Hypersonic w/ GeForce 6800 Go Ultra

Googling around for other notebooks that have announced the 6800 Ultra, I found the following Hypersonic notebook, which has the Ultra as an option. First time a Google search has produced anything (besides Dell) since the XPS2 was announced.

http://secure.hypersonic-pc.com/scr...ysid=Fusion_MX7

Interestingly, it's not an Aviator. It's a Fusion (?). In fact, it's not listed in their mobile section, but in their workstation section. Perhaps it means they couldn't fit the card into their Aviator lineup because of heat / power / ???

They say 14 - 18 day turnaround, but they do say limited availability (what else) on the Ultra.

Anyway, I have some q's into a rep I've been emailing back and forth with ... for one, I'm not sure you can upgrade the card like you can on the Aviator.

But this could signal the beginning of more announcements from other vendors. [ ]

I hope.

 

Nice! A bit on the expensive side... lol But hmm... The chasis looks like the Clevo 9860 -- I know the 9860 supports the Go6800 w/ GDDR3 ram, I wonder if they just essentially took a 6800 and o/c it to Ultra speed? It would definitely work in a desktop world because cooling upgrade is easily obtainable, but I wonder if the extra heat generated w/ this, in combination of the Prescott core, might be a bit too overwhelming for that case... lol

Interesting thou, I'm sure the other OEMs are gonna be doing this soon -- if the 9860 chasis proves to be able to handle the thermal/power requirement of the ultra spec.

cheers,

yass

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by msanto

 

I'm looking at the Hypersonic Fusion EX7, which appears to be the same as the Boxx GoBoxx 2200 Series, Eurocom D900T Phantom, Voodoo envy M:790, etc. They are all listed and linked on the nVidia Quadro FX Go 1400 website as mobile workstations and all appear to be the same Clevo unit.
I need the mobile workstation setup with the nVidia OpenGL card for 3dMax, but need other options also due to the fact that this is my only computer and will use it in my travels (yes, I will be carrying a 12# laptop thru the airports). Even though I have only had Dell Inspiron laptops, and must say I have been very pleased with quality/service, the Dell Precision mobile M70 workstations offer few optional 'goodies'. Strictly work and little play.
Week 2 into my research I find that 1) the Boxx people have exceptional experience/service in the workstation arena but only a 1 year warranty; 2) the Voodoo unit can be configured similar to the others, but at almost a 25% increase in cost; 3) the Hypersonic Fusion EX7 is the only one offering the 1900x1200 resolution and has a 'DEAD PIXEL' warranty; 4) All, except Dell, offer RAID and the P4 processor. Perhaps I, incorrectly, believe the P4 superior for my needs than the PM processor.
CONCLUSION:
Won't go with Dell for the reasons listed above...not quality/service.
Won't go with Voodoo at $7,500 for the same $6,000 - $6,500 units as all others above AND what I have read about them on the Forums.
Probably Hypersonic, Eurocom or Boxx...probably Hypersonic and it will be only a from a gut reaction because all the units offer the same unit. Who has the better warrany/service?

 

Hmm... I'm wondering what kind of "Play" are you looking for? Mostly, what additional feature that the Clevo offers, that the Dell doesn't? To me they both look very similiar -- only the Dell has a better CPU, better service/support, and close to half the price. lol

BTW the P-M should be the better processor for 3dmax than a p4, simply because the PM has superior floating point performance. In fact, you can say it has FAR superior floating point performance -- critical in 3d number crunching. As far as I know, no other ODM produces a similiar system to the M70, that's why you don't see anyone else carrying a Quadro based PM machine.

Maybe I'm missing something, but as far as I can tell, there are very few "extras" the Clevo offers over the m70 that are noteworthy. ?

cheers,

yass

 

Rook, I can tell you without reservation, that RAID 0 in ANYTHING is a BAD BAD BAD idea. It's even worse in a small, cramped, overheating compartment with a hot Prescott cpu next to it. lol

It has been proven with real-world tests many many times over, that for single-user desktop applications, no matter how complex, raid 0 offers next to NO performance increase, yet it dramatically increases the risk of data loss(having 2 HD working in parallel doesn't just increase the failure rate by a factor of 2 -- it's a geometrical incrase -- by a factor of FOUR!).

Check www.anandtech.com for several very in-depth analysis of raid, and where it actually benefits the system. www.storagereview.com is also another highly respected source for in depth analysis of well... HDs (it's a bit technical thou). hehe

I will not suggest a raid 0 system, not even in desktops, and definitely not in a notebook! (Believe me I have had RAID 0 arrays corrupt in my desktop once, and once was one too many. lol

Are you sure the m70 can't be configured with dual-layer writer? I thought it could for some reason... Regardless it's kinda "neat", but with the media price sky high compared to the dvd +/-R discs, plus it's almost guaranteed to be INCOMPATIBLE with everything else on the market -- I seriously doubt the usefulness of dual-layer DVD *at this time*. Situation might change 2-3 years down the road, but hey by then you might have upgraded already. I have a dual layer dvd writer in my desktop, and I haven't used the dual-layer feature ONCE since I bought it nearly a year ago!

The 2GB limit is probably the only drawback -- are you sure REVIT requires a minimum of 2GB? Damn that's a lot. lol

A 2.0ghz PM will perform as well as a 3.4ghz P4 in most applications, the P4 will be faster at multi-threaded applications due to HT, those are generally media encoding/ripping applications. In certain floating point intensive applications the PM will actually OUTPERFORM the p4. Like games. [ ]

The speed increase of raid 0 in a single user environment (no matter how multi-threaded/multi-tasking that single user uses), is insignificant. However the risks of data loss is VERY significant -- especially in such a not well ventilated, confined space.

I think all the other extras are nice to have -- but certainly not worth the $2000+ price premium. lol If you REALLY want, with the money you just saved you can buy a brand new top of the line desktop with all those features and more.

cheers,

yass

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by rookwood

 

yass,

I am currently on my third Dell Inspiron and have had nothing but good luck with Dell's quality and service.

The Precision M70 cannot be configured with RAID 0 and only one hard drive can be ordered at 7200 RPM. Also, only the 15.4" screen is available and one CD drive without double layer write capability. Important also, is the fact that the Dell can only be ordered with 2mb of memory whereas I can get up to 4 mb on other units. REVIT requires a minimum of 2 mb.

Of lesser importance are the video cam, card reader, dual CD capabilities, dead pixel warranty (on some units), etc...

Is it your opinion that the Dell P M will out perform the P4 with dual 60G 7200 RPM hard drives in a RAID 0 setup? You seem to have experience in this area.

Thanx for your help and advice.

 

yass,

Yes REVIT does in fact require a minimum of 2 mb and recommends 4mb. I currently have an i8500 Pentium 4 M, 2.4hgz with 1 mb ram and my laptop takes 6 hours to render medium sized 3d images such as buildings/landscaping/people.

Also, the HT is most desirable since I am often working with AutoCAD, REVIT and Adobe Photoshop simultaneously. A task very difficult with my current setup.

 

Actually, there's something else out there... Or rather, something else will be out there... check this thing out...

http://www.biosmagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=1473

Scheduled for launch March 10-16!

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2005/02/fujitsusiemens.html
here's a better pic of it...

It's got some of the optional goodies that you might want too. lol

Do notice, that this and the Dell, both certified OpenGL graphics workstations, are both using the PM core -- this is because PM performance when it comes to those applications, simply cannot be matched by a P4. What you have in your dell is a P4-M, *NOT* to be confused with the Pentium-M (Dothan core). P4-M is simply a P4 with more aggressive voltage stepping, PM is a completely different core altogether!

The other OEMs -- Alienware/Voodoo/Boxx/etc, they simply buy whatever barebone is avilable, and "patch" up a workstation-ish laptop. They cannot go the PM route not because PM performs less, but simply because P4 is all that they have access to!

What you were thinking of -- switching between the apps -- is simply multi-tasking, NOT to be confused with applications that can utlize multi-threading. None of the floating point intensive applications are multi-threading, in fact, a P4 with HT might actually perform SLOWER compared to a P4 w/o HT due to the additional overhead involved in HT. Either way it will be slower than a PM.

The main roadblock I see is the 2GB max on the Dell, not sure about the Fujitsu-Siemen thou. I think that if you can live with 1GB currently, u'd be probably quite happy with the 2GB on the Dell! [ ]

cheers,

yass

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by rookwood

 

yass,

I guess we are all still waiting for the perfect notebook. The Siemens unnit looks good until you get to the 15.1" screen. I am so used to the 15.4" on my i8500 and was looking forward to the new 17" screen.

BTW: What do you think of the new Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2? I'd order that if I knew the 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800 Ultra would work for me.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by rookwood

 

Hypersonic does a good job repackaging OEM laptops. Unfortunatly their customer service is some of the most inept ever encountered.

They forget to ship replacement parts, dont email tracking numbers, their agents are notoriously unavailable and they have twice now shipped me the wrong part.

I guess if nothing ever goes wrong with their HW, they shouldnt pose a problem. Of course they charge a bit of a premium compared to others who ship rebranded oem laptops for what the claim is superior service.

 

I have been hunting for the mobile workstations with this 6800 Go Ultra option and because of the puzzling premium prices on the Geforce FX Go 1400 I read everything I could find on specs for these cards.

What I found that is amazing is that the 6800 Ultra card for desktop (and presumably for notebooks) requires TWO separate power connectors to supply power for the card. I find the juiciest bits of info on http://www.beyond3d.com/ It is said that two truly separate feeds from the Power Supply are needed. (NVIDIA i think recommended at least 480 W PSU for system with this card) But then the PCI-express bus can feed 75W. I wonder how this bus power load works on notebooks?

I was puzzled to find the High-End offerings from Alienware don't include the 6800 Go Ultra as an option. (According to a sales rep as of today 3/31/05.) But whehter heat or power is the real showstopper I'm not sure. A look inside at the cooling solution on one of those Dells or the Hypersonic notebook would tell us alot.

What I really want to know at the moment is WHY the GeForce FX Go 1400 is a more expensive option (at Alienware and Hypersonic at least) than the 6800 Go when comparing the specs makes me conclude the 6800 Go is superior. Higher fill rate, faster clock, more pipelines.. i dont get it on the premium price for GeForce FX Go 1400

specs for 6800 Go (not Ultra)
http://www.beyond3d.com/misc/chipcomp/?view=boarddetails&id=202
specs for 6800 Go Ultra
http://www.beyond3d.com/misc/chipcomp/?view=boarddetails&id=252
specs for FX 1400
http://www.beyond3d.com/misc/chipcomp/?view=boarddetails&id=214

Worst of all the FX 1400 doesnt run the 3.0 shader models. Why buy a current Nvidia product that doesnt run the 3.0 shaders? This is the biggest thing for me wanting Nvidia hardware at the moment. According to most hardware people i hear, 3.0 model is the biggest revolutionary step to occur for the next few years. Changes are going to be less fundamental for a few years. (Most ) everything is programmable now

 

The NVIDIA Quadro FX Go1400 is OpenGL and does, indeed, support Shader 3.0. From their website:

"The NVIDIA Quadro FX Go1400 for PCI Express enables maximum workstation performance on a true desktop workstation replacement, featuring the latest NVIDIA architecture supporting high memory bandwidth, blazingly fast read-back performance, rotated-grid full-scene antialiasing, Shader Model 3.0 support, 32-bit floating point precision throughout the entire pipeline, and the latest PowerMizer 5.0 technology."

If you are into gaming, then the Ultra would work very well for you. However, if you need a true workstation, for 3D rendering and other graphics programs requiring intensive floating point calculations, then you should not hesitate in ordering the notebook with the Quadro OpenGL. The price is a steal for this upgrade and you would be negilgent in ordering a workstation computer without the OpenGL graphics option.

I've researched the Clevo D900T for a few weeks and have decided to order either the Boxx or the Hypersonic unit. I trust Boxx since they are well known for their workstations (that's all they do) and their units are fruequently being tested with other high end workstations. The problem is they only offer a one year warranty. On the other hand, I can get the same unit from Hypersonic with a complete care 3 year warranty including a 'no dead pixel' guarantee. The only problem with them is that I don't know Hypersonic and am unfamiliar with their customer service track record. Having had 3 Dell Inspirons, I've been spoiled with their next day service. I would stay with them, but they have been pulling all their P4 units off the market in the last month. Intel has told me to stay away from the PM processor for workstation performance.

Here is the link to the Nvidia site with info and manufacturers selling workstation notebooks with the Quadro (they are all the Clevo D900T shells). It's interesting that not all offer the same P4 processors and only Boxx, Eurocom and Hypersonic offer 4GB RAM.

http://nvidia.com/page/quadrofx_go.html