Dilemma! To Dual or Not To Dual...GPU?

hey guys,

as some of u guys know, it's time for me to upgrade from my XPS M1530. i was actually pretty set on the Sager NP8850 cuz i wanted to stick with a single powerful GPU-equipped unit. what threw me off of my decision was that dell is having a 15% off deal on M17x systems over $2999 and i can configure a similarly spec'd dual 5870-equipped M17x, for about the same price as the Sager NP8850.

Sager NP8850 (Built on Clevo W880CU)
- 17.3" FHD LED Backlit 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1920x1080)
- Intel® Core™ i7-840QM, 1.86-3.2GHz, (45nm, 8MB L3 cache)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- nVidia GeForce GTX 480M 2,048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 (User Upgradeable)
- ~ 6,144MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
- ~ 4X Blue-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive
- ~ 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- 11.1V Smart Li-Polymer battery pack 3800mAh, 42.18Wh
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's

VS

Alienware M17x
- Intel® Core™ i7 820QM 1.73GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
- Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
- CrossfireX™ 1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5870
- 17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)
- 6GB Memory (1x 2GB, 1x 4GB DDR3)
- 320GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD
- Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
- Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology

NOTE: i will be upgrading to a 160GB corsair force SSD with whatever unit i decide on.

MY DILEMMA: is dual GPU ownership really even worth it? i've never had a chance to own a dual GPU equipped setup cuz i've heard about alot of headache stories of dual GPU ownership. not to mention that most games can't, or don't, even utilize both GPU's. i've even read about dual GPU's causing buggy gameplay and that single GPU's have better driver support. aside from the obvious FPS boost, what other real advantages are there to having a dual GPU setup?

i really prefer the M17x's 16:10 screen ratio, RGB picture quality, and exterior aesthetics. when i spend a good chunk of money on anything. i expect it to work how it's supposed to. i don't want to be paying a premium AND having to deal with unnecessary headaches. that's one main reason why i've stuck with mid-high single GPU setups. they are reliable. what do u guys think? i would love to hear from u dual GPU owners and get some real feedback. please help a guy out! thanks a bunch guys!

 

Personally I'd go for the M17x. Just looking at your specs you listed, you'll LOVE the 5870's Crossfired.... Hell, even the 5870 ALONE is beyond amazing and an over kill for any game released within the next 1-2 years.

But with the decision of single to dual GPU's it all comes down to futureproofing your system. So ask yourself. Are you going to replace your gaming laptop within 2-3 years? If so get a single GPU, If you plan on keeping it longer to "keep up" with possible games, then get a Dual GPU equipt system.


I've personally used a desktop with a dual in 1 "crossfired 3870x2 card and saw some pretty good increases.

However, if you can afford it, get a dual. Its as simple as that. ATI is releasing some major improvements to crossfire with its latest drivers (10.8).

 

thanks for the quick reply! price isn't really a factor in this one cuz both system only have a price difference of around $100 of each other.

i generally keep my laptops for about 1-2 years and then upgrade to the more current technology. i can't really recall a notebook that i've owned for 3 or more years. i don't really do very much with my laptops. this next one will spend most of it's time doing some moderate gaming (starcraft 2, diablo 3, a little team fortress 2, and maybe an MMO down the line), web surfing, and streaming/watching movies/animes.

another reason why i considered a 480M-equipped notebook is that i hate ATI's driver support. nvidia just has much more simpler/efficient driver experience. can u speak on artifacts/image glitches/bugs that i've heard dual GPU's causing when running a game that can't utilize both GPU's correctly? i don't want to deal with those kinds of unnecessary headaches cuz i really don't need a super demanding system for the general tasks that i do.

 

Don't go for a Crossfire rig - it's been proven that time and time again, SLI is MUCH better than Crossfire, especially at the moment.

I personally recommend that you go for a machine with dual GTX 460M's or upwards, as Crossfire does not scale well (probably 50% - 60% increase in the best situation, and you will get micro-stuttering, vs 90% performance increase with GTX 460's in SLI).

Take a look at the desktop market - the GTX 460 and GTX 460 SLI is THE best price to performance set up at the moment.

Only if you want to spill out the money, of course.

 

dang, posts like this really make me want to forget about dual GPU's all together. another thing i really liked was how well single cards can rescale images. bad scaling and microstuttering don't sound very appealing at all.

 

Generally, micro-stuttering is limited to FPS ranges of 30 FPS or below.

However, I'm not going to lie about Crossfire 5870's - two GTX 460 desktop cards in SLI (mid range cards), WILL beat out desktop Crossfire 5870's (highest end ATI single GPU).

5870 > GTX 460
GTX 460 SLI > 5870 Crossfire

NVIDIA also has the advantage in CUDA, PhysX, and better driver support.

EDIT: Also forgot to mention that the drivers for 5870M's in Crossfire are a bit dodgy at the moment. Read up on the issues in the Alienware section, if you want more info.

 

yea, i think i'm just gonna stick with the sager NP8850. thanks for the info. +rep'd.

 

Thanks, I hope you enjoy it. It's an absolute beast of a machine.

 

take a look @ this sager NP9285 if it's the same price $2,974.00
cons: it's on backorder and has slower memory, desktop cpu will eat your watts

pros:better cpu, 1920x1200 res
custom gaming laptops - Welcome to Sager Notebooks


17" Wide Viewing Angles WUXGA LCD with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1200) - Back Order! (ETA: End of August, 2010)

Nvidia GeForce GTX 480M Graphics with 2GB GDDR5 Video Memory - Back Order! (ETA: Early September, 2010)


Intel® Core™ i7-930 Processor ( 8MB L3 Cache, 2.80GHz, 4.8GT/sec QPI )

IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU


Genuine MS Windows® 7 Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition ( 64-Bit Preloaded )

6GB Triple Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 3 X 2GB **

500GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive

4X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software

Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
Bluetooth

 

thanks for the suggestion. i would honestly be all over the m17x if it were available with a nvidia 480M. i love the looks and the materials of that thing. exterior aesthetics plays a pretty good part in my decision making when it comes to laptops. i absolutely love what the D900 is capable of, but i honestly don't need that much CPU power to cram a desktop CPU in my laptop. i also hate the look of it. it looks like a big ugly block to me. if i were to get a big ugly block, i'd rather wait for the x7200 and go SLI 480M's.

currently, there are only 2 platforms that house the 480M to my knowledge. out of the D900 and the W880CU, the NP8850/W880CU is the definite winner in the looks department.

 

It depends on the game, sometimes the GTX460 is a bit ahead. However in games where that FPS difference matters the 5850 and 5870 crossfire cards dominate.

Remember the 5870 mobile is 15% behind the GTX480M, this arch scales better than the 5850 or 5870 desktop (since its 5770 based) so I would go with the 5870 mobility crossfire.

 

GTX 460 1GB SLI vs. HD 5870 CFX - GeForce GTX 460 1GB SLI vs. Radeon HD 5870 CFX | [H]ard|OCP

This is a desktop setup, but expect similar results from a notebook set up. GTX 480M is based on GTX 465, similar to the GTX 460.

Juniper GPU's have similar Crossfire scaling to Broadway XT, I assume.

If you look in desktop forums around the internet, you'll find the GTX 460 SLI as the "golden" setup right now.

Also take Fermi's better performance in tessellation into consideration as well.

Aside from this, I wouldn't go for the multi-GPU setup. For someone who wants it to be good from the get-go and not have to troubleshoot latency issues, etc, single GPU is superior.

 

As much as I love my 5870, I would go with the single GTX480. The 8850 is a beast of rig, an absolute monster, and you won't have the hassle of Xfire...

 

thanks for all the suggestions guys. i'll be ordering my Sager NP8850 through xoticpc some time next week when i have time. i really appreciated all of yur help and information.

 

I believe there are laptops with dual GTX 480M... Only if you have the budget.

 

Congratulations Houstoned =D
I wish you and your new beauty every happiness.

 

Don't forget one of the most attractive selling points of the M17x is the RGB LED, nothing else even comes close.

Also, talk to the Alienware guys, there are always rumors that the 480M will land on the M17x.

 

Great choice!
Still, if I were you, I'd wait.
Don't neglect the screen - M17X RGB LED is the best TN screen out there and that's a huge deal when it comes to gaming.
Even a single 5870 is not far behind a single 480M in terms of smooth gameplay. AW rocks. I have M17X for almost a year now - very happy with it.
You can grab one with a single 5870 and upgrade later on to 2x or maybe even 2x470M/480M?/2x6870/etc.

Anyway, it's up to you and XoticPC is a good place to buy a Clevo

Look@ the review in my sig. There's one screen which is better. It's an IPS though.

 

480M's in SLI have to come to the M17x sooner or later. Dell could be clearing stock. Inventories of 480M's could be thin (would hardly be a shock with Nvidia...). But sooner or later, it's bound to come.

 

what? You haven't ordered yet after annoucing it was comming? ... but seriously , i think a single 480M should already be great for gaming.. if u have a huge budget go with dual 5870... Crossfire might not be as good as SLI but seriously , dual 4870s were even pwening the dual 285Ms.... but i'd get a GTX480M.. its more than enough really speaking..