9280(D900F) or 9850?(M980NU) Which way are you leaning and why?

There is no doubt that these are the big releases of the year for Clevo. I have had a 9260 and 9262 as well as other Clevo's and have had a great experience with these. I am leaning a little for the 9280 because of the core i7, but the appeal of the M980NU is still there for me. I can pull the trigger at any time on one but something is holding me back for example I don't necessarily want to be in the first batch for possible technical reasons for one. What about you?

 

M570ETU - lighter, easier to carry, better battery life but still 17inch .
(just joking) I just want to say I wouldn't get any of them, but it's a personal choice, not necessary that one product it's better than another.

You get what suits your needs.

 

The M980NU is absolutely not portable whatsoever being 18.4" and around 11lbs. However, it does have 280M GTX's in SLI. Although, the con here is that it lacks a desktop processor, especially an i7. Intel will soon kick the curb to the Core 2's and the i7's will come in with their onboard memory controllers. This limits the upgradeability with the CPU's. Although, with 280's in SLI, it provides the best GPU performance on the market and probably will continue to do so, granted the MXM 3.0b solutions will keep coming. Hands down, the QX9300 is the way to go with this laptop. I'd overclock that to 3.5Ghz and it would probably be comparable to an i7 920 that is not overclocked. It also would probably score around 20k in 3dmark06 at 3.5ghz with overclocked 280's.

To me it seems quite easy: if you are more interested in overall system performance and a bit more mobility, then get the D900F. It has Triple Channel Memory and the fastest CPU's available on the market right now. Since it uses the LGA 1366 socket, it will be staying in the lead for a long time.
However, if you are more interested in pure graphics power and want as large of a screen as possible and don't care about mobility, then the M980NU is the way to go. If you are more on a budget, then the Asus W90VP would be the 2nd choice for an 18.4".

So just ask yourself, do you want pure graphics power and an 18.4", or overall system performance and a 17"?

 

Just a quick thought on the mobility factor - I carried a 980NU around for a week (ok, not the whole week but to and from work etc) and it's easily just as portable as a D901C.

 

Yeah, they are both 11+ pounds right?

 

Although they may be the same weight, the 18.4" is larger and cannot fit in as many cases/backpacks or smaller areas (airplane, cramped desk) as well as a 17" or smaller.

 

I'm not getting either of them... reasons: the GTX 280M does nothing for me, in fact to me it is a joke, I laughed when I learned it was going to be a G92 again with only 128 stream processors lol I'll hold out for the GT212M/GT300M. Also the M980NU uses Core 2, Capella will be out soon enough making (IMO!) the M980NU almost pointless and its also a bit too big, unless it had a desktop core i7 in it then it would be an exception, and the D900F lacks SLI.

I figure it's just best to wait for Nvidia's Q4 GPU's and Clevo's motherboard/model revisions.

 

im telling them my 18.4 inch laptop needs it's own seat!..lol or i need to be in that front row next to the emergency door or business class..lol

 

Yup, from what I can remember they are roughly the same weight. 908NU feels thinner and slightly wider than the D901C/D900F.

I can understand the opinions on the GTX 280M from the new tech point of view but it's worth keeping in mond that:

1/ it's 10% more powerful than a 9800M GTX

2/ it's a damn sight cheaper than a 9800M GTX

 

True, but whats happening here is Nvidia is feeding us just enough to keep us alive, 16 stream processors and slightly higher clocks at a time, I'd rather starve until there is a full plate for me to enjoy.

 

then....you would be starving a long time...this g92 has been around for quite some time unfortunately...and it still seems to stay at the top of the heap..even though it is very old tech with a few new additives....

still waiting on an enthusiast to get a hold of one of these 280m's and put it to the serious test...

 

G92 is fine, and Q4 is not a long time to starve, my 8800M GTX has served me well and it will until Nvidia steps up. It is worth the wait, and who knows, by then I might get lucky and Clevo will have an M980NU mobo revision that supports Capella or desktop i7 with SLI or maybe the D900F may benefit from an i7 revision that permits a mobo revision to support i7 and SLI, Clevo always seems to have something up their sleeve, either way my modest patience will save me money and ultimately give me more performance.

 

After all the posts I made about 3 weeks ago or so, and the insightful comments I got back... I'm holding out for an MXM3.0 version of the NP5797 with a GT212M/GT300M. I want less than 9 lbs and I don't care about SLI or 3 memory slots, or 12 HDD bays. Give me 2 memory slots for 6GB or 8 if they make mobo changes, and 2 HDD slots plus the other stuff I want and I'll be a happy man.

Whether this is with an i7 or Capella processor doesn't really matter to me (although it must be Quad 2.5Ghz or better).

If that means I have to wait 6 months or 18 so be it...with the last patch of ETW I can now play on my ancient and lame zd8000 (albeit the settings are similar to a moonscape ) until the notebook I want comes out. The D900F &M980NU are simply too big, and the current MXM2.1 based NP5797 has an uncertain or non-existent "replacement" path (read "upgrade"...except for shyster he should read the original word).

So all you mods, resellers, and deities..."Make it so!"

Oh, and I'll also be seeing Star Trek on Friday...looks awesome. I'll just be doing a canon / continuity wipe prior to seeing it.

 

yeah, is not knocking the waiting game..i too may just do the same thing.
was hoping that the d901f and the m980nu would have over clocking abilities, but they seem to not have included this as of yet.

would have liked to ran a sli/i7 laptop for the wide range of things it could accomplish, but that wont be happening probably for a year or so.
that revision would be nice!

 

I am going for the D901F all the way, I had the D900T and it was a workstation. The mobo went last Winter and it wasnt worth fixing. It did a hell of a lot of work and I miss it. Now this will take its place, these last 6 months have been torture without it.

 

I am definitely going for an 18.4" laptop next whether it is the Asus for the M980u. Although, I do wish for Clevo to support an ATI video card model.

But, I don't see much reason to upgrade from my 8800M GTX SLI yet, especially if it is going to have a golden price tag on it.

 

Wow! So far only a couple here as of yet are going for one of these beasts! Hope more will chime in on this topic. It seems from what I have read that any significant revisions for these models probably won't happen till year end or so. I understand why many will wait but I am going for it by next month, I miss having something like my old 9262, sold a couple of months now.

 

D900F...I'll see you later this year. Core i7 Extreme FTW!

 

Leaning? Which way? A little to the left, as usual.

 

well i most definitely will go with M980NU and if the cpu can be overclocked this will be my 100% sure for this beast i dont need very mobile system and the new mobile quad cpus are just as powerfull as desktop ones in the D901C with future update for the cpu and video cards this is my machine

 

Now I am thinking of order me one and cancel the W90.....god damn it ...

 

IMHO...
If you already posses Clevo recent laptop (especially D901C), you should just wait for the next generation.
As for me, I'm still using my old Lenovo now, so buying either D901F or M980NU will give me a giant leap in term of speed and technology

Anyway, I probably buy D901F since the price is good (D901F barebone is $280 cheaper than D901C barebone, RJ Tech pricing)

I'm still waiting for M980NU price though... If it also have a good price as D901F, I probably choose M980NU.

 

I am leaning if the M980NU over clocks well (3+ghz) I might go with it. May have to wait till someone reviews it first...decisions, decisions...

 

I don't see any point in getting the M980NU... If i gonna use mobile cpu i really prefer to simply get into a W90 .

The D900F is good but ATM I'm a little worried about the GT280M performance vs the x2 4870... But i really want the i7

 

The 280M GTX averages close to 12k in 3dmark 06 and the 4870 itself hits about 10.5. In Xfire the 4870's get around 15-16k.

 

There's really not going to be much advantage for the i7 vs the qx9300 (once OC'd) and 280m's in SLI are going to destroy anything else on the market (again if OC'd) with the Clevo's sturdy design/cooling system.
However, if you're planning on using this for a workstation, the 900f and the i7 will win hands down.

 

Actually i don't think that 3dmark06 is a good way to compare (too much cpu bound and the 4870 is highly know for being optimized to 3dmark06) . I'm waiting for a good review against a W90 but i have to say that if its like the notebook journal charts I'm sold .

The hyper threading is really useful for what i do, the i7 is much cheaper than a qx9300, the i7 is much more future proof (remember they r going to release a 6-core version), and if you overclock the i7 it's a astalavista for the qx9300 .

I do a lot of programming, heavy compilation, some H264 encode but i play a lot too (I'm more a competitive player, i play single players like 1x per year, so a VGA can stay really long with me... But I'm increasing my resolution to 1080P what make me a little afraid about the non-SLI GTX280M) so this decision is pretty hard for me actually .

 

the 1080p is the right choice(really 1200p). everything looks small if that's what you like to see...more of the screen and less scrolling. i personally am not a big fan of 1080p on a laptop nor a computer.

 

Well i don't have much choice... In brazil the only LCD what u can get with a non TN panel is the LCD TV's so i gonna change to 1080P (yeah i know 16:9 ) and 32" eek . But i still think that 1024x768 is the best resolution for competitive play (too bad that my dual 20" sony CRTS are dyeing lol).

 

ummm, you can SCALE DOWN your monitor to 1024x768 and still play competitive...

 

What is competitive gaming anyway? MMORPG?

 

Competitive player aka "Professional gamer". I actually play counter-strike

 

Just cancelled the 5797 and went with the 9280 in the siggy...Man that is gonna be a beast!!!It's gonna be well worth the wait i think..

 

^^^Word. I see you went with the extreme. Very nice!

 

Wow, I'm so impressed with the 9280 so far! I was going to get the Dell m6400 in the next week or so, but I think I'll better hold off.

A few things I'm not sure about:

- can the i7 965 Extreme Edition be overclocked?
I thought "yes", but I also heard "no" somewhere

- is it a problem to put in your own HDDs and Blu-Ray burner?

- where can I find more info on the screen? like how many NIT, and how reflective is it really. I suppose there's no way to make it anti-glare?

- I'm also missing an accidental damage protection on xoticpc.com...

Thanks for any help & happy rendering!
Schinkster

 

^ The bios out at this time does not have overclocking options. With SetFSB you may be able to OC it with the proper PLL? You can install your own Hard Drives and Blu Ray if you prefer, simple install. The screen (from what we know at this time) will be the same WUXGA used on the 9262. Maybe some 9262's owners can comment on their WUXGA. (or you may want to check a few reviews here on NBR)

For Accidental Damage we recommend checking out www.safeware.com. They can provide Accidental on your laptop at a good price.

 

That just stopped me dead in my tracks with the D900F. We can't overclock the i7 OR the GTX 280M ?

 

Why go with anything else but Extreme!

 

The bios determines the overclockability of the CPU, not the GPU. The 280m should always be overclockable, based on cooling and how much stress the card itself can take. However, a 3.20 ghz i7 will still outperform any mobile cpu overlocked to max.

 

I thought core i7 did away with FSB. If so this wouldn't work would it?

 

not entirely true...their front side bus speed is now 3200 mhz...so they say.

 

I cant imagine overclocking a i7 extreme cpu this powerful already...I really cant imagine trying to overclock an expensive cpu and destroying it lol

 

neither...

d901c ftw...

 

If you can't overclock it i don't much point in getting a D900F lol.

 

i7 isn't fast enough already?

 

that's not the point
the point is over clocking up to the next point..next point being i7-940 or almost equivalent to an i7-965. without spending the extra money. one of the main reasons for over clocking.

 

Nothing is fast enough .

You are already getting into one of the most ugliest notebooks evah, you don't have SLI, and can't overclock it?!. Even with a i7 965 i want to overclock it... i7 have a lot of potential to overclock and the D900 have a awesome cooling system, if you can't overclock it just make more sense to get a M980NU or a W90 .

 

that's not set in stone either...no word on the m980nu as having over clocking...which would be a real bummer there.

 

the guy at PCTORQUE told me that the new 9280 is Sli capable(i thought only the m980nu was)...now i dont know if its true but that is what he said...Because i asked him about the duel 280m gtx...He repied me that the 9280 is SLI capable but the SLI GTX 280m isn't as of right now...He told me that i can always buy the 2nd card later on...is this true?

 

The guy obviously doesn't have a clue wth he is talking about because there is only one PCI-e 3.0b slot in the D900F, so as to if its true or not the answer is a big no.