Upcoming GPU Info Thread - 6xxM / 7xxxM Discussions!

I have one question that relates specifically to Clevo/Sager.
When new 6xxM arrives in April will there still be a chance to get P1xxEM with AMD 6970M/6990M and Ivy Bridge or is it all Nvidia from then until (when/if) 7xxM shows up?

 

The Chassis is low stock in a lot of places now, but the 6990M is widely available and has not been discontinued.

 

That's exactly what I wanted to know. If I can.. and if possible.. I want a P150EM + Ivy Bridge + AMD 6990M

That is my dream set up.

 

your dream is very realistic wish mine was that reachable.

 

Why don't you want the new AMD GPU's?

 

Haha. Don't give up! I have faith in you.

I'm sure the new AMD GPU's will be too expensive... so I'd rather just have an 6990m and be happy.

My budget is 1500-1600 usd... but we will see how it works out. Hopefully the P150EM isn't above and beyond expensive.

 

Nvidia 675m makes 6990m look costly, FYI. I heard some rumors Ivy will bring a small price drop, can anyone confirm this? Also, you might change your mind once you see what Aikimox's dream is...

 

How come, currently, we can't get a 120hz screen with an AMD card? I understand AMD's 3D tech isn't as mature as Nvidia's, but what if I'm just interested in the higher refresh rate?

 

Probs will be available, my -dream- p150em is cheap 680m with XM ivy bridge, won't happen.

 

Same question here, and what if you decide to add a Nvidia card later :\.

 

The cards (AMD) currently don't default to the right output (eDP) on the 120Hz screens to fire them up, if you put one in a 3D laptop all the external outputs work, just not the main screen which isn't detected. We are hoping that the 7000 series fixes that.. we hope, but we obviously don't know yet.

 

Do you know if 660m will have MXM 3.0b interface, standardly?

 

Ive heard that it will be mxm 3.0

 

They will be. So they'll be compatible.

 

I'm starting to get the feeling that Dell has bought Alienware a head start with the 7970M, just like they did with the 6970M.

Don't be surprised.

 

Crap, well I'm going with either 6970m or 660m. depending on which is cheaper, unless 680m is out by may 2ndish

 

What happens May 2nd?

What little I've seen suggests 680M the first week of June, but there are also rumors that the 7xxxM GCN variants will actually launch with Ivy Bridge, so the 680M might be pushed up if that happens.

660M should certainly be upgradeable to 680M, so that may be an option.

What I'm interested in is whether 660M could be upgraded to say 7870M/7970M and go from Optimus to AMD's switching solution, which I haven't found any information on yet.

 

Yeah I really hope so, no integrated GPU switch is a deal breaker for me if considering AMD options. May 2nd(delivery probably around may 14?) because I am going to start a devolopment project over the break before summer classes in June.

 

Oh, ouch. Here's hoping we see GCN mobile launch with Ivy, then. Otherwise 660M is your option.

I'm convinced they'll have it, I just don't know if it's tied to the card or to the motherboard, so I don't know if it'll remain intact upon switching. And since this is the first time we'll have Optimus on GTX parts (aside from AW), I don't think anyone knows the answer to that yet. If someone has replaced say a 560M with a 6970M and gotten switching capability out of it, that'd be a good indicator, but not proof.

Personally, I'm happy enough with disabling dedicated in BIOS if I have to, but that's the minimum level of switching I need, and I know not everyone's comfortable with that.

 

If gfx switching is offered with nvidia, it's surely just software that would prevent it from working with AMD cards. If Clevo blocks it in the bios, I'm sure one of our resident BIOS crackers could figure it out..

It'd be stupid if they tried to block AMD switching.

 

the way i understand it is for graphics switching to work, the discrete graphics processor has to be hardwired in through the integrated gpu. so if amd doesn't produce cards that allow for that, i don't think software would change anything... or maybe i'm just misunderstanding things.

 

It's not software blocked, it needs to be physically hardwired to the mobo. For Optimus to work, you have to sacrifice the AMD switching (Dell Precision series). There's only one working implementation with both AMD and Nvidia cards, as far as I know - AW M17x and M18x. But it's a different story, M18x has no Optimus either, you have to turn off the system to make a hard switch from the IGP to GPU and back. IMHO, it's the best choice, as you have no issues with drivers.

 

Aww, crap. AW's way out of my budget range.

Thanks for the clarification, though. Guess I'm waiting for the full 7xxx launch then.

 

Oh, wow I didn't realize Optimis and AMD's method were physically wired differently.

M18X's method does seem best, but it doesn't sound like that's how Clevo has implemented things. Perhaps gfx switching for AMD won't be happening after all :/ unless AMD has redesigned how their cards will switch in the 7xxx series that is.. That's quite unfortunate for AMD

 

Not sure how decent an idea this is but could an SSD boot probably put you slightly out of some of your pain by taking time off from power off to power on? Still really isn't very practical though. and shutting everything does not sound like fun.

No AMD switching just means I won't buy an AMD card, no matter how powerful they are T_T Need that battery life.

 

I can't imagine AMD being silly enough to not include some form of switching in the 7xxx series. Even if the AMD cards don't have switching in the Clevos, because they're designed around Optimus for the 6xx series, I'm sure there will be other options that do support whatever switching technology AMD chooses to use. That said, what I was talking about was the inability to swap from one GPU company to the other (Nvidia to AMD or vice versa) and still maintain switching ability, except in AW's case. I hope that'll change, but who knows.

I agree about the battery life and needing switching in one form or another, though I'm not sure how your first comment is related; I need GPU switching so I can simply run off integrated for web browsing/etc.

 

i'm definitely going amd. they're usually cheaper. plus they're way more practical for bitcoin mining and i plan on doing a lot of that if i get an apartment with power included in the rent.

 

Woah woah waoh hang on. Switching GPU brands and retaining switching? Last I checked, on the HM models, you can't even switch brands, due to some silly mobo thing. Before wondering if you can switch and keep your IGP, please confirm if you can even switch in the first place.

EDIT: somehow I doubt AMD will be cheaper his time around, unless something huge happens with their prices.

 

Sorry!

I assumed that since the cards will/should be MXM 3.0/3.1 that they'd be more or less compatible (I'm aware of course that MXM 3.0b require more, uh, clearance than 3.0a), and wasn't aware of which models fit 3.0b, or what other issues there may be. I haven't had a laptop yet, just been researching a lot, so apologies for not understanding things as well as others who have had that experience.

I'm similarly worried about pricing, based on the desktop parts-that's part of the reason why I wanted to get a lower midrange GPU and upgrade it later, when prices are more sensible.

 

You can switch cards all you want with current models. The only time that is a problem is if you're talking about the 120hz 3D screen. You physically can't use it on a machine with an AMD card- Nvidia only.

 

It is a bit of a pain on the M18X though, especially if you want to un-plug and go. But, it is a better solution, driver wise.

 

The thing is, it's up to the manufacturer (Clevo) how to implement it. If they choose Optimus, then there's no AMD switching. If they choose AMD, they can make the on-the-fly switching (I think M17xR3 uses that) but Optimus won't work. The only complain to AMD is that we can't use 3D (not yet anyway) screens.

Still, I'd rather have to restart the system and have a complete switch with the GPU powered off vs having Optimus + driver headache in some games that still run poorly with Optimus enabled. I have an ssd and it takes 10sec to restart, no not a biggie...

 

All their toting of Optimus though is worrisome.. Guess that they can't really say anything else though due to AMD NDA's. Since they're advertising Optimus, I'd say their option is to make two different versions (one for AMD and the other for nvidia). But that wouldn't make a while lot of sense, why wouldn't they just use the AMD method for both types?

Perhaps something will be revealed next Friday..

 

Why is the toting of optimus so worrisome? If it works well this time around and the GPU's are powerful and run cooler I don't see the problem?? They are even supposedly going to be cheaper then last time...

 

What a relief. That had me worried- it wasn't anything to do with the MXM slot, though.

10sec to restart would be fine if I didn't have to close and re-open about 30 programs...

 

Hopefully Optimus is much improved from its current version. The worrisome part is if AMD can't use switchable graphics, you'll have to sacrifice battery life to have an AMD card. While the nvidia cards are a bit cheaper than they have been in the past, AMD rumors are looking like they have a good chance of spanking nvidia in mobile performance (7970 is supposedly pushing 21k 3DMark Vantage while the 675M is around 17k) while maintaining similar or lower cost. That's assuming the 675M is supposed to be pitted against the 7970, and the 680M is for the 7990M. If nvidia ends up having some crazy 685M for the 7990M, it might be a different story.

Anyways, as much as I want to go AMD, I won't be able to sacrifice battery life for the performance difference. I believe that's the dilemma.

 

I've already decided to get a 3D laptop ... so I am pretty much stuck with Nvidia.

 

675m should be plenty for my needs, no reason to delay my order and spend more money to lose enough battery life that I need to take the charger to school with me just for some extra time before I need to upgrade.

 

I've had multiple bad experiences with ATI/AMD GPU drivers which makes me reluctant to buy one of their cards now...

Have they improved in the last couple of years?

 

yes, they have and i never had a single problem with my laptop

 

Does the HD 4000 support 120Hz displays / 10-bit displays now?

Without it, no optimus again for 10-bit display workstations or 3D laptops..

 

It does according to the Spec, however the P170EM3 is slated to NOT be optimus, as I think at this point its more driver related to do 3D optimus than anything.

 

Alright, if AMD does something cool with the 7000 series as it was with the 6000 series, Im gonna buy a P370EM with an AMD card (or even two) again.

I love how it was price-wise with the 6000 series. If the 7000 are priced lower than nvidia again, then Im gonna get AMD once again.

 

Same here. I'd never pay extra for Nvidia cards, especially if the performance is similar. Also, just for a reference, every Nvidia card I have owned in the past died eventually, totally opposite from my experience with AMD cards.

 

Unfortunately, it will be hard for AMD to beat the 675m's price. I'll be getting that in a P150EM, may switch to AMD down the line once 675m starts to get old.

 

675M is just a 580M. 6990M is similar in performance and cheaper than 580M. Best to see what 79xx can do in addition to 680M given the 680 is a killer on the desktop.

 

so I have a sager with a 6990m right now. no 120hz screen. I'm assuming I should be able to get an Nvidia card if I wanted to down the line.

 

So? It's not like 580m isn't the tied best mobile GPU available right now... I'm really tired of waiting for a new computer, and I can always upgrade later... If AMD's pricing isn't out by ivy's release, I'm not waiting.

 

So are you ordering when IB comes out or Thursday when some NDA's are lifted..? Probably just Sager's NDA's will be lifted.. So that mean's you'll see the new Clevo models officially, with the GPU's Nvidia has announced, and Sandy Bridge processors.

According to the latest "confirmed Intel roadmap", only the chipsets (Z77, Z75, H77 and B75) will be announced on April 8th. Then in the 4th week of April the quad core desktop and mobile procs will be announced, going on sale on the 29th. Then dual-core desktops/mobiles will be released June 3rd..

Linky

 

typing lag due to old broken machine...

My order sort of depends on the release schedule of these machines. I'm going for a P150EM with 675m and 3720QM. If the machines are up for sale on April 5 with SB, I'm waiting for ivy. If they are ready for pre-order with ivy on April 5, I'm getting a spot in line, with 675m as my GPU. While I'm waiting, if AMD releases solid release date and pricing for 7970m and the upgrade from 675m is $50 or less, I'll switch to it. If it's more than $150 I won't get it, and if it's between those or more than one month extra wait, I'll think about it until the ship date and maybe switch. I do need to have some money left over for other accessories... (I have a budget of $2000, not counting shipping). I'll be buying from Mythlogic, so I'll always be able to upgrade later (7990m) thanks to their awesome Phoenix upgrade plan. Either way, I'll probably be one of the first adopters, so I should be able to do a review