15 inch 8800GTX notebook

I would like to get a notebook that isn't a big 17inch one. Is it possible for a 15inch notebook to have a 8800GTX video card and a 2.4 processor?

 

Yeah its possible we dont know specs yet on the 8800m but it will proabably be very thick and look like a brick.

Sager/Clevo are probably your best bet for somthing like that.

 

possible but not cost effective to make, 17" Arima 1.5" or Clevo 2.35" is best bet, but not for a while, 8700m is only just phasing in

 

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll stick with the 8600GT card. Do you know if there are laptops with a 2.4GHz with this kind of card?

 

Just a note : The main bottleneck in current games is the GPU, so upgrading the CPU won't make much of a difference [stick with a 2.0 or 2.2GHz at most if you want gaming]

 

Oh, ok. But what do you mean by "bottleneck"? I've heard that term before but don't know what it means.

 

One part (CPU) has to wait for the other to finish something (GPU) before it can move on to its next task, with SLi for example the GFX cards are too powerfuk for the cpu too handle.
The worst part determines how fast the whole is.

 

Bottleneck means the limiting factor. For example: You can have a car which is very aerodynamic but has only 100 bhp, the engine is the bottleneck.

 

Just how powerful is the 8600GT? Compared to the 7series how is it?

 

Only partially true, usually the bottleneck is the CPU limiting the GPU. The GPU cant bottleneck the CPU since even stuff like physics, and AI in games will still benefit from a stronger CPU, even if the GPU sucks.

The 8800m is having overheating issues as it is, which is why it isnt released yet. It would seem impossible to put one into a 15" notebook unless it was someting 2" thick just for the cooling.

8600GT is about that of the 7900GS

 

I definetly understand now. Thank You. Knowing the 8600GT is equivalent to a 7900GS is definetly good to know. The only computer that I have found worthy of a 8600GT card and 2.2GHz is the Dell Inspiron 1520. Recently posted, someone said to try others such as Asus, Clevo, or Sager. I didn't find as good as results. With Dell I have a wider range of customization. I am open to any others.

 

That's what I said that he should go with a 2.0/2.2GHz solution, AFAIK this should be more than enough to handle the AI+Physics.
On a side note, currently some engine's like Havok, off-load a good amount of calculations to the GPU (Though shader model 3 If I'm correct)

 

Yes, and in windows vista & SM 4 even more is offloaded the the GPU when running DX10 games.

Yea, I agree though, with the 8600GT and a 2.0 or 2.2GHz Core(2)duo neither will bottleneck each other. All the hardware should be running at it's max potential.

 

Thanks to both of you. I just have to figure out if there are any deals out there that are better than dell's Inspiron 1520.

 

You should look into the Sager NP2090 (more info on the Sager and Clevo board). You can buy it from a respectable reseller like XoticPC.com or PowerNotebooks.com. It has pretty much identical specs to the Inspiron 1520, but it's cheaper (and probably better quality).

 

Amazing! The Sager NP2090 is cheaper and has better hardware. Only $170 for 4GB of RAM! Thanks for the heads up.

 

With 4GB of RAM you will have to use a 64bit OS to take advantage of all of it.

 

I noticed that option with the Sager. Is it worth getting 4GB of RAM?

 

Will 4GB enhance gameplay that I will notice or is it just all better performance for the computer?

 

3GB of ram will definitely improve performance of the 8600m gt if it is the 128 or 256 vram gddr3 version, there have been a few tests of this on this very forum. Technically it makes more sense just to get 4 gb total, although only about 3.3 GB of ram will be utilized in a 32 bit operating system... I still think it is worth it.

It is nowhere as affordable as your other options, but the new Macbook Pro fits all of your specs and can dual boot windows using the free bootcamp software. It performs very nicely and it looks nice, but the price premium is fairly steep.

 

The build quality of the Inspirons is still iffy but being that they have magnesium alloy cases, I don't see how the Sager could be more durable. Of course, you'll get more bang for your buck, though.

 

Yeah, I don't know how durable the Sager is but it does blow away the charts on hardware. I'm thinking of getting 4GB of RAM with the 512MB 8600GT video card. Also the processor will be 2.4GHz. THeres no bottlenecking in this situation is there?

 

bottlenecking is just a concept. its always going to be there. the "bottleneck" is just whatever component is keeping the machine from doing a certain task faster.

if you are trying to transfer your 15 Gig music collection from your old computer to your new computer, it is useful to know that buying more ram and a faster processor isn't going to speed up the task. the hard drive is the bottleneck.

in gaming, the gpu is usually the component that holds back your frames per second. in other words, putting a faster gpu into your system will increase performance drastically, where as putting a faster processor will not.

a lot of times the bottleneck in gaming is the amount of ram you have. make sure you have plenty of ram, which will become especially useful as new games come out. 2 Gb is fine for today.

Your computer does a lot of very different things. Even one game to the next might be made VERY differently.

my point is that different tasks are going to have different "bottlenecks." don't feel like you have to have a system that "eliminates all bottlenecks!" - knowing how different components relate (in general) to the kinds of things you want to do will help you maximize your performance.

if you want a gaming machine, make sure you have plenty of ram and a fast gpu. if you want to do video or audio editing / encoding, a faster processor is going to help you out a lot.

if you are interested in computers, then in all likelihood- you will use your machine for a lot of different things at one time or another. you will probably make use of a faster processor, more ram, faster gpu, etc. maybe not all at the same time.

i hope that helps. just think holistically and you will be well on your way.