Sager NP9370 680m vs SLi 670mx

First post on this forum, but I'm looking at buying a new notebook from Xotic PC (xoticpc.com) and at first I was thinking of rolling MSI, but then I came across Sager and fell in love. Jesting aside, I'm looking at the NP9370 model and had a few questions. The first is in the title, and that is whether or not I should get a standalone 680m or SLi enabled dual 670mx. I'm not bothered with playing games on medium settings, and I feel like two high end graphics cards could perform better then a standalone higher end card. I'm not big on the hardware when it comes to graphics cards, so if I could know the pro's and con's, that would be great. Batterywise, I feel as though the single GPU will outperform the SLi enabled 670mx's.

Also, I wasn't sure if I would be able to upgrade later, maybe to the 700m series when they come out. I don't know if it is possible to tell this early, but I would care for anyone's opinion.

Looking for help, any answer is appreciated!

 

If you aren't all that concerned with performance, you'd be better off getting a Sager NP9150/70 with a single 680m. The 680m will outperform two 670mx's, and the NP9150/70 will offer more portability and battery life than the NP9370.

If you want to go all out in terms of performance, then the NP9370 with 680m sli is a good option. I always suggest Alienware laptops as well when it comes to high end gaming machines, as they offer better build quality, cooling, and warranty than the competition. I've had a couple Sagers in the past, and while I really enjoyed owning them, I'm happy I made the jump to AW.

 

definitely 680m > 670mx sli, and for my taste, 9150 > 9370 (need some portability)

 

It all depends on personal preference. I used to feel the same way as you, but I've really grown to enjoy 17-18" screens, especially since I've got the M11x for portability. 15" is a good middle ground between portability and screen size though.

 

If I were you I would go with the dual 670mx configuration. It is a good bang for the buck and two is better than one. Granted, the 680m is a beast alone, one really can't beat the dual 670mx pair. Trust me, you will not regret it.

 

It can, easily, with the correct vBIOS

Also change your signature instead of posting your specs in the post.

 

Excellent point jaug1337. Additionally, you're right about the signature. I need to be patient and wait until my 5 posts are up. I hope our feedback addresses your dillemma NotGnimer.

 

I have an m17x, I like the bigger screen too that's why I wrote "for my taste"

but I mean, getting the 12 pounder for 670mx sli?? come on...

 

You're better off getting a single 680m instead of 670mx SLI. It's night and day difference. 680m is still faster than 670mx in SLI plus 680m can overclock decently.

 

The whole issue is thus:

What's faster here? SLI GTX 460s (670MX desktop equivalent) or one GTX 570 (680M desktop equivalent)?

The 670MXs overclock VERY well; easily jumping up to GTX 560 Ti levels and leveling the playing field rather quickly, even with the 680M pushed up a ways.

No one has really seen how far you can push the 670MXs, and I plan on snagging one for my R2 here. Lower TDP than the 6970M and faster? Yes please. Might let me overclock for a change.

 

In games that favor SLI setups the 670MX dual card setup will win out in terms of performance. Of course to do this the 670MX cards need to be bumped up to 750mhz + but apparently they OC well. Even a hugely OCed 680M would struggle to match them in a well SLI optimised game. 1920 shaders too vs even the 1536 shaders on the more powerful 680MX!

 

but 192 bit vs 256 bit, makes a HUGE difference, at least in 3dmark11 680m will handsomely outperform 670mx sli.

 

Please tell me of any games that "favor" SLI setups. Most games will be 60-80% improvement over single card. Not sure how a game can favor SLI, it's all in the drivers.

Exactly. Of course in SLI 192 bit is decent considering it's more or less rendering half the resolution of the screen with traditional SFR, which would be preferred for this type of card over AFR. But it still can't hold a candle to a single 680m in any instance.

 

Considering the 680M is about 60% faster than the 670MX (less when you factor in stock vram). That means it would at least be neck and neck at stock speeds. If you OC 680M and 670MX though I am pretty sure 670MX will still be in the lead. Perhaps not by a lot but still as good or better in some instances.

 

I am not sure if you can get a 8.5k 3dmark11 gpu score out of 670mx sli (after all you will lose added performance of OC from the second card as it bumps up the performance by about 60ish percent), would be certainly interested in seeing someone try though..

 

I haven't owned Sagers, so can't accurately address you questions, but if you haven't already, you might try asking in the Sager forum here. It's likely you could find folks with the setups you are asking about there, and get some actual benchmarks for similar systems to compare. Also a great place to find support if you do decide to get the laptop - if it's anything like the Alienware forum, it'll be full of incredibly knowledgable folks!

(edited because I scuk at splelnig. )

 

Ah I think I misread this thread. I was thinking more along the lines of the 675MX!! That is SLI and as a single card is of course much more powerful than the 670MX. My bad. Perhaps in fact therefore the 670MX even in SLI really would struggle to come close to 680M.

 

670MX SLI are much faster then a single 680m, infact OCed they are faster then 680m SLI. My duel 670mx pulls 12600 GPU score in 3dmark 11 View attachment 100339 24/7 stable

 

how did you manage a 70 percent overclock?

 

That's an awesome OC there. Touch and go if its faster than 680m SLI though. I've seen many higher 680m SLI scores at stock speeds. Either way though, great bench.

 

He was sarcastic, even a single OC'd 680m is faster than 670m SLI. Score is fake...

I though it was obvious.