a normal keyboard plus mouse... definitely not a laptop hardware...

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    45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    1. Re:First off... by Trick · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Since you're asking...

      I just bought a laptop ( the Sager 4780: http://pctorque.com/pre-notebook.php#4780 ) with the ATI Radeon 9600 Pro -- with AGPx8, so I'm assuming it's the "real" one. Why? By day, I'm a consultant, which means I need to lug *something* around with me, so a notebook is an obvious choice.

      However, I like to play around a bit at home. That's why I keep a 24" monitor, surround sound system, and all that good stuff there. With nothing more than a simple port replicator, I've got everything a destop machine would have. I've also got the added benefit that all my work-related stuff is on the same machine, so don't have to maintain two separate systems.

      Granted, I'm sacrificing a bit as far as upgradability goes, and my new laptop's a bit more expensive than a desktop machine would have been. However, since I need a laptop for work either way, I'd much rather keep everything I need one one easy-to-lug-around system.