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

I agree, there's a problem. However, I'm not a dedicated gamer as 5-7 years ago. My wife is currently playing King's Bounty TAP on max settings with FX880M card with no very minimal glitches. I'm ok with that.
Also, I'm intrigued by the info on their website about the new 2GB GDDR5 GPU (Fermi??) that should be available soon, for this (8740w) system only.
Dreams...

 

The W701ds is pretty beefy for a single card machine but I don't really mind that much since it's not something I'd be lugging around everyday. As for the 10" screen, even if it is low quality I would still get more benefit out of it than no secondary screen at all, since my use for it wouldn't be one where I care all that much about image quality. My use for the 10" screen would be as a Bufferin for the alt-tab headaches I get from Vent and checking gaming sites.

I would never find any use for the drawing pad and I've said a few times I'd love a version of the W701ds that gets rid of it in favor of a CrossFirePro set-up.

 

If you are not a gamer then there is no issue. It seems like a pretty good PC. But like sleey0 says for 2.5K you also get this:

R2 with i7-720QM, ATI 4870 CROSSFIRE, RGB LED Screen. The rest would be standard.

In my position I would not hesitate and get the AW one.

 

I see your point. Makes sense to me. But I also don't trust the Lenovo plastic (and any plastic in general) anymore, after W510 entire palmrest became creaky within just one week of minor use.

Lol, I already have the M17X with CF and RGB LED.
But don't you forget that the HP has an IPS panel (extra600$ for the upgrade) is a 30-bit one producing 1billion colors - it should show the perfect RGB, better than the real life . And it's anti-glare...finally.

 

I am not much of a gamer anymore, either. lol

I just enjoy powerful systems

 

Yeah the 8740 was a good choice Aiki, it's the closest a laptop has gotten to cracking my excessive laptop slush fund open (sitting at 3+k). Still waiting for an Alienware that maybe takes a cue from the Sager NP8760 and designs it to be slimmer and actually somewhat portable. The reversion to design cues that are older in style (the hinges, not really updating the Elitebook look really) on the 8740w really took me back though. I guess sharp edges and flashy lights still make the deal.

I'll be lurking around the HP forums in envy for a review

 

Haha..lately the power of my M17x has been dedicated to watching re-runs of Knight Rider (with the Hof) on Hulu. I probably get a game or two in every few days and thats about it. I may not even get the 5870s since it would be a waste of money and in this economy, money is tight.

 

Yeah, umm I don't believe that "NP8760" and "slim" should be used in the same sentence.

Not sure why you think it is any slimmer??

 

IDK I thought the dimensions were a bit smaller on it, and from all the pics it looks much slimmer?

I guess I was being naive?

 

Sager..bleh.

 

I suppose it is a little bit slimmer but not enough to point it out lol

It is a lot lighter, though.

 

Okay, point taken. What can I say sleey0, you're the man, you've owned like every modern laptop there's been to own.

 

Don't know if I'd say that. lol

But thank you regardless

I just need to learn how to control myself while I am online late at night. These companies make it too gosh darn easy to purchase a decked-out $2k laptop nowadays.

 

Does AMD manufacture the 5870 MXM cards or do they just provide the chipset? Is dell/alienware going to manufacture the crossfire cards or is this something that has to be manufactured by AMD or another source?

 

I know what you mean, hehe. Been lurking around the HP forums for some time now, couldn't resist the temptation any longer. Look at this screen!
Also, I'm more and more inclined towards single GPU systems. In addition, I like a track point /stick more than a touchpad (old IBM school ) and prefer a metal palmrest.

 

I was told by my dad that the 5870's will be released mid May because Dell/Alienware is having some trouble with dual 5870's. But then again it is just a rumor.

The reason they are not releasing a single 5870 is because Dell probably wants both options for maximum $$.

 

Does your oldman have some contacts within Dell ? Where did hear that?

 

Am I the only one curious as to how well eyefinity will work on the AW laptops? I think it would be pretty cool to have a 3 monitor setup at home but when you needed you could just pick up the M17x and go.

Also it's been pretty funny watching this thread, people changing their minds between everything from the HP/Dell Workstation laptops to waiting the (probably) 6-8 months for mobile fermi. <3 you guys

 

Sounds interesting but it'll most likely be a GT200 based chip, and do we really need 2GB of Vram? Seems a bit overkill.

 

I heard from my dad it's actually Mid June, but then again it's just a rumor.

 

He doesn't have contacts within Dell. He heard it from an IT guy at his office. That's why I said it's just a rumor because that person probably heard it from another person and so on.

 

Well if it's more than 128-bit and GDDR5 - I might consider the upgrade on the long run. But nothing is know of the system's cooling capabilities yet, no reviews available.

 

So would I if it's 192bit or 256bit bus with GDDR5, I would certainly try to get my hands on 2, if they could be used with my M17x.

 

when you're dealing with already outdated technology and lifespans less than a year, overkill is good. There's no such thing as too much in the computing world, just too expensive.

 

WOW!!!
Now that is a nice screen!!

 

Bad news, the Dream Color 2 panel is no longer available for order... Hope they let my order through anyway as I ordered a few hours before the option disappeared.

 

2gb of mem might be overkill, but 1.5 certainly seems a bit "future" oriented. 1Gb "will do" but certainly textures could get more complex, especially if tessellation takes hold.

 

This is the reason to wait:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=477789

 

aaah great !!!
finally

 

That is a good point. New cards appear when there's a reason/need for the extra performance. I bet 2GB will be useful in many scenarios soon enough.