Selling my X7200 for Alienware M18x. Good idea?

Hello guys,

I need your opinion about this. I have this laptop:

Clevo X7200
CPU I-950 3ghz
480M SLI
6 gig Ram DDR
Bluray player
Windows 7 basic

I have this for November 2010 and this is in perfect condition. Slightly used and I did not use it too much for gaming since I was occupied with Gears of War and Marvel vs Capcom 3 on that time. I really wanted to either:

a) Sell it for $2200 and I will give also an extra laptop (Gateway 7811 FX) for free.
b) Trade it with M18x with CF 7970m and I will pay extra.

The reason why because I do not know how long the x7200 will be supported with the new video cards. At least the M18x, it can be upgrade able for future years to come.

So what do you think? Should I sell this or just upgrade my video cards to the latest possible cards(7970M)?

 

Two questions:

Why are you using Windows 7 Home Basic on a machine that cost thousands of dollars?

and

You've had this for a year and a half and you haven't used it much for gaming. Do you really need an upgrade right now? Why not wait until you really need it? By that time, if future cards are still compatible, you can put in 8990M's/780M's or buy used (or new) 7970M's if the future cards aren't compatible.

Someone trading an M18x with dual 7970m's for this would probably want well over a thousand dollars thrown in with the trade, very possibly two or three times that. Again, if you didn't game much with your several thousand dollar machine in the first year and a half of owning it, is it really worth upgrading?

 

I did game but its not as much as playing my console games. If the video card is really strong, It will motivate me to play this Laptop. Unfortunately when i got the 480m gtx SLI and the 485m gtx game out, the diffrence was huge. I felt discourage.

Now I heard Sager would not support this unit in the long run. At least on the M18x, its a future proof upgradeable machine

 

Your machine is still faster than the vast majority of laptops out there, even specialized gaming laptops. If you want to throw away a couple thousand dollars to get even faster, nobody's stopping you, I just wonder if there's any really good reason to do so.

If you had an Audi A8, would you stop driving it when you saw someone else driving a Bentley? You may not have the greatest laptop out there, but you're near the top of the heap. Shouldn't that be enough? Especially when you're gambling on the possibility that you'll play more games if you've got a faster machine. Why not start playing on this machine and then upgrade when it feels inadequate - that way you know you'll be getting your money's worth out of the upgrade rather than just leaving it to gather dust again?

 

Nope worst decision ever made in the history of mankind, you should go home and rethink your life.

 

Ok, then I will wait for the upgrade then, huh?
How fast is my CPU compared to the m18x alienware ones?

 

According to Passmark, it's not quite as fast as most Sandy Bridge mobile quad cores, and Ivy Bridge will be faster yet, but you've got room to upgrade as high as an i7 990X desktop CPU, which is faster than any mobile Sandy Bridge i7's, XM's included. It's possible that the Ivy Bridge XM processors that will soon be available in the newest M18x's (if they aren't already) will be faster than that, but either way your upgrade path puts you near the top of the CPU charts, and your current CPU is no slouch.

Like with the GPUs, is there any reason, other than scoring higher on benchmarks, that you want or need a faster processor in your X7200? The i7 950 not going to bottleneck even dual 7970M's in games, so the necessity of an upgrade would have to lie in other applications you use.

 

Oh , so I just need to upgrade only my video cards to play better games,right?

 

Just keep the x7200. It still has the capabilities to play most current games at max/high settings. Heck, I have a i7 920 and 280M GTX and most of my games are on either max/high or mid settings. Not worth the thousand dollar upgrade at the moment, especially since you've barely used it.

 

You have asked the whole cpu vs gpu thing before.

Multiple people have told you the cpu DOES NOT matter in gaming.

 

WHAAA-?

Who said that?

You think the calculations in games are driven solely by GPU?

Lol try and play any RTS and tell me CPU does not matter.

 

The OP's i7 950 is completely and utterly fine for gaming for the next 3-4 years. He doesn't understand that upgrading is a waste.

Yes RTS's (??) are very CPU intensive but honestly, and recent C2D is more than enough. And a desktop processor is overkill.

 

try playing shogun 2 with max settings, in a battle with more than 30k man. Good luck.

granted this is as hard as it can get, Sc2? pitiful compared to S2 in terms of hardware needs

but yeah there is no need for the OP to start this all over again, the x7200 is still quite good, and if he goes for a new gpu it will be better

 

You said this with a 4.4GHz, overclocked i5.

 

A good CPU is almost a must have for any game. Those who say the opposite should carefully check their sources.
Granted a mid level CPU is enough to achieve a decent performance but a good high end CPU makes a world of difference.
Similar difference as having a mid level gpu and an high end one. Usually it translates with 4-6fps difference on average, with more than 10fps in some examples.
From my personal experience jumping from the old core 2 quad such qx9650 to an i5 translated to 12fps of average in a lot of games with same gpu.
In the OP case however his current CPU is more than enough, however I advice to take into consideration to upgrade it to an higher model as other adviced.
First gen i7 are still turbo charged compared to most i5/i7 mobile CPUs, even compared to second gen versions.
Also don't bother with an upgrade, I just got a confirmation from Eurocom that 7970m has been tested and found working even in crossfire, so just wait for it to be available.
Out of curiosity thought, how does a gtx480m sli performs? Like a single 580m, or a bit better?

 

Tell that to ppl who play FSX and Arma 2

 

Same as 580m . I want to upgrade my cards now. Right now I am playing Skyrim but I want to make my dream come true by playing crysis 1 60fps maxsettings

 

Better upgrading into the 7970M as Kingpinzero said. No need to buy a new machine, or when you do want to buy a new machine at least wait until the newest Tock by Intel

 

Many recent games employ high end cpus very well like witcher 2, bf3, even crysis 2,...

I decided to get the M17x R5 or whatever it will be called when haswell is available

 

Even if the CPU matters that much (and imo it really doesn't...the only real difference is between dual-, quad, hexa- etc), that desktop processor is still great even for the most CPU-intensive games. GPU > CPU for pretty much all gaming-related issues.

 

i7 950 will bottleneck dual 7970m's easily. I7 950 like you said is slow to mobile sandy bridge cpu's. Notebookcheck showed only the i3 bottlenecked I believe a gtx 560m. Howver a 7970m can max every game out at 1080p at decent fps so i7 950 will not bottleneck the 7970m on its own but dual it should.

A 3612qm i7 35w as shown on the acer v3 thrread scoring 5490 cpu score is similar speed to the i7 950 130w cpu score 5575 which is quite funny:
Intel Lynnfield Core i5-750 & Core i7-870 Processor Review - Page 16

forum.notebookreview.com/gaming-software-graphics-cards/650239-nbr-exclusive-first-hand-review-intel-ivy-bridge-nvidia-geforce-gt-640m-discussion.html

 

If you can get $2200 for your used laptop then I would say go for it. At that rate you can buy a new M18x with dual 7970M's without putting another dime down if you get a good deal.

 

Good job, but you also missed mid 2009 MBP 13: 2.26 c2d

 

So I have to upgrade my CPU as well or else having dual 7970m is a waste of money and won't play my Crysis 60fps maxed out,right??


MOD NOTE: Please don't attempt to bypass the language filter.

 

Before you do "upgrade" anything, what FPS are you getting for crysis, right now?

Are you sure Max settings in crysis is worth all of this effort? I played on Med settings 1080p and it looked fantastic.

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk

 

15 to 30 fps max settings 1080p. I want to play 45 to 60fps on dual crossfire 7970m

 

If you're hell-bent on upgrading during this generation, get the dual 7970m's. If they perform at a lower level than you expected, upgrade to a better first-gen i7.

 

Yeah I really wouldn't gimp on the CPU again. I did when I bought this computer, I got the cheapest C2D offered (2.2GHz) and let me tell you: it sucks balls. Physics? Better turn that down as low as I can if I want to be able to move and look around at the same time.

 

Hmmm ok, I'll just upgrade my GPU for now. I just hope the 7970m is available ASAP.

 

I would change your i7 950 to anything that is a mobile cpu. Yours is an unefficient 45nm cpu that is a 130w tdp cpu. If you can upgrade to a 32nm sandy bridge or 22nm ivy bridge cpu I would. The i7 950 may be powerful enough for dual 7970m's for 60fps but to get the top fps you need a faster cpu.

AMD Radeon HD 7970 Review - CPU Comparison w/ Core i7-920 | Widescreen Gaming Forum

The problem is I believe is your i7 950 maybe enough for the 7970 but will be on the limit for both cards so if you want fraps you won't ave any perfomance left behind.

If I was you I would get something like a 3820qm and 2 7970m's when they are out instead of upgrading your desktop laptop type rig. Not worth the hassle.

 

I don't want to use Fraps for gaming. I just want to play my games maxed out 60fps. The games I want to play are

Crysis 1 and 2 with high res texture mods
Skyrim with high res graphic mods
Ghost Recon Future Soldier
Diablo 2 and 3
Batman Arkham Asylum and Arkham City
Grand Theft Auto 4 With high res texture mods
Starcraft 2

Now tell me, can my unit play these games maxed out 60fps on dual 7970m cf without upgrading my CPU?

 

I am not an expert but I am sure dual 7970m should play every game at 60fps at 1080p, maybe some games with less aa or af but should run on average 60 fps. However I really think you should upgrade your cpu to an ivy bridge or even sandy bridge laptop cpu like a 2860qm or 3820qm as it would then be more better as a laptop heat wise.

 

This. If you can 2,2k for that machine just sell it and get a m18x. It'll cost less than buying 7970m's seperately, and you get a new machine.

 

Except he can't upgrade to a mobile chip inside his X7200. Besides, that i7-950 is more than enough (especially when paired with CrossFire 7970m's) to plow through those games.

Honestly, even with traditionally CPU-intensive games (RTS games, for example), even a first-gen i5 would be good enough. There's no good reason to blow a grand on an i7-990X (the only feasible way he could upgrade the X7200's CPU).

@OP: Your laptop is fine, if you want to upgrade it, focus solely on the GPU. Your CPU is fine, don't worry about it. Upgrading the CPU means you'll have to buy a whole new laptop anyway (since for the price of a better i7-9xx, you could put that money towards a max-spec m18x)... Antcually, it'lll be easier to buy a new machine than to upgrade GPUs anyway, so the m18x (or whatever else is on your mind) would involve the least hassle. If you do so, the i7-3610qm will be **more than enough** for that list of games. Don't be told otherwise; for the price of a dubious CPU upgrade (~$100+), you could put that money towards a SSD, which would actually give you a noticeable boost in performance, something I can't say for the next step up from a base i7 quad.

 

I wonder who will buy my unit if I sell the unit.

I mean 2 laptops for 2200 that are both in amazing condition? I wonder where...

 

Could always try the NBR marketplace

 

Well, if you don't already have a buyer lined up then you're probably better off just upgrading the GPUs.

You can try NBR or Craigslist or Ebay or something but I doubt anybody's going to want to spend 2.2k on an used laptop when there's a bunch of alternatives that are new.

 

you wouldn't happen to know the model of the motherboard that is in it?

 

What about $1750?

 

Review Deviltech HellMachine DTX (Clevo X7200) Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

I wouldn't even buy that laptop for £500 lol as it really is just old gen desktop cpu with first rubbish revision power hungry 480m's on sli. Thats more like an old gen desktop with the most power hungry parts you can get.

Don't get me wrong the laptops performance wise is great overall but 5.87kg 271.9w for a 17.3 laptop is not great.

Its like those xps gen 9100 p4 laptops when pentium m performed the same and the whole system on full load took less then a p4 system on idle.

 

Is the i7-3610qm a very powerful CPU for these games?

 

And what's the difference between m18x r1,r4,etc?

 

it should be enough

think of them as new version with upgraded hardware, refinement etc.
M17x R4 and M18x R2 are the latest right now.

Btw you can edit to add into your post if there is no reply yet.

 

The i7 3610qm is okay cpu slightly faster then your i7 950 but more importantly has switchable intel hd 4000 graphics integrated for great battery life. A 3610qm will be enough and the difference between m18x r1 and r2 is ivy bridge 22nm vs r1 sandy bridge 32nm cpu and igpu and the r1 has 40nm graphics vs the 28nm graphics avvailable in the 7970m for the r2.

 

Alright, you keep thinking that then. Honestly, if someone offered me a X7200 for USD$789, I'd snatch it up! I don't even have a use for it; I'd just resell it for more, since other people obviously value the X7200 more than you.

You want to talk about a weak CPU? Should look at *any* of the i7's then. A "weak" CPU is a Celeron or a Sempron. Hell, his i7-950 has a Passmark score of 6,415, whereas a Sandy Bridge -2720QM has a score barely higher than that ( source). Either one is overkill for the games he said he'll play.

If OP wants to burn money on a marginally-better CPU, fine, but I think OP will be better off using said money to buy a decent SATAIII SSD, which he'll notice a performance improvement *without* having to reference benchmarking scores (otherwise nobody would know the difference between a -2720QM and -2820QM, for example).

Yes, defintiely. Full stop.

Revisions, as long2905 stated.

 

As a laptop cpu the i7 950 being a desktop cpu is very power hungry. In terms of if I was buying for £500 laptop to use I would not as it is too power hungry and probably would overheat and I am not on about selling it. Also I have resold stuff for 100%- profits to 500% profits on laptops in the past but the point I was trying to make is as a laptop to use I wouldn't use it.

The i7 950 is one of the weakest cpu's out there for performance per watt though. Sandy bridge cut down idle and desktop cpu wise max power consumtpion and reduced heat.

At the end of the day its like having a core i7 desktop cpu in a laptop that takes lets say 80w more idle then having a sandy bridge or ivy bridge cpu, and it running hotter, laptop weighing 1.5kg more to complement the slower cpu. At the end of the day, if anyone had the attitude the performance is okay theres no point upgrading then we will be stuck with pentium 4's in laptops when pentium m embarrassed it with its new architecture of shorter pipleines faster performance at same nm and 50w less tdp.

I would prefer selling the laptop and upgrading to a real laptop not a desktop weight and battery life and cpu being rubbish into a portable package.

 

Okay then, as far as performance per watt I agree. I was under the understanding that we were talking about raw performance, period, however.

 

So, how does affect this on games?

 

It's still a powerful processor and will work for your listed games, but since it's a desktop CPU, don't expect the X7200 to be very mobile (though you probably already know this).

 

If i get the cash (let's say im going to waste money).. which is better for gaming in the long run?

a) upgrading my X7200 with 7970mCF or

b) buying these specs:


Congratulations! You are done personalizing!
My Components
PROCESSOR 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit edit
MEMORY 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s edit
VIDEO CARD Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 7970M - CrossFireX™ Enabled edit
WIRELESS + BLUETOOTH Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 With Bluetooth 4.0 edit
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)