Nvidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX

Hi, I'm buying a new gaming desktop replacement to get me through 4 years of college, and I was wondering If the 7950 GTX is a good investment. It's either that or wait till a DX10 card for laptops comes out right? or is there a third option I'm missing? Any input would be much appreciated. (BTW: I'm getting a Dell XPS 1710 with pretty much maxed out specs, if it makes a difference)

 

Can you wait a few months? Do you absolutely need the laptop now? If you don't need the laptop now, wait a few months before you actually need it. With the lightspeed pace that current technology comes at us, anything you buy now will be outdated within 3 months (as you mention above, DX10 mobile GPUs, the new Santa Rosa chipset from Intel, etc.)

This is just a random suggestion - instead of spending $3000 on a laptop, why don't you spend $1200 notebook (say, a Dell E1505 or HP dv6000t) equipped skimpily with a Core 2 Duo T5600, Geforce 7400/Radeon X1400, and 1 GB of RAM, and then spend $1800 on building your own desktop from Newegg? For $1750 I can equip a Core 2 Duo E6600, 2 GB of PC6400 RAM, a P5B-Deluxe Asus motherboard, an OCZ 600W power supply, an Antec P180 case, DVD burner/hard drive, and a Geforce 8800GTX. Yes, an 8800GTX. The desktop will definitely be much more powerful than the M1710.

You can bring the notebook to and from class, and just have it to take notes, and you can do the majority of your computing on the awesome desktop. Best part about the desktop is that when it gets outdated, you don't have to replace the entire laptop. You can pick and choose the parts and upgrade it yourself.

 

Or try out the Clevo m570u, Sager NP5760. Cheaper, and better build quality, and more bonuses, like dual hDD's, number pad, and cheaper! Has a 7950GTX

 

i will second that. The Dell XPS 1710 is NOT worth its price tag... not even close. Its just a modified e1705 with lights, not worth the extra $800.

The Clevo M570U (a.k.a. Sager 5760, Aviator CX7, Rock Xtreme CTX) is a far superior system in build quality and features.... especially in pricing and support from many reputable resellers.

Read the Clevo Guide in this forum for further info of Clevo and their resellers.

 

Personally, at this point I would wait for DX10 cards. I assume you're not going to college in about August... in which case DX10 cards for laptops should be out. If not, then you can look at a laptop with the 7950GTX. However, if you need something now, I second FREN's suggestion. I have a 17" DTR... and it is not ideal for college. At first I thought it was OK, but looking back, I should have gone with a 14" or a 13.3". I probably would have gotten a MacBook and waited a while and built a nice Desktop with an 8800GTX, but that's me.

 

Get a desktop with e6600, p5b deluxe, 8800gtx (or x2800xtx2 ), 2gb pc-6400, 19" monitor, Vista, for like $1800 and get a used laptop from dell outlet thats capable of running word 2007, internet (T2050, 512mb ram, 60gb HD, 950GMA) for like $500.

edit: actually check that, you probably couldn't get that for $500.
Here's one (new) for $549:
http://gateway.com/systems/product/529664844.php

 

If you want it right now, the 7950GTX is a beast and will last you quite awhile. It won't let you play the newest games four years from now though, at least not at decent frame rates.

If you can wait two to three months, there might* be a reliable high end DX10 card for laptops available by then. That would be the best value for performance and longevity.

*Emphasis on this word.

 

is there anywhere a guide on buying/building your own desktop from new egg? i have never done it before and it sounds REALLY interesting.
its just that its so complicated/hard sounding. like i heard some graphics cards wont even fit into some cases and such.
will an ATX chasis be like good for every card? probably not.....
the only problem i have is self installation... i'd really love it if theres a guide that guides you through what you need to buy etc....

my budget is $ 2500 and im looking to buy a desktop (with monitor) for college aswell..... UNLESS a dx10 notebook comes out in the next few months.....ahh....

 

Well, as far as guides go, a quick google search will turn up tons of results.
For $2500 you can get one beast of a system, and if you see it lacking later on, you can always upgrade it for much cheaper than buying a whole new laptop. I would create a new thread in the desktop section asking for advice on what to get based on your budget and needs.

 

$2,500 buys an insane desktop, you honestly only need to spend around $1,500 or so. You can then spend the rest on a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and so on . . then again, there's nothing wrong with saving money either.

link1313 posted a good setup.

I'd go for something like that as well:
-Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4GHz/4MB)
-8800GTX (or GTS, save some money)
-2GB RAM
-Whatever hard drive you want
-Vista Premium
-Asus P5B (beautiful); could go with a lesser one to save money
-Decent case
- Good PSU

Don't cheap out on the PSU, it's extremely important. The OCZ PowerStream ones are excellent.

I believe there is a guide in the Desktop Hardware forum to building your own desktop.

 

the thing is that im not sure about the case/tower.... because from what i've heard, some cards (im refering to the new R60 coming out) are 12 inches!!
how do i know my tower can hold that?!

 

i think i will make another post when the R60 comes out in the desktop forum.

 

It's slightly outdated. I can write a new one in the next few days if I get some free time.

Most midtowers will support the Radeon X2900XT (remember the retail version of the R60 is called the Radeon X2900XT; the OEM version that retailers such as Dell or Alienware will use is the 2900XTX, which is 12.4" long. The consumer version of R60 is only 10" long). You won't have to worry about fitting the ultra long X2900XTX, because the engineers at Dell will do it for you if you buy a Dell desktop.

For a fact, the Antec 900 and P180 series support the 8800GTX, which is pushing 11" in length. Those are two excellent gaming cases that you should look into.

 

thanks so much, i shall make a post in the desktop forum a couple of months later when i'm ready to make a purchase