Shelf life for an NP8662 (quad core w/ 260M)

Okay guys...after Balmore posted some initial impressions on how ETW is playing on the NP8662 I find my resolve is waning in waiting for a new middle weight 17inch MXM3.0 variant from Clevo. Therefore I'm considering the cheaper, more portable 8662. Based on the configs discussed below and current / future games what do you think the shelf life (1, 2, 3, 4 years) of this laptop is from a gaming performance perspective (i.e. staying in the top 1/3rd of performance settings in games).

Opinions on config are requested and welcome:

15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
I'm going back and forth on the WSXGA versus WUXGA...the reason being I may put a blu-ray in this thing which would necessitate the WUXGA. On the flip side how many blu-rays am I really going to watch and downloads from iTunes or other sites in non-HD format isn't a big deal for me. Also gaming on a 15inch screen in 1920x1200 doesn't seem worth it.

~Intel® P9600 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.66GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt ( + 165 )

~Intel® Q9000 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Quad 2.0GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB ( + 170 ) In an attempt to futureproof this as much as possible I'm now leaning towards the Quad core. My question is that ETW doesn't take advantage of multi-threading yet and the system specs said a 2.4GHZ proc was a minimum. Does selecting the Quad matter in this instance?

4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)

I would do 6GB, but its really pricey and not worth it at this point...system will run on vista ultimate until v7 is released. Also trying to keep this on the somewhat cheaper side

~ 250GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300) ( + 25 )

~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) ( + 40 )

I don't need a ton of storage ...is that 250GB HD 16MB Cache? I think it is... will the 250GB offer a bit more performance than the 320?

~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares

~ 2X Blue-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive

See above for screen res discussion.

Lastly, what's the deal with the Robson Turbo Memory...is it worth it?

 

if etw is your main concern then i would just get the duo core, they are trying to market it to a wide audience so i doubt they will have multi-thread support for it.

if you want to future proof your system i would just personally wait, cause the 2.0quad is not worth it to me, even if it's a quad i won't take anything less than a 2.5, cause to me 2.0 is simply too weak and will bottleneck the old games like call of duty and stuff that i play.

but everyone to their own right?

 

is Clevo likely to release a more powerful quad montevina chip for the 8662?

 

Clevo might not "officially" support it, no, but you can buy any quad and put it in there.

 

You can put inside QX9300 (2.53GHz) it will work...

 

I say go with the Quad. If you want to 'futureproof', this may be the better option. You can always overclock if you find you are having issues, but many of the other posters on NBR have found the Q9000 to be adequate for their legacy gaming needs. At first I was (am) a supporter of the 17"-20" beast, but as time goes on, a 15.4" may be the best choice. The money you save on the screen size can be put toward a nice workstation (lcd, keyboard, etc.) setup. The 7.2k320 will be the best performance, but if you want to save the money and then upgrade to a 7.2k500, that is also a great option. I would say to overshoot on the hard drive. That extra space can always come into use if for future projects. You can always easily upgrade to Blu-ray (for about $100 atm) if you decide you would like it. My 2 cents...

 

when you say not "officially" support ...when you do this are there the same BIOS related issues (i.e. needing a modified one from somewhere else) for the CPU to be recognized? Or, is it as easy as buying a QX9300 and having my local IT shop do the install?

 

Just buy and install.....

 

Nope, what I mean is that Clevo may never offer the other Core 2 Quads in the M860TU, but they will all work, 100%. Not supporting = not covering by warranty. There's no BIOS issue.

No need to pay someone else to do such a simple installation either.

 

As long as you have the latest BIOS update then its a drop in.

Clevo doesn't support it yet due to it's Thermal Budget or what not.

 

I think I read in another thread that it's not possible in this laptop.

 

I just looked up Audigy's thread and he has stated that it cannot be overclocked using his method. Bummer... Then I would get an entry level processor (if possible) and upgrade to a higher end quad when the time comes.

 

The QX9300 will fit, will work but overclocking any processor on this laptop right now remains impossible.

 

People have been testing the QX9300 in their Asus W90's. This thing has a 230W power supply and it seems to be running out of juice as the clocks are pushed up (granted this machine has 2 GPU's and a large display to run). Power (and cooling) are definitely going to be the limiting factor for almost everyone. This makes me wonder if you can hope for anything more power hungry than a QX9000.

 

I'm thinking it reaches a point where one just has to consider a desktop for that level of overclocking until new technology comes out to facilitate more power.