P-173XL FX or P-7811FX

Iam about to get the 173XL, but should a wait for the 7811FX. I know it has a slightly better gpu, but is it worth the wait? How bout the cpu, and less no 2nd hdd?

 

It truly is a tough decision, mate.

You just have to look at them for what they are and what your budget is.
The 173FX can be had for 1,360 while the 7811FX is going to set you back 1,450.

From a technical standpoint, the 7811 is superior.
However, you can find the 173FX used for much cheaper.

So it's really something you need to consider on your own...

In my personal opinion, the 7811FX is worth the wait. The only thing that would cause me to get a 173 at the last minute would be a substantially lower price.

 

Elementrat same mistake again!

XL not X! XL not X!

I would suggest waiting as the 7811FX's configuration may still change.

 

Wtfbbq.
Looks like I



My apologies.

Updated Opinion:
I would definitely stick with the 7811FX.

 

I would also recommend waiting for the 7811. Its only a couple of weeks.

 

I would wait on the fact that it has montiviana, and a few other enhancments. Plus it comes out in a few days so no harm in waiting that long for a better laptop.

 

Sorry could you explain? The processor is worse than the P-173xl fx's right? and also what are the other enhancements that make it better. From what I've seen, theres two advantages to the 7811 - the GPU and the chipset. The GPU is 9800GTS vs the 8800GTS in the 173, but I hear they're both equal in performance more or less. The PM45 chipset in the 7811 allows for DDR3 memory, but its so new that its not all that much better than DDR2 (yet).

Now heres what the 173 has that the 7811 does not:
Better processor
2 HDDs in Raid-0 config accounting for double the space that the 7811 has.
Fingerprint reader
Everything else not mentioned pretty much the same.

The cost difference is about $200. So what do you think? I've seen people say overall the 173 is superior, and others say that the 7811 is superior.

 

I don't normally bump but I'm really trying to decide between these two laptops.

 

Get the 7811 FX. It's going to last for at least 4 years with the power it packs.

Major Advantages: 9800m GTS, 4GB DDR3 memory and 1920x1200 screen resolution.
Only disadvantage: No Bluetooth.

 

Thats a pretty bold statement to make, especially since its completely wrong.

A system from 4 years ago is crap compared to the ones available now.

Even getting a 5K Sager isnt really going to help you out in 4 years. The system will still work 4 years from now (baring something unfortunate) but the 7811 will be outdated tech in probably 2 years tops.

In 4 years mobile quads will be in 500 dollar laptops and the 9800gts will be sitting right along with them. Tech just simply moves to fast to ever "future proof" yourself in a laptop.


As to the original question.
the 7811 is a superior machine because of the tech that comes with it. You can still upgrade it (from what we can tell) just like every other FX machine so when low latency DDR3 comes out you can swap over and you start with pretty equivalent tech other wise. The 9800 will run a bit cooler and give you about 4% better performance (mostly due to clock speeds which alot of people have found the 8800gts can match pretty easily)

Having said that though the performance wont be THAT much of a difference so basically i would go with which ever lappy is cheaper or fits your budget better. If you can drop the 1449+tax on the 7811 then go for it, but if the 173 is cheaper and you don't care about 1 extra FPS that much then go for the 173

 

The 173 is actually $150 more expensive...

 

I totally agree with you Kamin_Majere.

I thing buying 6860FX for 1099$ offer that was a bargain truly.

 

ah then i wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole then, as the 7811 is clearly the superior choice in this case. As your not getting anything better in the 173 and your actually paying more for the pleasure.

Thats really odd, i guess they are banking on not everyone knowing about the 7811 yet

 

You actually get 2-200 GB hard drives in Raid 0 configuration and built in bluetooth. That's about it.

 

Also the proccecor of 173 has 4 mb of lvl2 cache vs. 3 mb on 7811.
I think it's better, considering how people say that DDR3 and 1066 mHz fsb
doesn't really impact your performance, and neither does 9800GTS over 8800GTS(although notebookcheck claims that 9800GTS>8800GTX, which is in turn better than 8800GTS)
I would say you would get more out of 173's processor,
and more out of 7811 videocard.
but 7811 does look better on paper so far, except for the processor.

If we could get some benchmarks in to compare their performance, then you can tell for sure.

However the deciding factor is the screen. 1400x900 is just way too small. Period.
Don't get anything less than 1920x1200,
it feels uncomfortable to work when you can only see 1.5 window at a time.

So 7811 wins because of its' screen.

But if the other model also has WUXGA screen then they are about equal.

 

The 173 has a faster processor, twice the HDD with Raid-0 configuration, and a fingerprint reader if you care that much about it.

We're comparing to the P-173xl FX, which has the same screen as the P-7811.



So opinions again?

 

Erm, the 173XL has a 3 mb l2 cache as well.

 

dtwn is right. And while the 173's processor is more GHz, the 7811's processor uses 10W less (T8300 in 173 uses 35watts, P8400 in 7811 uses 25watts). The 7811's processor also has a faster bus speed (1066 vs 800 in 173).

 

Technically theres not going to be much difference between a 2.26gHz CPU and a 2.4gHz CPU. And truth be told i suspect that the CPU in the 7811 will preform exactly the same as the t8300 in real world use or in artificial benchmarks.

Your pitting 140mHz better speed of the t8300) against a 399mHz better FSB (p8400) in a chip that uses 10 watts less power. Its going to be a very close race, but the power/heat reduction of the p8400 makes it alot better choice in a laptop

As to the Hard drive... Neither configuration is very good. I would rather have 2x5400RPM 320gb drives in RAID, and if you just wanted the 200gb drives then you can easily pay the difference in price to upgrade to another HDD (the BIOS auto recognize RAID and basically sets it up for you)

The fingerprint reader is a non-issue to me as is the blue tooth. I don't personally care for either option. Some people do, but i could care less if i can sync my phone to my computer (and the mice suck) and i have never cared about typing in a password over running my finger over a optical screen. So if these things are selling points to you then you would have to add in the expense of getting these things in the 7811. But to me its non-issue items.

Actually the t8300 is limited to 667 by the moterboard in the previous FX lines. You cant actually run 800mHz in the 173

 

Could you provide a second source that the 173 can only run the processor FSB at 667? If you can do that and if you're telling me that I can put a second HDD in the 7811 and make it Raid, then I'm definitely switching to the 7811. Thanks for your help Kamin, let me know.

So again:
-Are you pretty sure that the processor bus is only run at 667 on the 173?
-Are you 99% sure that I can put a second HDD in the 7811 (granted I have the expertise to do so). I.E., does it have a second HDD bay? and you think I'd be able to make it raid?

Thanks. Oh and the fingerprint reader. I don't care that much about it, and I know bluetooth is a battery hog and I would only need it when I'm on battery. So I dont care about bluetooth either. If I really want some kind of security like the fingerprint reader, I'll probably just downloaded facial recognition software for the built-in-camera, but I doubt it.

 

But what if someone takes a picture of you and uses it to get past facial recognition program?

 

Asus's SmartLogon advertises that it's so good it can differentiate between a person and a photograph. Hopefully I could find something that good if I really wanted it.

 

Can we revisit this topic now that the 7811 is out.

Would some of you decide to select the 173 now that the 7811 seems to have quality issues? Or would you simply wait for the 7811 to get sorted out up to spec? If you're going to wait, how long...Christmas?

Thanks.

 

The p-173xl fx is running on 800mhz bus, not 667.

I'd say if you want 400gb in a raid0 config, built in fingerprint reader and bluetooth along with windows vista ultimate 64bit OS and don't mind paying another four hundred bucks for those differences then go for the p173xl-fx

(I know dell charges like $150 just to upgrade from vista home/premium to vista ultimate, so to get all those additional hardware features in the 173xl fx along with vista ultimate is a pretty good deal.)

 

Santa Rosa is capped at 667mhz.

 

Well, now since Raid issue with P7811 has been resolved with the new bios, I really see no reason to get P-173XL over P-7811FX. Unless you really insist on having integrated fingerprint reader and bluetooth and paying hudreds of $ for those. And if you really are concerned about the quality, there is always a chance your P173XL might be a lemon too. Its an unfortunate fact with the new medium-range laptop setups that the overall quality is not very good in general. More mass production = more chance for sub-quality products.

 

It's also well known that the longer a pc/notebook is in the market the better quality will be towards the end of it's life cycle. Bugs and production issues do tend to get worked out and quality goes up. My knowledge of this comes from working 10 years at Gateway. I've worked directly with support and the engineers fixing the issues.

That said, I do want the 7811, but maybe it's safer to wait further into it's life to purchase instead of going with a possibly more solid 173x or xl. That's my dilemma.

 

Worked as what?
1. CEO?
2. Accountant?
3. Stocking shelves?
4. Janitor?
5. Door Man?

 

Regardless, this information that he learned over 10 years was stuff we already knew

Anyway, get the 7811, join the revolution. I researched 173 vs 7811 for a long time, even created two threads about it, and the conclusion was always get the 7811.

 

Agree whole heartedly Mr. Jakamo

 

its up to you if you want to play rightaway buy if you want to wait wait!

 

Program Manager and Administrator, working and managing all aspects of the online support. In the early years, I spent time in manufacturing and technical support.

 

I think it's possible I may know a few things more about Gateway than someone who hasn't worked there for 10 years. It's possible.

I do appreciate all input from all posters. That's why I asked my questions. Thanks to all who gave advice.

 

Anything is possible. Claiming any connection to tech support could have interesting reactions here.

I was just curious as to your capacity. (my last internet girl friend was an evil smelling fat guy with acne) Glad to have you here.