920XM vs 820QM - Advice wanted =]

Hi everyone, I've been reading up on a lot of benchmarks between the 720 & 820 quad I7's and a few on the 920XM.

From what I can see the 920 performs anywhere upto 20% better than the 820, but also performs as little as 3% better than the 820, depending on tests.

My question is, do you guys think the price hike of $600USD for the 920XM is worth it over the 820QM?

The M17x is going to be used for the typical - gaming, uni, website design and light video editing.

Cheers!

 

There will be some additional over-clocking features with the 920 because it's an extreme proc. If you like to bench then it's a must. Other that that it's debatable. If I weren't getting the 920 then I would get the 720. The 820 isn't enough of a difference over the 720 to get it.

 

How much of a difference is the 720 to the 920 tho.

 

Thats what I saw as well, but now under this argument the difference between the 720 and 920 is larger, but the cost difference is now USD$900 also.

The 920 at stock performance doesnt seem worth the $900USD hike, but what about when it is OC'd? Does it perform THAT much better?

Also, do the quads use the same mobo as the extreme?

 

We'll let you know how well the 920xm overclocks when the M17x-R2's arrive next week.

 

Yes they should be the same system board. What I say about benchmarking still holds. OC'ing the system is more for people who want to bench. Adding the extra heat to the system for day to day operations is not really recommended.

 

$900 hardly seems worth the benching fun.

 

Well the last two laptops I ordered from alienware both came stupidly late - One two weeks late, the other six weeks late.

I'm going to order this ASAP to hope like hell it arrives before uni starts in 1 month, so alienwares got 30 days to do it right, haha, fingers crossed.

Btw, I read in another thread here that crossfire on ATI cards doesnt utilise the full memory (2 GB), and only utilises 1GB... How on earth does that work?

I'm an nvidia fanboy and this is my first set of ATI cards - a little worried about this wierd cross fire thing i read.. does it hold any truth??

 

I am also ordering 1 on the 5th, so i really need some good advice on what is the best for my money. I am willing to pay 4k for as much as i can get but also do not want to spend money on something i will not use, i am not a bencher BTW.

Please can someone give me a build thats is very good but also worth the money?

 

Well, this is my build so far =]

CPU - 720 or 920
GPU - Dual ATI 4870's
RAM - 8GB DDR3 @ 1333mhz
Screen - RGB LED 1920x1200
HDD - Raid 0 256 SSD (2 x 128 SSD)
Optical Drive - Wish to god they'd find a reliable supplier for Bluray!

 

CPU: i720qm
Memory: 4gb ddr3 1333mhz
Video: 1GB Xfire 4870
Display: RGB LED 1200p.
Wireless: Intel 6300
HDD: 500 GB 7200 rpm + Intel 160GB X25-M SSD (as your primary drive)
Warranty: 3 years advanced.

That will give awesome gaming performance and will be for a decent price.

 

do I order the intel for newegg or does alienware have those sdd's

 

Newegg or some other online vendor.

 

so an normal user like myself will not use the power of the 920? or more ram.
what about the other video card. im not saying im cheap i have 4k to spend i just dont want something that will not be used.

 

5150Joker do this review of the machine onces u get it.

I want real game performances and benchie numberx

 

I must put some figures in this equation.
Because I was in the same dubio as stated in the OP.
I think the whole difference between the proc's is the turbo boost tech.

For exmaple: (this is without overclocking abilites)

i7-920XM, has 2/2/8/9 boost possibilities when utillizing:
1 core: 2000(base) + 9x133(boost)= 3197 MHz(max)
2 cores: 2000(base) + 8x133(boost) = 3064 MHz(max)
3 or 4 cores: 2000(base) +2x133(boost) = 2266 MHz(max)

i7-820QM, has 2/2/8/10 boost possibilities when utillizing:
1 core: 1733(base) + 10x133(boost)= 3066 MHz(max)
2 cores: 1733(base) + 8x133(boost) = 2800 MHz(max)
3 or 4 cores: 1733(base) +2x133(boost) = 1999 MHz(max)

i7-720QM, has 1/1/6/9 boost possibilities when utillizing:
1 core: 1600(base) + 9x133(boost)= 2797 MHz(max)
2 cores: 1600(base) + 6x133(boost) = 2398 MHz(max)
3 or 4 cores: 1600(base) +1x133(boost) = 1733 MHz(max)

As you can see the only big differrence between the 920 and 820 is found in multi thread gaming as for the 720 is performing less with turbo even with single thread games. So I would say the 820 is the winner in turbo. The 920 in overclocking and the 720 in price.

 

Depends. If you bench with the machine more than play games would it be worth it?

If you haven't ordered yet skip the SSDs. You can buy better ones third party.

 

I heard ebay is good.

 

Ok, my math might be a little bit off here but if I worked this out right the difference between the 720QM and the 920XM equates to $2.25 per Hz (yes, a single Hz).

I can't find a whole price for the 720QM but I'm pretty sure it works out at something like $0.25 per Hz or something around there. Basically the price per Hz increases dramatically if you go for the 920XM so on that basis alone I would say its not a good choice in terms of value.

This might not be a good way to make such a decision but it sealed the deal as far as I'm concerned. I thought I could always swap a 720QM at a later date when the XM drops in price. I think its super expensive for the single reason that its the i7-M flagship model. Intel obviously know that there will always be people willing to pay through the nose to have "the best", even if it isn't really that much better.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

 

The price of a i7-720QM retail is around $380.

The i7-920XM is an extreme proc so it's more than just the extra Mhz.

Finally you have a M15x right? The bios will let you do more in the M17x if you have the 920 versus what the M15x can do. So it's value in the M17x is higher than with the M15x.

 

Most games use Low end cpus and high end gpus. So the worth having High end quad core that are not use in games. If you want two more hands go for quad core but it will not help you eat faster.

Untel games Manufactures know they can use Quad core. Games are stuck in dual core and only use limited to use ram. Unless you know what you are doing. Game are limited to dual core and 4 gb of ram.

 

Mandrake, tell me something please?

Alienware won't sell the XM with a 6 cell battery... Is there a good reason for this? I mean, if you had an XM and a 6 cell battery would there be more serious issues than simply not being able to run it on the battery?

Thanks mate.

 

I haven't tested it myself but my guess is they have a certain amount of battery time they must meet based on their own standards.

If it was a different power supply that would be a different story.

 

I see.

Nice one pal. That had been bugging me for a while.

 

I havent ordered it yet, need to wait for three days before I can pay.

With regards to these Samsung SSD's... how much better are they than the stockers?

Also, what can the 920XM be OC'd to?