AMD 6990 coming middle/end July:

Which are all Clevo rebrands including Sager - so it's really 3 laptops period that have support for the GTX 485m.

 

If 560M took Alienware 22 days and still counting .. 580M at the end of the year ?

 

and where is your evidence that there are no 480 or 485m's available anywhere outside the Clevo familly?

 

Do you see them offered in Alienware notebooks?

 

hes right. right now officially, only 3 notebooks support the 485m.

 

So, to clarify, only Clevo offer the 480 or 485m laptop chipset, period?

 

as of today, yes. alienware has made no mention of supporting the 485m in the near future.

 

Well, we know it's working in the M17x r3 (except 3d), chances are that it works in the M18x as well.
Forget the 480m, runs way to hot, quite an abomination of a mobile GPU.

 

and what does Clevo have to do with Alienware?

 

They are the only other company that make/commission ultra high end notebooks.

 

And what about Origin? they do not make such notebooks (or laptops)?

 

Origin is a Clevo reseller.

 

Ups! I learned something... Thanks! thought it was an "original" brand machine...

My (personal?) problem with Clevo, Hp, and others is that they do not have a worldwide NBD advanced warranty / Technical service... And that for me is a must.

 

Are you international reseller dad?

 

Not at all! I'm just a lecturer (they use to call me teacher of teachers, which I hate!) and a consultant for the modernization of higher educational systems Traveling among a variety of countries. That's the reason of my need of a NBD in site world wide warranty... (so far since 97, Dell is the only one that have it, as far as I know). I have been quite satisfied with their warranty service.

 

Oh I thought hp would provide a larger international network than Dell. Dell was pretty good in domestic business until they invested to enlarge international network recently. But I maybe wrong tho.

 

HP has International NBD service, and a good one

 

Without entering into details, we have around here many Hp's and find a lot of troubles when we need a NBD in site services in Latin America, in the middle east or in Africa. Sincerelly, I have stoped recomending their systems. With Dell, at least, you call and they do come. (We always buy the full advanced warranty...)

 

Maybe different regions have different level of support. In the US and Canada the service is great both from my personal and business experience.

 

I hope so... I remeber when Dell and Toshiba (my first notebooks) were made-in-usa... they have a not so good service but... what a product! the assembly was a like a gold dolar!

Still keep one of those, perfectly working, as a nostalgy item... just the docking station weight more then 5 M18x...

 

Thanks for the info.

I wasn't aware that the other brands are Clevo OEM's. Now that you mentioned it, they do all look alike.

 

link please?

 

here you go) but no date whatsoever for now...

 

Hehe, 2 GTX 485M's are more expensive than 2 GTX 580m's.

 

Are you referring to the 560m? Because I'm not seeing anything regarding the 580m.

Edit:
Nevermind I just read they took it down because someone "asked nicely." Very exciting.

 

it was taken down. price was $496 from GTX 560 and 995 or something in sli.

 

wonder what the 6990 is going to cost ...I might have to send back my m18x if its cheap enough ...

 

These cards will be available to the m18x in mid july. i just had a call from my rep. So get ready.. he is suggesting that the price will be approx £700 more than current config.

 

So the 6990 will be similarly priced as the 580M SLi?

Cheers.

 

The 6990 CF is a very interesting proposition. I would surprised if they managed to squeeze two of them into an m18.

Im guessing that the SLI are going to price themselves out of the market. I dont understand NV's pricing strategy and many potential buyers will migrate to the opposition.

TC, do you have a UK based rep, as Im sick of talking to the ones based in the sub continent?

 

Also, do you think you can ask what power adaptoor will be included? I mean, 2 gtx 485s require 2 adaptors (from what I've seen). Will Dellianware ship 2 adaptors as well or 1 giant adaptor??

 

Don't always listen to the reps. A 6990M has not even been announced by AMD.

 

Well, in the UK, I too have been informed that the GTX580m sli will be available mid July and price is expected to be around the £700gbp mark....roughly equivalent to the $1200 expectation of the US price. Although, I wouldnt bet on UK prices being £700....the trend that I see is that to get a good idea of a UK price from the US site, just change the dollar sign for a pound sign....gives a good rough idea. (eg. 2920xm $900usd - in the UK its £850gbp.....a vast amount more costly, but then we have been there and done the whole UK vs US price thing....we are ALWAYS gonna pay a heck of alot more for this stuff unfortunately )

AMD 6990m expected around the same time too.....maybe a bit cheaper but expected to be a similar price due to performance.

These prices are UK price up from entry level gpu option (which is included in cost to start with) so if you are looking at 580m sli, its approximately a £700gbp upgrade option....thats currently vs. the 6970's which cost $490gbp in the UK.....

So, you could say that the real difference in electing to go 580m sli (in the UK anyways) is likely to be an extra £200 (assuming you were gonna be buying 6970's anway)

I was also told that both cards would be launched in the UK and US markets at the same time - not one before the other.....

Lets wait and see....excititing times ahead for those wanting a strong Nvidia option and also for those awaiting 6990m Crossfire! - which of these two options is the best though????

 

So it will be about £3K. They really make techno junkies pay through the nose.

There is no sign of the 6990m anywhere on the radar. You will not see it in July. Q4 would be my bet. The 580M will be launched way ahead.

 

As a matter of interest, having just gotten my 'DTR' after years on tinkering with a massive gaming rig, how does one go about upgrading the GFX cards. Can you just purchase them from Dell, either as replacement parts or an upgrade package?

 

If you don't mind paying extra -yes you can get them from Dell. Otherwise, some resellers have have a better price

 

When you're talking about a potentially $4,000 machine, I'm very surprised to see so many of you complaining about the price of Nvidia these days.

The GTX 580m's represent SUPERIOR GPU performance, the likes of which has never been seen before this generation. We're actually getting high end desktop performance in laptops now.

The 580m's aren't equivalent to the 285ms when they were launched. Like I said, it's a substantial proportional performance increase.

I guess it boils down to opinion, but I'm quite happy about the 580's and I can't wait to pick up my system with them. The m18x is not a budget system. With Alienware's new strategy, you could effectively say the m17x R3 is their high end gaming laptop on a budget, as it rivals the Asus G series and Sager NP 81xx series in terms of price and performance.

I guess personal finances play a roll here, but I'm not really that much concerned about the price of the highest end video cards on the highest end Alienware. I'm more concerned that I'm getting the performance I'm paying for. And with the m18x, I feel like I'm going to be more than satisfied.

 

Called my rep last night since I was pissed they cancelled and reordered my machine. After a long conversation I was able to get the 580M SLI for $400 more than my old configuration below. I had to downgrade the ram from 16 to 8, so there was a little more added to that price. One I get the order email I will post

 

Soasin sorry your assessment of the 580s as a "substantial proportional performance increase" and that "we're actually getting high end desktop performance in laptops" is sooooo far off the mark. You clearly need to look at the benches released by Nvidia, look at the architecture of the GPU, you will see this is just and overclocked 485, its NOT some big jump.

You talk about getting the performance you are paying for, which means you are doing a performance per dollar comparison, if thats the case the 6970s look like they will destroy the 580 for price/performance.

You are entitled to be happy about the 580, and I am glad that you are, but please try to keep your analysis in the realm of reality

 

I never said it was a big jump from the 485m.

I said this generation, including the 485m was a substantial jump, porportionately, from the generation before. Architecturally, because the 485m and 580m are related, I consider them as part of the same "generation" of cards. I mean, the 580m came what, a few months after the 485m really began to penetrate the market?

The point is, it IS a better, more optimized card than the 485m and it IS comparable to desktop performance.

Read more carefully.

 

I would love to eventually get a pair of 6990's or 580's but first things first, I am waiting for you to get some in ^_^

 

The 285m, when it released, was pretty much a linear increase over previous top mobile performers.

The 485m was a SUBSTANTIAL increase from what came before, rivaling previous SLI and Xfire configurations and generally having the pure muscle of two cards from the previous generation.

Obviously AMD is better bang for your buck, I never once even tried to dispute that .

The point is, the TOP performing card is the 580m, and you will always pay a premium for TOP performance. Look at any mobile extreme processor. Is it really worth the $600 (estimated) increase from the number two spot? Simply because they unlock the bios which could, theoretically be unlocked on any processor? I mean, in some sense I have more issue with the way Intel nickle and dimes the consumer for marginal upgrades coming with big cost. The 2820 is a prime example. My only point is there are other entities guilty of hiking prices than just Nvidia, and while like anyone else I wish the prices were lower, I accept the market for what it is and appreciate the performance I'm looking to get from these cards.

I do prefer Nvidia cards, and while it's controversial to say they provide more features than an AMD card, I feel they do and I feel more confident in Nvidia's drivers. While many are truly faithful to AMD and have used their cards loyally over the years with few issues, unfortunatley I'm one of the few who has had CONSTANT driver issues. I love the performance and price that comes with their cards, but I have strong opinions on the drivers that have most recently corrupted my Windows install and forced me to wipe my R2 and reinstall. When I had the 4870's in the R2, I had nothing but issues as well. Everyone's mileage is different, and I'm well aware many have NO issues with AMD. I totally understand and respect that. For me, just for my perception of stability, Nvidia warrants the price increase.

That alone is worthy of the price premium, for me.

Not trying to beat a dead horse, but really my ultimate point is I'm a bit surprised at all the negativity surrounding the 580ms. Rebranding has been going on FOREVER. Nvidia has always been EXPENSIVE. These two things are pretty much a constant. What isn't is just how much more performance you can get out of a laptop these days, compared to even just a year ago.

*opens wallet*

 

I almost feel like the argument between Nvidia vs AMD (which really is the root of this whole argument, if you boil it down because the complaints would look a LOT different if the 6970m was double its price) is similar to the tired old argument you hear from most people who custom build desktops and frown on mobile gamers.

"Lol nub, build your own desktop and forget the laptop, you'd have to spend triple to get the equal amount of performance". They conveniently forget the advantages laptops offer people like us who eschew desktops (for the most part).

I feel like some of you forget the Nvidia cards are a bit more robust and do offer some advantages over their AMD rivals. Worthy of the huge gap in price? Not necessarily, and especially not for everyone, but it is reason enough to have a marked pricing difference.

Anyway, I've explained my opinion and points ad nauseum, and will close with this:

To each their own, YMMV, tomato tomahto

 

lol the problem Saosin is that the difference between a desktop and a laptop is astronomical .... between the 6970 and the 580 its piddly ...

It would be like going to the gas station and seeing the premium gas for triple the price so like $12/gallon or $3.75/ Litre ...

Everyone would laugh and no one with any common sense would buy it ...

 

That's not entirely true. 580m is relative to the 560Ti. It's not quite as fast, but being in that ballpark means that 580m in SLI ARE comparable to desktop performance.

6970m is an underclocked 6850. How is that not relative to a desktop?

You're exaggerating the difference.

No laptop will ever tie or beat a high end desktop, but the gap is shrinking.

 

My analogy is perfect for the price/performance jump comparison. Please attempt to take the fanboy glasses off for a moment, look at the released stats and compare... its really that simple.

But if you want to be the guy who feels better because he puts the premium in his car for triple the cost of regular ... cool. Just don't pretend your car becomes a rocket because you did.

 

Talk about a fan boy. You’re defending a card that hasn't been released so there is no price or performance numbers. Your argument is done on assumptions and maybe you should live in the realm of reality. I made the decision to get the cards since I would upgrade eventually and I don't like paying for something twice. So I took the plunge and did it now. I didn't pay the $1200(actually it's$ 800 cdn) I got it for even less so the upgrade was a good choice IMHO.

 

Its all relative to how much $$ you have available to spend...

 

I think this is the key factor here.

Im not a "fanboy" either way...im completely neutral on who makes the cards.

Yes, the 580m WILL perform better than the current 6970 crossfire offering.....how much better is truly yet to be seen. I will also probably be the case that 6990m crossfire will then outperform 580m sli.....

Ive heard people bang on about how much better Nvidia driver support is but just because they release more drivers, doesnt mean they are significantly better on each occasion they decide to release a new driver. It can also be said that AMD could get their act together a bit more but afaik, they have "improved" on what used to be a sorepoint subject.

If your a die hard Nvidia Fanboi, your gonna get them no matter what anyone says....good or bad, better or worse....its cause its Nvidia's latest and greatest offering and YOU want it.....this is something which I dont have any issue with....great stuff....good for you....go get 'em....be happy LOL

On the flip-side of the coin and if your anything other than an Nvidia fanboy, your gonna look at how much performance increase your gonna get for the extra premium that they charge....this is only logical. If I was ordering now, I would want the latest and greatest too.....but in the same sentence, I wouldnt want to pay a HUGE amount more for 580m over and above cards that will more than likely, hold their own damn well against 'em.

Lets say that 580m actually is 20% better.....I still wouldnt be willing to pay 300% more for it......its just not mathematically viable or sensible.

Im not bashing ANYONE who wants the latest and greatest or for wanting Nvidia over AMD (or vice versa)......

Again, Im not a fanboy (basically as im too old and too new to computers to be one ) but im kinda looking forward to seeing IF and WHEN and how WELL the 6990m option may be.....im betting my cash on better performance and much lower cost.

 

I think AMD is so proletariat. I like speed and performance. If it costs more, I can afford it. Woof woof.