Video car Questions w/ New R3 - I want 3D and I want dual cards... help? And 1200p RGB Vs 1080 WLED? And Dualk Raid 0 vs 1 SSD??

They don't offer dual NVIDIA's for the 3D pack, only the dual ATI's... can they run 3D rendering? I'm about to build a new machine and I really prefer the dual cards.... though I've always had better luck with NVIDIA over ATI. The decision is tough here... that NVIDIA card does look tough, but I still think the power of the two 1g ATI's would do better.

Then again, with the upgraded motherboard from the R2 and the 16g of RAM... maybe the NVIDIA card is will scream with power. I sure know that hen I had my dual ATI's I ran into a boat laod of driver/bios issues that drove me freaking bonkers. Maybe a single card is easier to manage... but at what cost? I've been doing alot of research but all I'm getting is that they are both awesome setups... can someone please give me some more information?? Help me decide? Pease??

My old system had the i7 1.73 mother board, dual ATI 5870's, 8g RAM, Raid 0 Sata 650G HDD, and 7 Ultimate.

I'm looking at the i7 2.3 mother board, NVIDIA GTX 460m, 16g RAM, Raid 0 Sata 650G HDD, and 7 Ultimate.

What do you think?

Also, I'm looking at the monitors... is the 3D WLED 1080 going to be a dowbgrade from my RGB 1200p scren?

Lastly, as far as HDD's go... should I sacrifice things like RAM and extended warranty (that I can add later) for the Solid state drive? And will a single Solid State drive run faster than dual Raid 0 325g HDDs?

 

Obviously, the new system is going to be an overall better system.... but what am I sacrificing to gain? You follow me?

I'm just really torn. They are replacing my old system but I have the option of getting a refund and just building a whole new system on my own.

Just trying to weigh out the pros and the cons.

 

They don't offer dual anything - The 6970 is not a dual GPU card and is more akin to continuing the performance curve of the "last 5870".. ATIAMD changed the numbers around for god knows what reason.

The 3D Bundle is meant specifically for Nvidia cards and nothing else.

What do I think?
460m if you don't mind the power loss and are absolutely set on 3D
2.3 CPU isn't really worth it at all unless you know what it'll be used for.. In gaming there won't be any difference
16gb RAM you can add yourself for much cheaper and put more cash into HDD
Save money from upgrading ram yourself and put it into 2x 750gb or buy 1x 750gb and add an SSD yourself.

The 3D LED 1080 IS going to be a downgrade from RGB.

DO NOT Sacrifice extended warranty for the SSD, Dell overcharges a LOT for that SSD and it isn't all that great.

 

That's what I need to know, thanks!

Yes, of course, I'll be gaming... but I do alot of sound and video editing for work and for my band. Several programs running at once and several external sound cards and another monitor running. So I think the upgraded CPU will help.

I agree with the RAM, I can get the smallest amount and buy more from newgee for less than half the price. Probably the same with the HDDs.

Really concerned about the monitor though... I REALLY like my RGB 1200p and I made a big fuss about getting it. I do not see the option to get it now - what gives?? Does the WLED have to "warm up" or will it power right on like the RGB? My understanding is that the RGB is just richer in color where the WLED is just white LED's... I'm ok with that, but I want to make sure there isn't a "warm up" time from when you turn it on and there is no fading. I had BOTH monitors on the R2 and I hated the first one... LOVE the RGB.

Honestly, not sure if I'm stuck on 3D or not... I don't play any 3D games and I don't own any 3D movies, but probably in the future I will. There is a big debate over whether or not the PS3 will be able to run 3D on through the HDMI port.... if it will, then I will spring for the 3D... if not... I may wait.

And as many problems as I've had... I think I'll be buying the longest extended Advanced warranty I can - especially because if you try to add it later - it quaddruples in price. They don't tell you that the price goes up. :/

Ok, so you're saying unless I go with my original system... I won't get dual cards? I thought that if you clicked on the lower end system and built it up, you had the option to select dual Xfire cards.

Idk... I don;t want to start another R2 Vs R3 thread... but from what you're telling me, the R2 I have is probably more of a monster than the R3? That can't be right. Any help is appreciated!

 

I think Mandrake (correct me if I'm wrong) said this:

The m17x r2 is built for more of a "desktop replacement" user who spends most if not all of their time in one spot and cost doesn't matter as much to them.

The m17x r3 is more of a portable, light(er), thin(er), and less costly powerful laptop.. Not so much desktop replacement.

And I'm 100% positive there are no dual GPU.. I guess the CPU is worth the upgrade for you as you're going various things. For the 3D either find a local store that has Alienware's setup (microcenter) and test it out on their 3D monitors or go to a home theatre shop (or bestbuy) and try their 3D tvs.

I didn't really like it.. Not worth the framerate sacrifice to me.

 

If you have a r2 with dual card it is a better set up(minus 3d) than any r3.

 

I thought the single 6970 was on par or faster than Crossfire 5870? And since the 2nd gen i7 processors are much quicker, I'm not sure what information you would use to back that statement. I'm sure this discusion will get interupted shortly.

 

See I was hoping the same thing, that the 6970 would be better then the CF 5870. I reviewed a lot of benchmark scores and have seen more favor the CF 5870. While I personally don't have either I just purchased the M17x R2 with the following specs(I'm just waiting for it to be delievered:

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7 940XM 2.13GHz (3.33GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit, English

VIDEO CARD Dual 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5870 in CrossfireX™ -

LCD PANEL 17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)

MEMORY 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz

HARD DRIVE 512GB Raid 0 (2x 256GB Solid State HDDs)

INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot-Load Dual Layer Blu-ray Burner (BD-R/RE, DVD±RW, CD-RW)

WIRELESS CARDS Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology

 

I hope the discussion doesn't get "interupted"... this is the info I need before I make a HUGE decision.

Macaddict, that is the EXACT system build I currently have - minus the SSD's and it is the best machine I've ever had for speed and GFX... when it is operating at 100% - but that is very rare. It was a lemon - hence the replacement.

So now I'm really bummed... you can't buy the R2 anymore and I don't want to downgrade at all. Sure, 3D sounds great... but at what cost? I value speed and performance over fancy 3D stuf that I will rarely use. Bah! Now I'm really torn and I have to have a decision by Monday morning when they call me back.

Either they refund me $3200 or they replace my current system... I'd love to upgrade my CPU, gain USB 3.0 and get 16g of RAM... but I do not want to downgrade my screen unless it's very very small difference.

Ok so my next questions....

Can the R3 support dual cards if I wanted to buy my own and/or upgrade later??

I've seen 3D screens - very cool. Not my concern though. My concern is the difference between the RGB and WLED. If I remember correctly... that was the original choice in the R2 right? Either the 900p WLED or the 1200p RGB? So why would they downgrade for 3D?? Bah!!!

 

You will never get dual GPUs in the R3.

3d is cool.. but cuts your performace in half.

 

And you cannot order the R2 any longer, correct?

 

If you are having a loaded R2 now and you don't really need 3D (considering that you are thinking about non-3D R3), stay w/ R2. Yes, it's better in every way except for 3D.

 

And can the R2 motherboard run 16g of RAM?

 

cleaning up the forum -

all of your q's have answers. See this thread and post there if you still have questions.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ntly-asked-questions-read-before-posting.html

thanks.