Opinion

The 7970M crapped out. I discovered the shoddy, unprofessional soldering was the problem. The chips above the ram, the solder were burnt and even fell off. Resolder/reflowing failed.

So I'm looking at 670MX or 675MX. I figure I can overclock the 670MX so it will match up to or exceed a stock 770M, except for boost 2.0.

Normally you'd ask, no problem, the 256bit 675MX plus higher binned chips. Except I have no plans to be a laptop gamer forever, my next setup will be a desktop + portable laptop.
- Reason? I'm really tired of laptop companies and OEMs treating customers like dirt. 1 year warranty vs lifetime on parts? Charging 3x as much for same performance on desktop? Smaller is not an excuse as the manufacturing process is same cost and no extra engineering/research not required, they are just using slower binned desktop parts.

Anyway, what do you think? I'm leaning towards the 670MX and save the rest for the desktop system which will save me 2x when I'm ready to upgrade.

 

I have a 675mx, and I'd actually recommend spending the extra money for it over a 670mx. Since you're getting fed up with laptop life, best to make one final investment. I'm able to max out all the games I play with the exception of really demanding stuff like Metro, etc. I've also heard you can also overclock the 675mx to near 680 levels, as they are based on the same gk archictecture, but i've left mine at stock as it's been able to handle everything I have thrown at it.

 

Anyone with a 670MX been able to OC and match 675MX? I'm thinking the 256bit might make it worth it. Cheapest I can find right now is $460 with heatsink, as on Ebay no heatsink... and they already charging $400 for it, bad deal.

So far I have RJTech for 675MX @ 460
LPC-Digital for 670MX @ $300, difference is the core/memory clock slower and 192bit
Eurocom for 675MX @ $480
- All of them include heatsinks, making their prices destroy the Ebay prices by a good 100-150$

Any other suggestions? I've emailed Mythlogic but haven't heard back, I'm hoping they have 675MX in stock, but wouldn't surprise me if they didn't.

- This really sucks since I can get a i5 4670K and GTX 670 EVGA Superclocked for less. Really making me mad that 1 year old hardware can cost more than new generation hardware twice as fast for less and I get a i5 that destroys my notebook CPU.
- But I haven't saved enough to get a new LCD Panel with it.

 

The prices for mobile are high for a few reasons. For starters, they are smaller. Making stuff smaller is expensive. Also, most notebooks have their GPUs soldered to the mobo, so the market for them is even smaller. Plus, it's not like nvidia/amd are making the GPUs for retail sale. So that's the price we pay for mobility. Just imagine trying to lug around that desktop with a i5 and gtx!

Have you tried emailing Sager directly?

 

That's not a good excuse anymore since manufacturing smaller is no longer a cost issue. It's too bad the industry continues to charge prices and continues that stupid myth.

Anyway, Mythlogic doesn't sell 675MX anymore, RJ Tech has the worst customer service, was told it would take them a week to just ship something, ridiculous. Also phone manners is non-existent.

So I'm waiting for LPC-Digital to see what the invoice says for the 670MX kit

Also waiting for Eurocom to price match RJ Tech except with actual real manners and customer service and hopefully they can process an order faster than 4 days.

 

Most laptops cannot accept MXM GPUs. There is less demand for them, so there is less being made.

If more is made, it is cheaper. If less is made, it is more expensive. Items are made in bulk to reduce manufacturing costs.

All NVidia/AMD does is sell the GPU core to a vendor that then makes it into a MXM GPU (PCB design - custom or reference, component selection, quality or no quality, etc). That vendor is in charge of pricing.

Manufacturing smaller can either cost more or less. Space is limited in a laptop, and smaller components that pack a lot of power are sold at a premium.

Low spec GPUs such as the 750M can be soldered onto the motherboard, reducing costs. Modularity adds to the cost. Most laptops are not made with modularity in mind, therefore explaining the premium prices for MXM GPUs.

 

Uh huh, keep telling yourself that. You can buy a phone with a screen that is far superior to anything on laptops. Oh and guess what? Phones have tiny components too. And likely use parts/design exclusive for phone designs like SOC's yet they don't get stupid pricing. Get the Nexus 4 for $299.

All your reasons for why GPU are expensive out the window. It's just Clevo and others know mobile users are chumps and will pay up. I was a chump and did. Plain and simple. Anyone who makes excuses for it, is just being delusional. They do it because they know there are chumps like us who will pay up. Unfortunately for me, I did it twice, with one being the 7970M dying barely over a year and out of warranty.

As for MXM and upgrading, that's a laugh. Companies don't want you to upgrade, just buy a whole laptop. It's not about MXM being exclusive or not used, it's just the best way to force consumers to purchase an entire new notebook. And even if MXM, Clevo making it so next gen hardware won't work unless it's been modded. Want 780M? Good try, buy a whole new notebook with the $800 premium price attached to just the GPU alone. And can only use "Clevo" branded parts for it, like Dell 7970M won't work with Clevo. As for CPU? Intel is now making their mobile parts work ONLY with current chipsets and constantly changing sockets. So that's throwing CPU upgrade out the window if you want next gen improvements/features.
- This is all about mobile users being chumps and they know it. Just look at Asus, their CPU is now soldered now, as it is on Razer. And neither have GPUs that can be upgraded and yet you're still paying the premium $800 for the GPU. Nothing to do with MXM there.

Whatever, my opinion. Seems some of you are deluded in trying to justify why this is, as if to say mobile part being small and MXM exclusive etc. Yeah right. It's just demand and companies believing you're a chump and will pay up. That's it. Nothing more. It's pathetic we pay twice for 2x less performance.

Maybe 10 years ago some of your arguements would be true. Not today. We have CPU manufactured 22nm and GPU at 28nm and ram now at 14nm/10nm soon from Samsung. Smartphone users demand the best screens, sLCD3 and IPS at 1080p @ 400 PPI? We're just paying more for less. What do we have? We can still see pixels on our screens a foot away. There is no manufacturing/hardware excuse anymore, they just kept the prices high because we're chumps. In fact they increased the prices. G73JH was $1450. G750JH is $2300. G73JH used MXM, upgradable. G750JH is soldered on, not upgradeable. ROFL. Mobile gamers, we're chumps.

 

No doubt that mobile gpus have higher margins, but saying that the companies are milking you for as much as they can? You just described every business ever.

You're a chump for buying desktop GPUs too.

 

The mobile phone comparison isn't accurate, as the prices you see advertised (typically $99 - $299) are based on a two year contract. That's why unlocked phones sell for anywhere from $500 - $900

While I agree with some of your points, the situation is likely to remain as it is for the foreseeable future. The high end mobile gaming market is quite small, so the prices are going to be higher. It is what it is.

It sucks that you're in this situation, but I'd be pissed at AMD, not clevo. Since it seems youre pretty much at the end of your options, why not try to contact AMD customer support, twitter, facebook etc with pics of the card. Might be able to shame them into getting a replacement.

 

By this logic, even desktop components are heavily overpriced since we are actually buying silicon/metal/plastic worth only a few dollars for hundreds of dollars.

We pay the price for the perceived benefits that we look to get out of these things, not the sum of their parts!

Some years back, I remember top level 3d cards could be had for $200. Now, you cannot get the top level card for $500. It is all about how we perceive its worth.

Similarly, a you cannot compare a desktop setup to a laptop. Portability, size, power consumption. Just to name a few benefits.

However, I can understand your frustration. Paying around $500 for a secondhand GPU that is half the performance of the 7970m...is downright demotivating.

 

When can people get that prices of products in a free market are always made according to how much the market is willing to pay, not how much it takes to make it happen?

 

That's a red herring. We're talking about laptops here, not phones.

You don't know anything about manufacturing, do you?

Clevo can choose whether their products will work in other laptops or not. They are the ones making the PCB design, or at least commissioning someone to do that.


When components are downsized, there are a whole lot of issues to deal with. Yield is one of them.

Do you know why phones have such high resolution screens right now, and not TVs nor laptops? It's because manufacturers cannot make enough large displays with high pixel counts due to yield issues. Phones have small screens, and manufacturers are able to make those with high yields. Sure, they can make BIG high pixel density displays, but it's going to cost YOU, the consumer. You are paying for the unusable products that come with manufacturing new technology, and the luxury of having such a high end product.

Feasibility is another. Can Moore's law still continue?

If we were still using old technology, no. With new technology, we can, but it costs more.

http://gizmodo.com/how-extreme-ultraviolet-light-is-set-to-make-your-proce-1051967892

That article talks about Extreme Ultraviolet Light. Sure, they can make a product that produces that kind of light, but a few years ago, they could not make a product that produced enough light energy. Now they can, and it's going to cost more since it's what you call state-of-the-art. Guess what? Yield issues also come along with that. That's going to be passed onto you, the consumer, in a price increase.

If you're just going to whine, don't buy anything at all.

 

Phone screens are way smaller, a larger fraction of the device cost too.

But I would like to see some of it move up.

 

Looks like you switched it out for a 675mx. How is it treating you? What vbios did you use, where did you get it, and what oc tool are you using?