The Arima W840 DI Thread

aha, thats awesome

 

To find the price, configure it at http://www.darksmileysystems.com/criterioncustomize.htm, then click add to cart. Sorry I don't have a running total - I'm not web 2.0ish enough for that.

 

Finally a machine under 2500$ with P9500, 4gb DDR3, and a 128GB SSD!

 

It's funny. With 9 people planning to "make love to it and buy 50 of 'em!", I'd think I'd have more than one pre-order

 

I think most people are probably waiting for a review or two to come out

 

Hopefully we'll have one soon!

By the way, everyone: this $40.00 off (or a USB goodie) promotion is for the pre-order of this laptop only, and will be gone as soon as it's officially released. Sorry to crush anyone's dreams . Hopefully they'll send me a test one so I can post some benchmarks & pics for you all before the release.

 

Can we ask what OCZ said when you called them up? Any ETA for the unit (to test it I mean) ?

 

oooo... benchies and pics sounds good

 

They said that their product manager is still away and they emailed him my questions. I'm starting to wonder if he exists at all or if he is some sort of messiah that will come when the world is at peace and explain everything then.

 

Heh, messiah

No but seriously, he should be back from whatever vacation by 1st of September. Nobody takes that long of a vacation

 

Actually, I think they said he's in Taiwan with Flextronics talking about the production of the notebook. He was supposed to be back two days ago though...

 

I see absolutely no reason why this system can't take a single 9800GTX card. A single 9800GTX card is supposedly 20-30% better than a single 8800GTX & single 9800GT. SLI improves things by roughly ~20%; ergo, a single 9800GTX is equivalent to SLI 8800GTX/9800GT. Now, if we can only get the benchies for the ATI Crossfires 3870 for a comparison. This is getting sweeter and sweeter every day.

 

So OCZ is an american brand? Also, where can we get more background for Dark Smiley Systems company?

 

I agree. But I have no distributor that sells laptop graphics cards, so until OCZ/Flextronics decides to ship barebones containing the 9800GTX, I'm not going to be offering it

Yes, they're American. Their corporate headquarters is in Sunnyvale, CA.

What do you want to know about Dark Smiley Systems? We're an LLC that was created on June 6th, 2008. I'm Shane Collins, the CEO, head tech, and therefore principal player. I've worked around and on computers since I was very young (I had my first PC at...4?). I spent the last two years before creating this company working in the IT department at the VA Hospital in Providence, RI.

 

In this day and age of globalism, is any company truly 100% American? Here's the orgination of the OCZ Whitebook:

It is based on the Flextronics WD840-DI.
OCZ does not make the chassis. Flextronics is the ODM.
Flextronics is a global company based in Singapore.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=FLEX
It is traded on the NASDQ under the symbol FLEX

Flextronics actually bought the notebook & server business recently from Arima.

Arima is a Taiwanese company that used to sell notebook chassis under exclusive contract with Alienware for their m9750.

The notebook that we're interested in is a second generation revamp of the m9750 chassis to include Montevina platform, HDMI, eSATA, back lit keys, etc... (see posts above for more info in this thread).

In summary, OCZ is the North American distributor of the Flextronics WD-840 DI. The ODM, Flextronics, is a company based in Singapore who bought the business from a company in Taiwan, who really makes the chassis. Globalism at it's best, in a nutshell.

 

Correct indeed! And I have no doubt in my mind that OCZ manufactures absolutely nothing in the United States.

 

Right on, thanks for the replies!

So now it's just a matter of time before we get to see benchmarks and stuff.

Can't wait!

 

UPDATE:
OCZ has finally released their Core V2 series SSDs to my distributor, so they're now available in the configuration page for the Criterion. These are faster and shouldn't have any of the isolated problems the original Core series had. They're currently available in 30GB, 60GB, and 120GB flavors, with 250GB being released sometime in the future.

They read at 170MB/sec and write at 100MB/sec

 

dam i really want that usb rocket launcher but like that 40$ off. im also debting on preordering it or waiting, and debating on getting 2 ati's or 1 8800M GTX

 

I'm thinking $40 off on a $3.5k is almost next to nothing (at least for me).

But I can bet my butt those two ATi will beat one 8800m GTX!

 

well for me im not maxing it out, it would be about 1800$ CAD + tax = 2100$ CAD. if i get the ati's itll cost me another 500$. that being considered, im only 16 and have alot to think about as i only have about 2500$ for another few weeks

 

The ATI Crossfire 3870 is certain to outperform a single NVIDIA 8800GTX as well as a single 9800GT. The question is, will it outperform SLI 8800GTX or SLI 9800GT? Will it outperform a single 9800GTX? Prob'ly not, but I'm still hoping!

 

yea, so the question is, since im preordering it, is it best to go with an 8800 and upgrade to a 9800M GTX later or get the ati's.

im still trying to decide, price is a factor as well.

 

Can't tell ya. No benchmarks for reference yet. The 9800GTX was just released and shipping begins today. I'm on the sidelines until I see some benchies, personally. Like I said, I see no reason why a 9800GTX wouldn't fit in this notebook, but I can't confirm with certainty. We'll just have to wait until the builders and resellers actually get their hands on the system and graphic cards to find out for sure.

 

I've got a treat for you guys. Benchmarks off of Notebookcheck.com

According to them, the average 3DMark06 score of the mobility radeon 3870 was 8,600, while the average of 9800M GTX was 10,138.

But we're not talking a single MR 3870 here, are we? There are no specs on the site for dual MR 3870s, but there are specs for the MR 3850 X2, which it says is comparable to two MR 3850s running in crossfire. It's average 3DMark06 score was 12,800. The average score for dual 8800M GTXs in SLI was 12,390. And since the MR 3870 is better than the MR 3850, we should see some pretty good scores in crossfire

Links: MR 3870, 9800M GTX, MR 3850 X2, 8800M GTX SLI

 

yea i just hope their reliable, as they have had benches on the 9800M GTX for a few months now (i have no idea how)

but if this is true, i hope 13,000 - 14,000 +, but we just gotta wait and see, and heck, i might be one of the first to test the ati's when dark smiley starts to ship 'em.

 

o and im just wondering, that picture on your site and in your sig, is that actually what the ocz will look like that your selling? im just wondering because other ocz pics i see have a battery sticking out the back and the palm area seems to be glossy in the pics on your site, but it isint from the other pics ive seen.

you also said your pretty sure that just the cover is high glossy, but it looks like the whole laptop is glossy on your site.

i was just wondering when i was looking at other pics of it on the internet.

EDIT: the on with the battery sticking out maybe the 15", but im still trying to see if its a glossy palm rest area or not.

 

wait, did that guy just say one 9800GTX can beat SLI 9800 GTs?

no way

 

Look closely at the picture. It's a reflection of the screen onto the palm area.

And the battery sticking out is the 15".

 

Is there a test of crossfire in notebooks that shows it scores like a 8800 gtx in sli?

the chassis is great but the channels are just trying to sell it with outdated gpu options.

Thats the real jist of this, selling top end gpus that are out of date. Probably purchasing them from alienware or something.

 

the 15" is the OCZ DIY (do-it-yourself) based on a Compal chassis. this is the 17" based on the Flextronic WD840-DI chassis. From all the pictures that I've seen, the palm rest is matte. Only the lid is glossy.

Since when did the 8800GTX become outdated? The 9800GT is same as the 8800GTX. The 9800GTX just got released and shipping just started yesterday. The 8800GTX is far from being obsolete. SLI 8800GTX is still king of the hill until specs on the 9800GTX or SLI 9800GTX comes out.

 

Found a high res pic of the W840/Whitebook:

http://www.flextronics.com/arima/pim/Pp174-1.jpg

 

Check out the Maingear Fiery:

http://computershopper.com/shoptalk/2008/07/15/maingear_unveils_fiery_centrino_2_gaming_notebook

So far we have the following companies offering this notebook:

Digital Storm - Dominator
Killer Notebooks - Nagamaki (to include Mobile Quad Core & 9800GTX)
Dark Smiley Systems - Criterion (PM Shane to get NBR member discount! )
CyberPowerPC - Gamer XTreme M1
RK Computers - RKC-1756
Maingear - Fiery (not on their website yet)
AVA Direct - said that they will be carrying it, but nothing on their website.

 

Actually, the dual 3870s should statistically score better than an 8800M GTX in SLI, since dual 3850s did. We'll compare the actual scores to dual 9800M GTs, and if they're better scores than those, well...they would be top of the line, now wouldn't they? At least until the 9800M GTX SLI is released.

The only oudated option is the 8800M GTX, but that's the lowest level graphics card available in the chassis and roughly equivalent to the 9800M GT. I don't see how that's not high end. It might not be the best you can buy, but it is the 2nd or 3rd best, now isn't it?


Oh, and @ichime - a few pages back in this thread you can find a link to the picture you just posted

 

That's one sweet looking notebook. The front-loading optical drive may be problematic if you're on a notebook cooler, though. Speaking of cooling, I certainly hope that this one will handle the heat better than the Alienware m9750.

 

Actually I find the location of the optical drive more convenient with my M9750. I don't have to look over the side to see which button I have to press to open the tray. I also use a cooler which puts it on an incline and it's not a problem.

 

Well, I ordered and paid for the first pre-order today, it should ship within 5 business days. It will also be the notebook that I run tests on. It's got the dual 3870s, so hopefully we can compare it with the new 9800M GTX benchmarks

And OCZ's product manager should be back tomorrow. He has a backlog of about 12 questions that I sent in; hopefully we get some answers

 

omg yes,,,,,, best info ive had all DAY!!!! please post many pics of it! ill preorder it after some tests and pics, if its ok k?!

i want this but want some tests on it first, especially pics of the backlit keyboard and the size etc.

thanks shane

edit: can it still be preordered next week? i want the usb rocket launcher so much!

 

I'll keep the $40 discount/USB toy promotion on for 5 days after I receive this pre-order/test laptop, so don't worry tornbacchus. You'll still be able to save money.

 

well i dunno, that usb rocket launcher looks alot better than 40$, i may get that

 

Some Piccies I found,

 

Also, can you test it with a single 3870 (if there is a way to disable crossfire)? just for reference purposes

 

I'll find out when I get it in

 

Sorry I can't remember if you said but do you have an ETA?

 

Not for the full release, no. Just for me getting this test system in.

 

And that would be?

 

@cdnalsi:

 

Are you going to take any pictures when you get it?

 

Indeed I am. I'm also planning on videotaping as I build the laptop as a guide for others.

 

The ETA for the 17" is between 09/02-09/08, there will be a more accurate eta on the 2nd.