Money burning a hole in my pocket - what laptop to buy next?

My current system specs are:

Rock Xtreme 770,
X9000,
8800M GTX,
WD Scorpio Black 320GB,
Intel 5300N,
4GB OCZ high perf. RAM,
and loads of Operating Systems...

I'd like to just buy the Rock 780, but I'm suffereing the 'Green Jack of Death', and despite this being my second Clevo, I'm not sure I can do this again. (Unless the price swayed it), but then it has the same audio jacks, doesn't it?

The big SL or whatever is very tempting, as I know I could get an i7, but despite its size, its only 17" screen, right?

I game a couple to three times a week, use it for network configuration, skype video, and simply must have at least a quad core. Not too fussed for BlueRay (we all download, right?), but if it was cheap enough, then oh well. As an audiophile something with above-average sound would be a bonus.

Thanks in advance for any ideas you have....

Erik.

 

Wait, so are you going to buy a new laptop?
And when you reference the Rock 780, is it this?

http://www.rockdirect.com/viewNotebook.php?pName=XTREME 780

 

Yes, I'm going to buy, and yes that is the new Rock I was referring to.

 

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9280-built-clevo-d900f-p-2577.html?wconfigure=yes

Seems like that would be your best bet. The i7 and the LGA 1366 will be here to stay for a while so this laptop will be pretty future proof.

 

I'm going to have to ask WHY?!

 

aan310 - why?

Gee, and I thought this was a place for enthusiasts ...

But ok, if you work with a computer all day, you just GOT to have more more more....

 

Dude55 - wow, thats some machine....I might be sold.

But only one VGA card in such a beast?

Thanks.

 

Yeah no sli in this bad boy poor life

 

Yeah, although it doesn't have SLI, its the only laptop with the LGA 1366 socket. Anyways, SLI can be tricky, and 1 280M GTX is plenty enough and with it being MXM 3.0b, you will be able to upgrade your card revision after revision. It still has 4 fans like the D901C, however, the one that would be for the other GPU is for the RAM.

 

Yeah I'm not a big fan of SLI (micro stuttering FTL) but this GTX280M just don't look enough for me (a GTX280 do but this 9800gtx renamed...) .

 

Well you can just upgrade to the new 40nm GPU's when they come out, pretty simple

 

Wrong, you have to let it run MORE stable and not FASTER FASTER FASTER... BAAM!



Future proof is never given no matter what you say for such HIGH-END components. Be prepared to have much problems including a constantly fast and high value-drop.

Spent the money on a desktop-system and get a decent high-mid-end notebook for the rest of your money and you will be happier - trust me.

Do you really WORK with it? Like calculating 1.5 GB matrixes while encoding HighRES videostreams and doing some rendering at once ?

 

If I am not mistaken, from the link on the previous post this looks like a Clevo M570ETU Silver with the 9800 GTX GPU before Clevo upgraded it to the GTX 280M. Note the speakers on the side.

 

Yeah... maybe it's a good idea to start to pray for a non-renamed-overclocked release from nvidia

 

Well to be fair the GTX 280M is still holding its own to its competition (ATi 4870) thanks to extra memory and better driver support.

 

haha what recession? I love it.

 

check out the kobalt website in my link below.

 

To the guy who asked "Do I really use my notebook", well I do game, and during the day I can have Cisco emulators running, Outlook, Word, Excel, with Skype on to chat / conference to other employees with. Restarts are common, with new 'craft interface' installs with each new piece of kit, and so having a fast machine does help. And if you are compressing / decompressing something large (don't you download?) then the more cores the better....

 

MrDJ - yeah I checked the link, thanks.

However, I'm state-side at the moment, so I was able to spec that system better, and cheaper.

Thanks.

 

so erik, any verdict on what your getting?

 

Seems to be that i7 machine, but I'm not happy about no finger-print reader [ yes I'm fussy, but its my money ], and I have an 8800M GTX, and an 8700M GT, and it seems I'm forced to buy another GPU. Do you think they'd budge and leave it out?

 

Go go i7.

 

x16Coloured - no mate, a desktop is just not an option for me. I live on the road, apartment in Denmark, and house in England.

Tried carrying an Shuttle SD39P2 'round with me, and SAS Airlines weighed it, complained, it was heavy too. Also once damaged my LCD screen carrying in the suitcase too (despite being a solid case), so laptop it has to be.

 

Also, something to consider, does anyone know someone with this in stock?

See my paste from online chat with Xotic PC:

Erik: Looking at the Sager NP9280, and I have already two GPUs (newest being 8800M GTX) so I'm not interested in purchasing a third GPU, is there a deal that can done?
Justin W: Good Afternoon Erik!
Erik: Hi
Justin W: Unfortunately the Sager np9280 will only support the GTX 280m video card. It won't support any older video cards.
Erik: How do you know that may I ask? It is Mini PCIe, is it not?
Justin W: It has a different bottom casing and layout than the previous 926x models
Erik: Ok, so it would be physically incompatible then....
Justin W: Correct, it wouldn't be possible to purchase the Sager 9280 without purchasing the GTX 280m GPU.
Erik: Don't get me wrong, its prob a great GPU, but I think I'll do some more research on this...thanks.
Justin W: You're welcome, Thank you for choosing Xotic PC!

When you're ready to make your purchase, please type in my name – Justin W -- in the "Comments box" as you place your online order at: http://www.xoticpc.com The "Comments Box" is on the bottom of all our checkout pages. I will personally check your order once it comes through for faster processing

Please let me know how i can be of further assistance or feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] with any additional questions
Erik: Speaking of which, it says 'late May', and I'm due to leave for Europe June 10th, is there any expected delay to this?
you know....customs would cruicfy me in Denmak....
crucify
Justin W: The current ETA for the Sager 9280 is late May. This is the most accurate ETA provided at this time. Keep in mind ETA stands for Estimated Time of Arrival, so the late May isn't a guaranteed day. It's just a general ETA.
I myself hope it's not delayed any further as the quicker we're able to ship notebooks, the less status update emails/phone calls we receive,
Erik: So you'd pay for shipping & taxes if I left without it, to Denmark?
Justin W: I'm sorry that wouldn't be possible as there's nothing guaranteed about an ETA.
Erik: You don't get without asking, eh?
Ok, I'll think on this. Thanks for your help.
Justin W: You're welcome, Have a great weekend sir

 

From what I have seen in these threads about the GTX 280M, it is an improvement on the 8800 GTX. Opinion seems to be that it is the best single GPU out currently. Sell your old cards and recoup some of your expense!

 

First off the GTX 280m is better than the 9800gtx, has a better cooling system, about 15% better performance or more... and its the most powerful single mobile gpu out there, it can handle almost any game you throw at it on the highest settings... it's about Equivalent to a desktop 9800GTX if thats what you mean
Second the 9280 will come standard with a MXM 3.0 slot for gpu's which will be the mobile standard for upcoming mobile GPU's meaning you can upgrade the GPU in the future making it somewhat futureproof... as the gpu isn't soldered in the 9280, and so is user upgradeable

 

MrButterBiscuits - Amen to your quote regarding the jetski.

Also, despite having just passed my A+ in December, this MXM 3.0 slot is completely new on me. So it is both electrically and physically incompatible then...

 

Yes, it is definitely incompatible. Different chipset, different design, etc.
I would just get the 280M GTX, wait until until the new 40nm GPU's are released, then sell the 280M GTX on eBay or put it in another laptop that can use it.

 

Just to close this thread down...

My Clevo's screen hinge siezed, and then broke, and the strain forced the other hinge to break. I was therefore forced to buy another laptop, whilst out on the road...

Enter the Acer Aspire 8942G.

i7 720QM CPU
ATI HD5850 GPU (slower than I expected)
160GB Intel SSD (boot drive)
640GB secondary drive (I really do not need this much space)
4GB DDR3 @ 1066MHz.
18.4" glossy (too glossy) 1080p screen
Blue ray player (no use to me)
No TV option (dam)
720p Web cam (best I've seen)
loads of speakers (decent sound AS LAPTOPS GO)
And best of all a REAL VOLUME CONTROL. Wow, I've not had one of these since I spent 2732 GPB on a Dell Inspirion 3000, back in the late 90's.
And the heat exits at the rear - this was an absolute must for me.

In short, Clevo wins on build quality, but this is a very attractive laptop, gaining all the attention at the office.

Looks like its going to be Clevo again next time (which will be my 3rd Clevo purchase to date), it just feels solid, has better cooling, and better quality components (Acer scrimped on the graphics card, using GDDR3 instead of GDDR5, and I can't forgive them for this).

 

Yeah i must admit the build quality on the clevo's is rather good, im on my second one now and cant see me buying much else.

on a side note, the problem is that the interface of the GPU's tends to change every year or so. Making those 8 series cards incompatible with the d900f and m980 chassis

just for future reference

 

GDDR3 5850 is a sad puppy.

 

If you're extremely mobile and want to use your system as a business machine - matte screen is a must and here you're boned. Buy any of the glare type screens and and you'll regret it soon enough. Also dual GPU configs are heavy. I'd aim for a 15". But unless you can fit a nice anti-glare filter on it without losing the quality of the image - forget about Clevo/AW.