Malibal 6990m in stock and ready to ship?

When did you pay? I think they queue your order up based on when they received the payment. While I processed my order Aug 5th, I did not complete the credit card verification until Aug 8th. As a result, I think I am quite behind in the queue.

I spoke with a customer support representative who told me that my order will be shipping next week. Consequently, I have asked to switch over to the 204 heatsink, even though I am one of the few voices that have been saying, "Really, 203 heatsink should be fine."

 

OMG. did you ordered on August 2nd and you still dont have your machine on August 25?!?! >.< Holy...

I was planning to order the P170HM with 6990 today but i needed it by september 1st... I guess thats an impossible request =/ what a shame, I think I will have to go with the Alienware M17x for a few more bucks.

Thanks your your feedback.

 

To be fair it was a preorder before like the 15th. While it sucks it's taking so long for the laptops to ship from Malibal, I appreciate their efforts in trying to distribute cards producing resonable heat levels. Not to mention they've thrown in a few upgrades for free and quick shipping. Would much rather have my notebook take an extra two weeks if needed so that I know it'll be functioning the way I want it to when I open the box.

 

Agreed, though I payed my check on August 4, I realize the 6990m was on pre-order and I appreciate Malibal's efforts in remediating the delay and heat issues. now I'm waiting for the 204 heatsink. My notebook should finally be able to ship early next week.

 

yeah, my P150HM was scheduled to ship today, but I decided to wait for the -204 heatsink (even though it means I'll be without the laptop for 1st week of college).

 

Were they shipping out notebooks for sure today?

 

yes, the ones with the -203 heatsink.

 

Hmm, I really hope my laptop goes out today then, so that I'll have it for the weekend.

 

I just talked to MALIBAL and their not shipping any orders until they get the -204 heatsink . C0nfucius, it say's your laptop ships on 8/31 is that the first batch of -204 that are going out?

 

What for? It's the truth, a lot of places are selling 6990M right now, as we speak. XoticPC and other sellers are making the decision to ship their systems now, while Malibal are delaying shipments to investigate heating concerns. Malibal is taking precautions, whereas other sellers are not, most likely because they feel there is little to worry about. But since many users are concerned about the 6990M's temperatures in Furmark and whatnot, Malibal is taking steps to quell the concerns.

Justin's post below is how I see it too: some customers want quick turn-around for their laptops. I don't, and I can take waiting another week of waiting, plus three nice upgrades to my system free of charge.

And yes, Clevo over Alienware.

That's my estimation, they said they are receiving the 204 heatsinks mid-next week. Sorry if you thought my above post was directed at you.

 

Okay, so will all Malibal customers be getting the 204s? or will just those who want 204s be shipping out 8/31?

 

All I think, because I never put my name on the -204 list yesterday and was expecting my laptop to ship today so that I'd have it by the weekend. They said they are waiting for the -204 heatsink before shipping out any laptops at all. I don't think they are going to receive the -204 heatsink until mid next week so who knows if we'll get them by next weekend, I just hope so. I thought I'd have my laptop by this weekend for sure.

 

Don't quote me on it, but I think Malibal are the only ones shipping 6990Ms with the 204 heatsink. I recall that others are shipping with 203 heatsinks until they run out, which I am not sure when will happen.

 

Yeah, Malibal is expecting to receive the -204's on tuesday, so 8/31 most likely when first laptops with requested -204 heatsinks are shipped out.

 

So best case scenario we will receive are laptops on Thurs. September 1st I'd assume.

 

Actually best case scenario would be wednesday, but it depends on what time they get the heatsinks on tuesday. In my emails with Malibal, if they get the heatsinks early enough, they could ship some out on the same day.

 

That's still 6 days away lol.

 

UPDATE: We'll receive the new 204 heatsinks on Tuesday of next week and so we'll resume shipping by next Thursday.

For those who need their systems a little sooner, we have an alternative offer. We can switch existing customers from the 6990M to the 580M for only $99 instead of the regular $250 upgrade pricing. This is 60% OFF.

And if you have a P170HM, you can take advantage of the other deal we currently have, which is a Free Upgrade to the 120Hz 3D Screen. Which is another $135 Discount. (NVIDIA GRAPHICS REQUIRED)

So if you have a P170HM that would be $285 in total discounts! We can also ship these notebooks with the 580M on Monday and Tuesday of next week... and you will still retain all of the other promotions including Free Next Day Air Shipping, Free 1600MHz Upgrade and Free IC Diamond 7 Upgrade.

If anyone is interested, please open a ticket on our site or reply to an existing ticket if you already have one open. Thanks!

 

thanks for the update MALIBAL! guess my notebook is coming next Friday...which I can live with. Also I have another question--check your inbox.

 

hmm...what temps does the 580M see in the P150HM?

 

Holy crow that is tempting, a $99 upgrade to the GTX 580M...

I have found some posts talking about the 580M's temperatures, as I too am contemplating my options:

Malibal #2's post
Kuril's post
Bartman8888's review (uses stock thermal compound)

EDIT: After reading up on all of this and thinking about the price of the upgrade, while it's nice and nVIDIA has been nothing but awesome in my ASUS laptop, the load temps of the GTX 580M seem to be the same in Furmark (maybe a bit lower), and during actual gaming they seem to be on par. As such I believe I will stick with AMD!

 

99$ for maybe 5-10% more performance, in some cases. With maybe the same or lower temperatures.
As it is, the only reason to switch is the free 3D screen in the P170hm. I'd be VERY tempted if I had gone with a P170HM.
Also, go AMD!

 

I think 5-10% might be a tad to generous, I'd say 3-5% at best. I'm also going AMD!

 

I remember seeing 8% somewhere, in favor of the GTX 580m.
I can hardly wait to play Bad Company 2 and Deux Ex on this thing.

 

Ya it say's 8% on notebookcheck but on these forums the 6990M/580M have been on par with each on or very close on almost all the benchmarks, EX: 3D MARK 11, 3D mark Vantage, ETC.

 

Yes, notebookcheck review, Google Übersetzer

Great deal for $99. I would definitely go for it.

 

what temps you getting on your 580M while gaming?

 

have not receive it yet.

 

If heat is your concern--go for the GTX 580m

If performance is your concern--I would still stick with 6990m. It will soon have proper drivers and already it surpasses the GTX 580m in some games and 3dMark Vantage+2011 benches.

 

keep in mind, GTX580 does not have proper driver either, so to me it's just like 485 vs 6970, performance wise it's a wash. I was set to buy 6990 as well, until the temp issue scare me away. I am in Canada and shipping back and forth would be big hassle

 

GTX 580m seems to have proper drivers if it's the Clevo or Dell ones. Indeed the temp issues seem to scare me. Though for some od reason it seems to be only Clevo. In the Alienware forum those guys are OC the 6990m like crazy (even higher than desktop HD 6870!) so I'm not sure what's wrong with Clevo 6990m. Hopefully the 204 heatsink can remediate the issues.

 

one of the reseller said 580 has yet to have proper driver a few days ago, not sure if they do now. 6990 also run pretty cool in x7200, so yeah hopefully the 204 will solve the issue.

 

I'm not sure why people are thinking the GTX 580M generates less heat. While Furmark values for the 6990M are in the 90°C range (with GTX 580M approaching or in this range too), both the 580M and the 6990M hover around the high 70's to mid 80's Celsius during actual gaming. The 8% was an average of all the results from the various games they used to benchmark (it was pretty comprehensive), but does not tell the whole story, as the 580M and 6990M win some and lose some.

 

there is a big disadvantage in driver in that notebookcheck comparison. Nvidia's was less than a month old, while the AMD's 11.1 used was 8 months old. Last few pages of this thread covers that issue. Page 24

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/594137-580m-vs-6990m-benches-24.html

 

Hmm? I think we are referring to two different reviews. I am referring to a more recent one.

Tirenz on these forums found a review done by NotebookCheck.de (German site), and provided this translated link: Google Translation of German 6990M Review

In this review, there is a screenshot showing the driver version here. It correlates with
AMD Catalyst 11.7, so not the most recent drivers, but probably was the most recent during their benchmarking period. I would assume they also used the latest drivers for the 580M. Additionally, while the laptops are all differently spec-ed, I don't think CPU/RAM/HDD will affect the results too much, as all the laptops they used were gaming grade. They concluded that the 6990M and 580M beat one another in different games, so the average of ~8% more performance from the 580M is not a complete picture.


EDIT: Some people have been trying to find which is the best driver for the 6990M. Mirabis has benchmarked several drivers on the 6970M, and the results should be similar for the 6990M:


I do not take credit for this screenshot, it was taken by Mirabis, I just found it again. Kudos to him for providing the data!

 

@confucius

It actually seems the review in the thread I posted is even more recent--it was posted today: Test GeForce GTX 580M SLI vs. Radeon HD 6990M CF - Notebookcheck.com Tests

 

Oops, my apologies! I assumed 11.1 = old review.

However, I just read that review, and the driver version they used was "8881", which I guess means 8.881, as the screenshot on their site shows. This does not correlate with Catalyst 11.1, rather, it correlates with Catalyst 11.8, the newest drivers available. I let the Alienware folks know before they start grabbing pitchforks. Nobody grab pitchforks here either!

AMD Catalyst 11.8 Release Notes
English translation of super duper recent 6990M CF vs 580M CF review

 

I was thinking this too. Thought that number meant 11.8. Also should mention the best driver by far is the current Clevo Driver for the 6990m. Not the 11.8--good find on that screenshot confucius, I was trying to find that thread but it seems to have dissapeared.

 

here you are:

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/8170/img0277p.jpg
http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/9246/img0276wy.jpg
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/6191/img0275ql.jpg

I have 202 to compare, but I can´t see many differences. The screw mounting is different:

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/9654/img0280uj.jpg

By the way. I repasted the origin clevo paste by using c. metal ultra, the temps drops about 5C to 74C after vantage and 3d!! Roomtemp: 25,6C.

 

Thanks for the pics! seems like some minor differences, and the heat fins seems longer and less wide. Whatever the changes are--seems to be working for you, 74C Max on a 6990m is amazing!

 

The fins are dizzying to try and count, My count is roughly the same fin number, I think the width is also the same, the - 203(did you mean 203 or 202 I think you mean 203?) looks wider because of the image angle but I don't think it is. The difference looks like the fin spacing, not the count, this would improve overall airflow rendering the 204 more efficient and make it slight longer, and maybe quieter as well? just my initial observation.

The GPU contact looks area looks like it could use some milling to further improve contact though..

 

I am on the brink of ordering a P170HM with the 6990m video chip, but to be honest, all this stuff I am reading here about it running too hot has me very nervous! My only previous experience buying a gaming capable laptop was the purchase of a Dell XPS 1710 in mid-2006, and yes, my video card "melted" leaving me with the dreaded blue-screen shortly after the warranty ran out! Naturally, despite being registered, I was never informed about the legal remedies eventually made available........so I still have a $3000 paperweight sitting in my closet. Once burned, twice careful? Could somebody tell me why I should trust the makers of another high-end video card who apparently did so little pre-release testing that it is overheating as soon as purchasers start playing? I feel that I can trust any of the fine computer sellers participating on this very informative site, so please don't think I am being critical of them! Actually, I am concerned that these reputable sellers will be doomed to repeatedly pay for shipping and warranty work to replace these overheating chips as they begin to fail early, and receive no support from the chip manufacturer, like What happened with the sellers of laptops with the same video card I have in my Dell XPS 1710M. Can somebody give me some advice/reassurance about this? I am really a novice when it comes to the technical aspects of computers, and I would appreciate the advice of knowlegeable individuals! Thanks!

 

Your concern is a valid one. Some folks are reporting lower temperatures but aside from me, there are a few reporting temperatures that are on the high end of the operating spec for the 6990 so in my opinion, there are still issues.

In my opinion, while nice for lowering temperatures, one shouldn't need IC7 + a laptop cooler just to lower the GPU temp from it's highest point.

That said, after I RMA'd my P170HM with the 6990 (it was hitting 106 degrees and GPU-Z actually reported it hitting 112 degrees), I decided to go with a 580M on my new build.

Here are the pros and cons that led to my decision:

6990M:
-issues with high temps
-surplus heatsinks not initially designed for 6990 are/were being used on initial shipments. I received one of these (203 version). Supposedly the 204 heatsinks help with the temperatures and was designed specifically for use with the 6990. Some folks however have the 203 and report no temperature issue. Still, for a $2,000 laptop, that is too many "if's" in my opinion.
-Clevo drivers are preferred over the ATI drivers. To me, this resurrects the issues with ATI and their drivers and brings back some bad memories.
-On the PRO side, the cost of the 6990 is lower. Good bang for your buck but next week will be 1 month since I placed my order and, pardon my French, but I just want a frucking laptop already. I'm out $2,000+ with nothing to show for it at this point. Enough is enough.

For that reason I decided on a 580M for my replacement laptop.
-Haven't heard of any temperature issues.
-nVidia has always been great with drivers.
-PhysX
-CON: more expensive
-On the plus side, it seems that the drivers currently available for the 580M are not too efficient or tweaked. I have complete faith nVidia will continue to release better drivers for the 580M to increase it's performance.

I'm in the same boat as you in a way PharmD. After my bad experience with the 6990, I have a bad taste in my mouth.

Your call and I'm sure the temperature issues will eventually get resolved with the 6990 but like I said....it's almost a month since my order was placed and I just want a laptop that works properly.

 

Here are the latest temps we're getting on the P170HM:

http://www.malibal.com/images/furmark826.jpg
http://www.malibal.com/images/3dmark11826.jpg

Thermal Compound: ICD7
Heatsink: 203
Room Temp: 24.5C

 

Wow! Thanks for the quick replies, Daboosh and Malibal! It is good to know I have other options for video cards, and that Malibal is working to give us a permanent fix to the problem! Just out of curiosity, are the other computer sellers also switching to the superior 204 heat sink on the 6990m's to avoid any overheating problems? I have noted that all of the sellers offer a superior thermal paste to facilitate heat dissipation, which I think is great! Thanks!

 

Yes we are all working on getting 204's in as soon as we can.

thanks

 

I believe other sellers are using the 203 heatsink until they are used up. Only Malibal has pledged that they are using the 204 heatsink from next week onward.

EDIT: Ninja'd by mythlogic. Interesting to note, both MYTHLOGIC (I read that Anandtech review; gotta keep it all caps ) and Malibal aren't Sager resellers, and it seems that means they are using the 204 heatsinks because they can pick what they want to use.

On another note, did Malibal post temperatures for the 6990M in a P150HM?

 

Not yet, but as I posted earlier they were getting 93C on Furmark and 84C on 3dMark Vantage (on the -203 heatsink).

 

Ah, thank you lazard. Now I'm wondering if Malibal has now gotten the temperatures in the P150HM closer to the results in their P170HM? There is a limit due to the P170HM's better cooling, but even the slightest improvements would be great.

 

yeah, I'm hoping that they can get it down to like 90C Furmark and 80C Vantage.