NP8170 VS x7200

I'm looking at getting new laptop for gaming purposes, and have been looking at the new Sandy bridge sager models and comparing them to the older x7200. In either case id prob get a m485 to go with it.

One big draw to the x7200 is that I already have a I7-980x that I am using in a desktop, and also have an older I7-960 laying around that I am not using. Another reason that I like the x7200 is that it can support 2x gpu's. However, I am not willing to shell out for two m485's right now, so sli would be an upgrade down the road.

It looks like I can get a np8170 with a CPU upgrade for about the same price as a x7200 without a cpu. That really makes the Sandy bridge option pretty attractive compared to running a desktop cpu, and with way less hassle. I think my I7-960 will be a wash with a 2720, but the 980x will be pretty high on the food chain for awhile. But there are the power benefits of Sandy bridge that seem like they are more worth it in a laptop.

So I've got a few questions that might help me decide.

1) how hard is it to install a CPU in a clevo shell? I've been building pc's for years but haven't touched a laptop.

2) what's required to move from a single gpu's set up to a sli setup in a x7200? Is this even a realistic upgrade path? If this is not something that's easy to do, I may just scrap the x7200 idea.

3) any guess on when clevo will release a SB shell that will accept desktop cpu's? I can get desktop cpus for cheap, but not laptop cpu's.

4) any ideas or suggestions?

 

i think x7200 is so easy building...........unlike asus g53/73
just install & connect sli bridge and its good to go, there is no master/slave bios for x7200
someone says clevo is working on x78 lga2011, might use x7200 chassis i guess.................

 

The Sager NP7280 is going to be top dog between those two models. Especially if you have a 980X that can go in there. That CPU and a 485M is going to be much better then the 2720QM.

If your'e comfortable installing CPUs in desktops you should have no problem getting a new one in the Sager. They make all their components really easy to access. A couple panels/screws/ and fans later your at the components. As DGDXGDG mentioned pretty much all you need to do to get SLI is add the second card, connect them and you're good to go.
The problem is finding the card sold individually. Mobile cards are no where as easy to get as a new desktop card. With a little searching you could find one.

If you want the most powerful you can get and battery life isnt important to you go with the NP7280 and 485M card.

 

Regarding the SB update, there is no information on this right now. It will not be in the immediate future. Yes the x7200-NP7280 is very easy to upgrade and less expensive at least CPU wise in many cases...

 

i was considering the same thing in another thread in regards to which route to get, the desktop i7's will destroy laptop sandy bridges from what it appears, but other people are claiming of some kind of refresh of sandy bridge laptop coming in a month or so... 485m sli for me in deed that's for certain.

 

Thanks for the info. Those pictures do a great job of breaking down the clevo shell. Regardless which route I choose, I'm now confident I'll have no trouble working on a clevo/sager.

Now it's a matter of deciding if want my 980x in my desktop, or in a laptop. While it is certainly the top of the line CPU, I'm not sure it will make much practical difference over a new SB for most games, but a SB cpu certainly has some power savings that may make a difference in a laptop. Granted, it might not matter with these power hungry portable desktops.

I currently use my desktop for everything, including watching tv and movies on my home theater. But I live in a small condo with my girlfriend, and we've had to learn how to share the space (and the hardware). A strong laptop would let us both do our own thing without taking up much space. I do play tons of games. The most cpu intensive usage I've seen is when I multi box and run 6 copies of a game clients at once. Even there, the six core i7-980x is only marginally better than my 960, which shocked me. It must not be a very cpu bound game, but I can't think of any other game that could come close to using 6 cores.

I do want get back into audio editing and production, which is some thing I'd do exclusively on the laptop.

 

I thought the laptop cpu's were more or less the same as the desktop ones if you were plugged in and using the same turbo frequency. The new SB desktop cpu's do well vs the i7-950 (at least according to Tom's Hardware), but I have not seen benchmarks yet of the laptop cpu's. Clock for clock, SB cores are more efficient. The hexa-core cpu's are great for the apps that can use all the cores, but most games are fine with 4.