M17x refresh buyers- why not wait for ATI 5870's??

Don't be silly, a quadfire in a C2D system? pfft...

 

One never knows Mandrake...

The future reserves surprises... Unlimited battery life, holographic screens, nano fridge cooling.

All of these are not that far off maybe 20 years...

 

but hopefully not in a C2D system lol!

 

nothing to see here move along

 

nevermind....

 

You got a pim Mandrake

 

Maybe we'll get quadfire in a laptop when we get C7D systems!

 

what the hell is going on here , are we losing our minds over the mobile5870 ??
Im leaving the laptop world Im afraid , Im buying an alienware aurora with the ATI5970 2GB GDDR5 in it that has eye infinity (will definitely set that up). Stuff Nvidia Fermi it seems to be all hype anyway after reading reviews on the net.

My brother will get my Dell xps1530 , its done me proud. I have an HP Mini for my travels.

 

yes
/10char

 

is it true that the 5870 will be the last card made for the MXM 3.0 slot?

 

Where did you heat that?

AFAIK there isn't a new standard in the works yet. MXM 3.0b is fairly new so it should have some life left in ti.

 

Oh, you can. If you install the software from the CD it will give you a mode to route it to the internal laptop speakers. You'll loose Crystalizer and CMSS3D enhancements, however.
There is another option I'm using. Connect a short audio cable from the X-Fi's speaker out to the laptops mic/line in. Turn on "Listen to this device" for the input, then choose the internal audio for it. Then set your Sound Blaster as the primary sound device and voila, you get good sound with CMSS3D and Crystalizer working.
Of course, sound quality is a lot better when you just connect it to external speakers (that's where you really reap the benefits of the X-Fi), but on the road, routing it to the internal speakers is good enough. Although, the internal card is okay on the road as well.

It doesn't, at least not on the M17x-R1 and R2. It's slim enough and there is plenty of room to insert a DVD or whatever.

 

that works... though how loud do the internal speakers get compared to other laptops?

 

i believe i read it some where in the forums...

 

Loud enough that at max volume you actually need to turn them down.

I would also add that if you don't need the gimicks (my personal opinion) of creative's x-fi tech, then the uDac from NuForce can be had for only $10 more on ebay from the company store. It only uses usb and doesn't block anything, while outputting pretty incredible sound. As a pure dac it does not have things like bass boost or any sort of controls other than a volume.

The best part is that there is no software, windows 7 installs drivers in seconds, it can be used with any computer with a free usb port, and the sound is phenomenal, something I can't say about the x-fi xpresscard.

 

ATI sold 6 million 5 series chips. That's not peanuts. You don't see 5870 buyers running out to change over to 480's right? No of course not. All those sales were ones that Nvidia couldn't compete for because they had no such performing chip. Having that happen for 6 or more months does nasty things to morale at the company that doesn't have a the competetive product. You might hear "Ra ra ra" at the tradeshows, but you can bet that internally things are at minimum tense around the office.

If AMD gets the same kind of 3-8 month lead in the mobile sector as they did on the desktop, it won't be a pretty sight in the NV offices...

 

The problem for Nvidia now is that just about every enthusiast who "needs" DX11 in their computer has already purchased an ATi product and the advantage fermi has over the 5870 is not that great. Having already spent a good 400-500 bucks on a video card they are not going to buy another one with minimal increases in performance. Plenty of review sites have posted good reviews of fermi and for a person buying a video card for the first time it might be a good buy. The problem now is that Nvidia has no cards to sell, and if semiaccurate.com is to be believed then there won't be much supply for a long time coming. I did not find it selling retail anywhere right now though there are some scalpers selling it with a huge mark-up.

This ignores the people who buy new hardware regardless, ones who hate ATi and just purchased a 5870 to tide them over, or people who really need the small increase in performance.

 

It's selling retail here at NCIX. But it is all sold out at the moment. There are some reviews up for different GTX 480 variants.

 

Highly unlikely, who ever told you that is pretty daft and likes to make up unfounded rumors. It's new and I don't see it being updated any time soon.

 

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...s/30297-nvidia-geforce-gtx-480-review-29.html

Hm, wonder if they are true.

 

MXM 3.0b isn't that new, and it should be about 2 years old by the time the next gen of ATI cards comes out. On top of that with Sandy Bridge bringing PCI Express 3.0 there might very well be plenty of reason to update.

 

I get what you're trying to say, I just don't see it happening any time soon.

 

I hope there is a new MXM standard soon.

That would mean the newer GPU's coming out need more bandwith which should translate into better performance

 

If newer GPU's come out that are more efficient with smaller die's and can pack a 256bit memory bus with GDDR5 there really won't be much of a need for a new standard if that kind of GPU evolution can be done within the 75w envelope of 3.0b. I hope for improved mobile GPU designs over a new MXM standard.

 

Whether 3.0b has run its course is up to Nvidia. If they can't fit Fermi within 75w, then yeah, it's over.

 

I spoke to a guy at dell about the 5870s he said "whats that??" can someone with alienware contact bombard them with emails til we get a straight answer about this.. the wait is killing me and everyday that passes I am digging further into my m17x savings

 

Something new is definitely coming, guys...From Nvidia.
I've been following the new HP thread (8740w) and looking at their heatsinks got curious....
This is from their website:
" nVidia GLM5 graphics board with 2GB GDDR5 memory"
It's possible that this is an upcoming Fermi based card (currently unavailable for order), there's still no word of the price but my, this could be the shadow horse since their current (available) top GPU is a 100W FX3800M 1GB DDR3.
Makes me wonder....

 

How do you know that's a mobile card? Did you do the search by system?

 

While you are all waiting for the 5870 you could also wait till 2011.

 

No AMD procs please.

 

what if the fusion processor beats out Intels best offering? would you still say no AMD? lol also those 4870's i heard are pretty sweet from AMD.... they provide some good products too occationally

 

if the new graphics for the m17x are nvidia... do you think the RGB LCD is fast enough/capable of nvidia 3D shutter glasses?

 

Intel already has a CPU/GPU package called Arrandale. I wouldn't use that GPU for gaming either. Something tells me this is not for the gaming crowd.

 

I agree with Mandrake the fusion and the wikipedia article for ATi confirms that. It seems the notebook variant of fusion will be approximately at the RV710 level of GPU power putting it around Radeon HD 4550 level.

 

Of course I did. 8740w. The option is still not available.

 

Why not wait for ATI 5870's??
Well maybe, I'm finished waiting, hopefully I get a deal which is hard to pass on... If not, I'll start waiting again!

 

Just image how long the wait will be after they are announced.

 

Nooo... don't brake dreams..

 

You need 120Hz for the 3D, while the RGB is just 60Hz, so no.

 

bummer... to bad the HDMI output is not version 1.4. I guess you could always output it to one of those sweet new samsung displays that has 2d-3d conversion

 

Dell has 25% off memory upgrades at the moment, which makes the 8GB 1333 option pretty hard to pass on($87 free savings). Frankly I'm pretty much done waiting, with product lifespans of 6months, there's not a lot of point waiting too long, otherwise you'll be waiting forever and hacking your $3,000 computer for less than half that on etrash trying to upgrade. Even if Dell released the 5870's next week, you'll easily get stuck in the back of a multiple-week waiting list as they receive the 1000s of orders for the things. If they *do* magicly appear in the next 21 days however, it would cross my mind to return and repurchase for sure, but I'm not betting on it.


btw, anyone notice that the CD2 and I7 systems have the same base price now?

 

120hz for 3D is just an industry manufactured "requirement" to justify higher-spec'd televisions. 3D shutter glasses on PCs have existed for well over 10 years. Games often require drivers from the manufacturer as opposed to reference drivers, but nVidia has had stereo support in their reference drivers for many years also (I believe at least 5 years; probably more). More to the point, nVdia's own shutter glasses are sold at retail and mention no such requirement. Yes, "optimal" displays are going to be those with higher refresh rates, but it will be really hard for any GPU to keep up with for it to be of any use in modern games. You can just as easily show AFR for each eye at 60 or 30 FPS.

 

You could just buy the 3D monitor from Alienware, its 120HZ.

 

Nah, just a few beers with vodka and you get a nice (short term) 3D vision for any monitor

 

After going to Best Buy and spending some quality time with Samsung's new 50" 3D HDTV and 3D BD player, I have come to the conclusion that 3D doesn't work unless you are in a theater with a very large screen (I suppose a HT would work with a projector and 150" screen).

While the PQ was absolutely stunning and the 3D was neat, it just didn't work on a small (relative to a theater size picture) set.

Now, gaming might be the exception and I can see that being pretty neat. Other than that, it just doesn't work for me.

 

Agreed, the gf and I were in Manhattan testing out the Samsung 3D gimmick TV's and neither of us was really impressed. The black levels on those TV's also left a lot to be desired but then again I've been spoiled by the Kuro.

 

I'm not remotely into any of the home 3D tech so far as opposed to being blown away by some of the 3D I've seen in theaters. I think we're years away (maybe closer to a decade) from it being a factor that will matter at all. I know the industry is pushing it HARD as the next big thing but to really use it properly ever single aspect of the movie/show/game has to be optimized for it and not just as a gimmick.

 

So, back on topic - when are those 5870s coming to AW?

 

Start PM'ing the Dell tech here.

 

right this is driving me nuts, ive been holding off replacing my laptop now since feb and i cannot take it no more, i know you lot dont know but what is the general consensus here are we looking at whole new laptop or if possible the 5870s in the m17x as i need to buy something soon, becuase if its just and 5870 upgrade then i might as well get it now. im only holding off becuase ive brought 2 alienware laptops now in the past and within 6 weeks they brought out the new tec and i was sick... not a third time i hope.


no gaming for me for 8 weeks now