Future Upgradeability of MXM3.0 Type B GPUs

After a lot of researching, waiting and saving I am finally ready to pull the trigger on a new gaming-class notebook.

I am seriously considering the Sager NP8255-S (Clevo P157SM). A big selling point of a Clevo is the user ugradeable GPU but really how practical is it? Is there any guarantee that the MXM3.0 interface will be used on future notebook gpus past the 780M/880M or Radeon 8970M?

Also, I have seen 780M's going for $800, which is 60% the cost of the model I am planning to buy (with an 8970M). If I were considering an upgrade 3-4 years down the line I might as well just buy a complete kit rather than bother with an upgrade at that price.

Just wondering what you guys think. If it really is not an advantage I might consider a non-upgradeable gpu type notebook from MSI or Asus or others that have RAID-0 and SPDIF, which are my biggest priorities.

Thanks!

 

The crux has less to do with a revision to the MXM standard and usually more to do with whether the system's firmware/BIOS will support the next gen. Of course, BIOS modding sometimes makes that possible, though that is left up to the community and not provided by the ODM/OEM.

 

Yes with sager systems it comes down to firmware vs physical slot. The 7xx series was never nodded in but the improvement over the 6xx series did not really inspire much effort.

 

I would honestly just go for desktop. I had a p150em for a year and then sold it. just wasn't practical for the price and size. I ended up getting a gaming desktop, which had more performance for less than half the price and a ultrabook (zenbook with 620m)

 

You can't recommend a desktop without knowing the usage pattern of the machine, what if they want gaming performance in several places?

 

When you consider price alone, yes desktops will always rule (and I have a decent rig). I want a powerful laptop on the go since I travel once a month. Thanks all for the comments. I will probably not consider an upgradeable gpu as a buying point.

 

you can always get a thinner laptop that can game to some point, since you are only gonna be travelling once a month. I game on my ultrabook now and then

 

Mobility trumps performance for many people (or alternatively, mobility trumps lower prices at the same performance point). It's not just about being able to take it with you on a monthly trip. I can't go back to being confined to one corner of one room to have high performance, after being used to the freedom to game anywhere, especially since it allows me to easily game in-person with anyone. Also, it's nice having only one machine.

 

that's what I felt too when I got my clevo, but after a few months of carrying it day in day out (I go to university), it just became too heavy for me. I never thought I would switch to a desktop either, but I did. as for files, I use skydrive so sync all my school work files.

 

There will always be a trade-off between price, weight & power/features. You can't have it all so you have to prioritize what is most important to you. The "right" buying choice is what works best for each individual.

 

The bottom line is that, of the major gaming laptop makers, with Clevo you have the lowest chance of being able to upgrade to future GPUs. And of course, there's no way to know if or when MXM 3.0 will be replaced in the future.

Thus, you should choose the GPU as if your machine will be stuck with it for its entire life.

 

No I think Asus get's that crown

 

Yes, Asus gets the crown for that.

 

I don't think upgradeability is a factor you should consider. Getting a new high-end machine by the time games you like can dismally run on your current rig, is the better and usually more economic option.

My previous gaming laptop housed a GeForce Go 7900 GS that I bought in 2006, around 70% slower than the flagship 7950 GTX and it carried me till 2012 and everything including the CPU was upgraded by 2012 apart from the GPU simply because it wasn't worth it for the performance increase in modern games (different tech, DX newer unsupported games ..etc, discontinued support in drivers). I don't see my current 7970M (15-20% slower than 8970M?) Which is 2 years old going slow for the games I play (and I try new games a lot but the ones I mostly play have been around for years and I will continue to play for years) anytime soon, probably not before 2016 at which point finding an upgrade and the fact that you won't get a warranty most likely means a new machine is in order and the older one can just be heirloomed to someone who plays less demanding games.

Most of our consumer products are not designed or built to last several tech cycles. If you were buying an enterprise level server on the other hand, it would be a different story.

 

However there are a few 5870m era machines now running hd7970m cards which has kept them relevant at 1080p.

 

Which machines? Just out of curiousity.

 

M15X, M17X, GX660, W860U/W870U, X8100.

There are more.

 

With Clevo, if you are willing to delve into the worlds of Prema or Svl7 (while providing appropriate remuneration for their efforts, of course) then you can extend your GPU tech cycle by a bit, but that's only if you have the requisite tech level and spirit of adventure.

I used to think the main advantage of the mxm slots were for future upgrades; I've changed my mind a bit on that. I still think it offers some major advantages over soldered on gpus such as

1)Should your card die while the machine is warranty (see the number of 6xxx and 7xxx AMD dead card threads on this very site), you don't have to toss the whole machine.
2) Should you need to replace the card, you can. The cost is usually pretty high, as these types of GPU's are manufactured in limited quantity and are not like the reference board designs we see in desktop land so you don't have multiple manufacturers creating different designs of the same card.