M17x-R2 - out with HD5870

thats very true actually.

 

As much as I love having the latest and greatest, this ancient 1 month old machine still rocks just as much as the day I unboxed it.

 

It's true, maybe I will wait too..

 

Save the money! More power later!

 

glad to see some wise people in here. current happy CF 5870 users will be more than sad in a month (Nvidia didnt say its last word).

i will have to wait for babyhemi or someone on ebay with the 5870s anyway. No way to get the upgrade kit here except someone is willing help me.

 

100W Fermi mobility? I doubt we'll be sad.

 

did you check your pm my friend? can you help me?

 

I highly doubt we'll see dual 100W cards. The system is incapable of properly handling 2 75W cards and I don't think they're going to put out a 400W power adapter. If they could make a single Fermi perform on par with dual 5870s then I *might* bite. Just been bitten back on 3 models in a row now with NVidia cards.. I think I'm done with them.

 

I gotta admit, as a long time nVidia user, I'm liking ATI more and more...

 

Yeah I hear ya, I might just stick with 5870's until ATI's next release.

 

single fermi in a newer machine maybe never gonna hit dual it would be like walking around with a flat desktop
the amount of heat desipation needed would be massive.

 

and what about the x7200? they wont change the adapter there? or it has more effective cooling than M17X? they will also be ddr3 as it seems. so maybe less heat. not sure.

 

I'm skeptical of the 100W. That or I'm skeptical of Fermi SLI in laptop form. They'd be better off shooting for a single card that could perform on par with a Crossfire setup. Other than cost-savings of manufacturing single cards that will work in dual setups, I've wondered why they haven't bothered just making a single card with the performance of a dual card setup. They're already using the power consumption and heat generation of dual cards, and that was the original concern with cards that powerful in a laptop environment.

 

Guys: this is very annoying: I talk yestarday adn today with those Dell reps... they say they ask for me and that the technical dep. tell them that the "CrossfireX™ 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5870 [Add $375.00]" IT'S NOT A DUAL CARD OPTION...
That the card have a crossfire connector but it doesn't come with dual cards and that they can't accept orders with dual cards.
When I ask here other people say that it's obvious that it's dual card even if it's not stated like this...
To whom I can believe?
Some one knows better?

 

They are available today according to the dozens and dozens of posts in this and other threads.

 

I have read all those post... But Dell keep saying that what is avalilable is ONE (1) 5870 card with crossfire and in total is just one card with just 1GB...

 

Seriously, give it a rest, the single card 5870 has been out for almost a month now. Why would Dell offer the same single 5870 cards at two different prices? If you are too scared to purchase the Crossfire then just wait. I don't even want to know what Dell has done to you to make you so skeptical.

 

Didn't you learn the NBR's most important rule: "Never trust a Dell rep".

This is just the way they decided to label the cards on the US config page. Plus, its more expensive that the 4870CF so it has to be 2 cards in CF.

If it makes you feel better, on the UK site it says: "Crossfire Dual 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870." Each country labels it a bit different.

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

 

What country are you ordering from?

 

Sorry to disturb you. I don't mean to take a rest from you or anybody. This forum is to ask and try to find "lights" in some questions... I have read all those posts... Nobody say that he have asked for a DUAL 5870 CARDS... they all say that the Crossfire option is in the configuration system BUT THAT DON'T SPECIFY THAT IT IS DUAL (MEAN 2) CARDS... If you can't accept it I can't also. Why instead don't you chat a little with 4 or 5 Dell agents or "reps" and ask them SPECIFICALLY if they will supply DUAL 5870 cards (meaning 2 x 1GB)?
This is what I did and they say NO! that this is a ONE (1) 5870 card with a crossfire option in it...

 

USA (Brooklyn NY)
And I'm not ordering... until they asure me that I can buy Dual 1GB 5870 cards with crossfire between them...

 

As I mentioned earlier, on the UK config site, they use the words "dual" in addition to "crossfire".
BTW, are these 4 or 5 Dell reps, tech reps or sales reps. If they are sales reps, they don't know s***. You might get better confirmation if you call the Alienware tech reps and not the Dell ones.

 

It is your choice whether you choose to believe Dell reps or not. But ask yourself this. With a company as BIG as Dell is, do you really think all of the SALES reps will even know what the hell the difference is between DUAL and CROSSFIRE? They barely have any computer knowledge let alone knowing about enthusiast parts.

Second, CROSSFIRE means two cards. You can't crossfire ONE card. It doesn't mean one card and it doesnt mean two cards without a connection. It means you get two cards that are in crossfire.

Moral of the story:

Crossfire = dual = two cards

And don't trust Dell reps. You talk about reading all these posts, maybe you should read harder and see that everyone says not to believe anything Dell reps say.

 

give me a reason why DELL sale the same single card by charging extra $375. do u think DELL is crazy? PLUS rule No.1 here : never trust any dell rep. this applies not only asking for release date also other conditions. They just read from their screen.

 

Crossfire is always two cards... It's the same as dual which is a generic term or as SLI which is Nvidia's version of Crossfire.

Let me summarize:

- Dual can be used for Nvidia and ATI. eg. Dual 480M SLI or Dual 5870 Crossfire
- Crossfire can be used only for ATI. eg. Crossfire 5870
- SLI can be used only for Nvidia. eg. SLI 480M

They ALL mean the same, you are getting two videos cards...

 

By definition, CrossfireX means multiple cards (or at least multiple GPUs working in parallel). Remember that having 2 cards with 1GB each still means that you have (effectively) a 1GB video setup, because the video data has to be sent to both cards for them to work in parallel properly.

Edit: well, we all jumped on that one in a hurry

 

Well, I have read about the rule of thumb not to believ in DELL's sales people. I did talk to DELL techs. They explain me like this: The meaning is that "crossfire" is an option inside the card that have a connector for it. But that they actually are suplying just ONE card with the Crossfire option in it and with 1GB. That this is the price for this new card that can perform similar as two 4870.
That what they told me.
What else can I do?
If you read what "vradev" write: " on the UK config site, they use the words "dual" in addition to "crossfire".

Those are not my words... and obviously you can think (as Shakespeare says) "as you like it"...

 

come on, that just the way people using different words in this situation. it's not an exam and DELL do not have to present same words all over the word. Anyway, if u r worry about this, just wait for another 15 days. u will get the answer.
if u choose to trust DELL rep, then do it, however most of members here DO NOT trust reps and u will not get a so call "answer" here by now.
No offence, do u notice that u are the only one keep asking this question here. people keep telling u crossfire means two cards and u keep doubting them. then what's the point of asking here. Do not forget many of other members play with DELL and high end laptop for many years.

 

Dude no offense but I think you need to go back to playing your Nintendo Wii. The Alienware M17x can get pretty complicated and it doesn't seem to be a good fit for you.

 

Joker, no offense but I don't play games. for sure not here with the way people "react" to others experiences. Has I say: I don't talk with sales reps. I ask specifically for tech reps. Finally, I'm not pressed. I have my M6500 fully charged. I just wanted to buy the AW for my daughter doing her Msc. I can wait until someone can evidence that he/she has received an M17x with TWO (2) 5870 cards (meaning with 1GB in each one of them).
Until then, I rest my case Hope the best for all!

 

Hey sos4dell,

Again, crossfire is by definition 2 cards. Dual is a generic term that can be used either for Nvidia or ATI but Crossfire can ONLY be used for ATI and SLI can only be used for Nvidia.

I ordered mine today and I assure you crossfire means two 1GB Radeon 5870 card.

You can also check that by going to the ATI website and checking out what crossfire is which is two cards working in parallel.

 

Isn't dual crossfire four cards? I don't know about you, but I ordered dual crossfire in SLI. I wanted six cards in my laptop.

 

Yeah seems like a misnomer.

 

I can see where SOS4DELL is coming from, some of Dell's previous graphics offerings have been "SLI" cards that were actually a single PCB. One of my coworkers has an M1730 with the 8800GTX SLI in it and it's a single card. There's still two GPUs, but the "cards" are inseparable. It's a pity that his secondary "card" died.

Regardless, as far as the M5870CF is concerned, I sincerely doubt that it's a single card. The Dell reps that he's been speaking with are probably confused by the 5870CF having a single part number, so they're probably assuming that it's a single part. Earlier on in this thread, someone listed off part numbers for the 4870 GPUs and they were categorized a little differently. It was clearly possible to specifically order a secondary 4870 intended to be used with CrossFireX, even though it might have just been Dell's way of labeling the card as a kit that included the CF cable.

Engineering two 5870 GPUs on to a single PCB would probably not only be impossible, but likely also incredibly difficult to cool. They'd have to do it with a single heatpipe that already has a hard enough time with one GPU, let alone two. I guess they could route a secondary heatpipe from the other side of the laptop, but even then.. I sincerely doubt they could even create a single PCB 5870CF that would fit in the space allotted. Despite that 8800GTX SLI being a single card, it was still twice the size of a single GPU solution.

I'd be VERY surprised if it wasn't two cards. What would be the point of the connector?

 

I confirm it is two cards since the rep that took my order told me I could sale my second card for a lot of money on Ebay. He said that as a joke after I complained about the price increase in between CF4870 and CF5870...

 

Hey SOS4DELL, I can confirm that the crossfire option is two cards:

on my order sheet it says this:

320-8988 ATI RADEON, 5870,XT, DUAL,MLK, ANWNB

 

I had to go pop some popcorn to read this, as it was just too entertaining. I want that dual-crossfire-sli option, too.

 

Even with technical reps, there's no guarantee that they know any more than you do. The first-line (tier 1) techs will have little more training than the sales reps, mostly just reading their answers off the computer screen. Tier 2 techs will have a lot more knowledge, but may not have any specific training on the M17x.

Unless you're speaking with a dedicated Alienware tech, anything you're told should be taken with a huge grain of salt.

I'd really love to see someone try to make a dual-GPU setup fit onto a MXM3.0b board. I don't think physical space would be the biggest issue, as you could easily stack chips (like the A4 chip in the iPad) or put multiple components onto a single piece of silicon. Power usage and heat would be the biggest issue, with that whole 75W TDP limitation. Or you could just ignore that, as nVidia's GTX480M appears to be doing...

 

You can add Chile (CL)

Here

=)

As long as i know:

1 PCB Dual GPU = Video Card X2 , for example: 9800 GX2, 4870 X2, or more recently highest number possible for example: GTX 295 (this is more like a sandwich) HD 5890

Then you have Dual Video cards= ATi = Crossfire , NVIDIA = SLI , in our case each of one those video cards use one MXM slot. In desktops they use one PCI Express slot per card.

 

that's a whole lot of explaining there..
crossfire = 2 cards
xfire = 4 cards

if your laptop has space for two cards...chances are good it will do crossfire or sli.

has anyone showed him a picture of one of these rigs yet?

and when talking with tech reps..ask them to read form the technical sheet they get from ati...it will state what is and isn't...the problem...getting them to actually read it since most of the time it's under nda

also, dells xps gaming laptops came with a single pcb dual gpu board.



i think they ditched this idea for the time being...

 

my m17x 5870cf is under production :3

 

Sweet, "In Production"

 

Lets have a race...

 

sorry, my dell page is in Norwegian and here it says "under produskjon" witch directly translates to under production :b

 

if anyone anywhere anyhow really manages to get the CF 5870 upgrade kit please tell us. not ADVICE how to do it but just have done it already.

 

lucky u guys, i am still waiting to order in AUS

 

I wasn't correcting you. My order is in production

 

Chile added!

 

i see then the race has begun >.<

 

haha good thing we got in when we did! I checked Dell out, and now selecting Crossfire 5870 HD will delay your order 2 weeks.

Mine is also "In Production"