Laptop Gaming Choices

So I'm in a position where I want to trade my Sager Np7280 for another laptop that has hdmi in. I've limited my choices to a Clevo x8100 or Alienware m18x. Right now I have a trade offer pending for a Clevo x8100 Core I7 720qm 8gb ram ATI 2x 5870 Crossfire 320gb 18.4" 1920 x 1080p are the specs. My laptop has i7 950, 6gb triple channel ram(vs 8gb dual channel) 1.5gb 460m sli, Intel 80gb ssd(primary) two 320gb 7200rpm drives(raid 0) 320gb 5400rpm drive(back up) and a 17.3" 1900x1080 screen. My reasoning is this is actually quite a downgrade for me and I wanted some second opinions on the matter. From what I've seen the 5870m crossfire really doesn't have a big leap over 460m sli, a few fps difference on average. Other thoughts and opinions on the matter?

 

Seems like a moderate CPU downgrade as well as a storage downgrade in return for a slight GPU upgrade and your HDMI in port. I would at least keep the SSD out of the bargain if I were going to make a trade like that...

 

I wouldn't trade it, the CPU you're using is a desktop CPU which has a huge edge over the laptop you're trading for.
Also sli gtx460m is almost on par with the hd5870m, specially slightly oced.
Sli works ten times better than crossfire, better driver support and scaling, not to mention added features such Physx and cuda.
If you need an hdmi in just get a cheap monitor, you can find plenty under $180, and keep your beast.
Your laptop is easily upgradable to more ram and better gpu. Unless you really need the hdmi in for some vital reasons, granted.
To Ati users: I'm not starting an argument here, I'm talking about personal experience. I owned crossfire and sli desktops/laptop (5870 xfire,6850 xfire and gtx260 sli/9800m gtx sli)but I've always had an insane amount of headaches with xfire, drivers and so on.sli was easy and trouble free 95% of times.

 

The hdmi in is crucial but the trade was called off which is probably for the better. I'm really downgrading space so my there isn't really any room for an external monitor and a lot of other things. Thanks for the extra input guys

 

A desktop core i7 950 is a way more powerful compared to a 1.6ghz core i7 720m. Don't do the trade. That's a huge downgrade

5870 xfire vs 460 sli is pretty much even

The only thing you gain is about an inch of screen real estate...not worth it in my opinion