Whats the difference?

What is the difference between the NP9820 and the NP8760? I know that they both have i7s but that the 8760 has a mobile version, is this a drastic difference?

 

Yes it is a big difference, if you must have the absolute most powerful processing available in a laptop then the 9280 is the way to go. The desktop Core i7's will significantly out perform the mobile i7's.

 

But the moblie i7s are better than the Quad Core 2s right?

 

To give you an idea, a $500 Core i7 820QM will perform roughly the same as a $1000 Core 2 Extreme QX9300. A Core i7 920XM would be better than the QX9300, even though they are the same in terms of the fact that they are the best of each line. Simply put, Core i7's are much faster than the Core 2 Quads.

Good to see you looking at Sagers and Clevos like I recommended you to.

 

At stock speeds yes the i7's are faster, but if you have an unlocked bios and a good Q9200 or QX9300 that can OC well, like 3.0GHZ or 3.2GHZ, they will generally compete well with the 920XM.

 

Lets say I get a NP8760 and I get the i7 820QM option. In the feature I will have the option to upgrade to a 920XM correct? This would be a big selling point for me. The NP8760 seems better for gaming because of its full HD LED LCD screen rather than the NP9820.

 

Yep, this is exactly what I've ordered, for the same purpose. Plus resale on an 820QM will be better than the 720QM's.

 

Yes you will be able to upgrade to a 920XM later on, as for the 9820 I assume you mean the 9280 AKA D900F, it's processors should also be upgradeable to the upcoming Gulftown Core i9 6 core processors down the road.

 

Well it looks like I am going to go with the 820QM option in the NP8760. Thanks for the help everyone

 

The "Full HD" screen in the 8760 refers to 1920x1080, which is misleading because the 9820 has "FULLER HD" at 1920x1200. However, gaming always looks the best when run at native resolution (hi-def movies are also 1080), therefore the 1080 might be the better choice because you will achieve greater frame-rates due to the graphics card not having to process 120 extra horizontal lines. On the other hand, the GTX 280M is a beast, and should be able to run max settings on most games at 1200. I wish my 5793 had a 1080 screen instead of 1200 because the 8800M GTX ain't what it used to be.
The 8760 does have LED back-lighting though...

 

Will the NP8760 ever have the possibility of seeing maybe a mobile version of the i9 upgrade?

 

Maybe. If Intel does manage to keep the power consumption down on the 32nm Mobile i9, then we may just see it in our W870CU's. That's assuming that Intel does release it, in which I doubt right now.

 

Well I will be happy with the mobile i7

 

regarding the C2Q vs i7 battle, my Q9000 @ 2.50GHz OC actually gets more points in 3dmark than a 820QM (3700-SACH7002 vs ~3500-3600 5150Joker i believe) (since its not overclockable), so in multithread applications (by that i mean 4 lol) you cant really say the i7 murders it (will be about the same). in the applications that can only utilize 2 threads, yes the i7 murders the C2Qs. funny thing tho, that the highest end i7 mobile (920QM) cost like 1000USD, yet its very very slow compared to the highly oc'able i7 920 desktop which is the ~75% price of the 720QM, yet it cant reach more than double the clock speeds of the 920QM even on air (my friend has a coolermaster V8 + i7 920 running near 4.1GHz possible tho it usually keeps it at stock). if some1 gets the 920QM, they are either ridiculously rich or just didnt research before buying because it is SO NOT worth the $$. you're better off waiting maybe 1yr till intel releases much higher clocked mobile i7s, if they do that is.

 

I've already been waiting a very long time to get a laptop... I am sort of disappointed to hear that the i7m isn't as good as I thought it was

 

Get the 920XM.. Or buy the D900F and get the i7 920 (or better). I considered it briefly, but couldn't put up with the aesthetics of the D900F.

It depends on the app or benchmark you're looking at. wPrime for example shows an i7 720QM beating a Q9000 pretty easily. An 820QM will obviously be better than the 720QM.

The scores SACH mentioned don't make much sense to me, you don't benchmark CPU's against 3DMark.

 

From what I have seen the NP8760 is cheaper, has a better screen, and looks better than the D900F. Even though the D900F's i7 desktop CPU is more powerful the i7m in the NP8760 has to be the best in the mobile category.

 

i was using the 3dmark scores but yea you are correct, there are much better programs out there than 3dmark06 for CPU benchies. main point in case, in terms of 4-thread, the i7 dont really obliterate the C2Q.

 

Supposedly an i7 820QM is equal to if not better than a Q9300. So does that mean that the i7 920QM Extreme will blow a Q9300 out of the water?

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mobile-core-i7,2443.html

 

Wow thats an awesome find Soviet! It would seem that the i7 920QM beats the Q9300. What about an i7 975 Extreme vs a Q9300?

 

http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=3647

 

Looking at this makes me really undecided weather to go D900F or with a M870Cu.

 

I rarely recommend this to others, but I want you to fill out this form so that we can better help you choose between the two notebooks. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=29271

 

General Questions

1) What is your budget?
$2000-$3500

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

a. Netbook; 10” screen or less
b. Ultraportable; 11" - 12” screen
c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator. USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

a. Like: Sager
b. Dislike: None

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
No

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Gaming, watching movies (blu-ray), and web surfing.

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both? Both.

8) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games or types of games?

KOTOR, KOTOR II, The Old Republic, Republic Commando, Star Wars Galaxies, Warcraft II, Warcraft III, WoW, Champions Online, Borderlands, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Dragon Age: Origins, Age of Conan, Diablo II, Diablo III, Divinity II: Ego Draconis, Guild Wars 2, The Witcher, Aliens Vs Predator, Doom III and similar games.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
It doesn't matter since I will be almost always near an outlet.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?
Buying online is ok.

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc. Windows 7

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?

a. WXGA – 1280x800 or occasionally 1280x768; For people who like big text and icons that are easy to read. Less stuff fits on the screen, which translates into more scrolling.
b. WXGA+ – 1440x900; A modest bump over WXGA. Text and icons are a bit smaller. A little more stuff fits on the screen.
c. WSXGA+ – 1680x1050; The middle ground. Again, text and icons are smaller than WXGA+, and more stuff fits onto the screen. Good for having applications open side by side, like a web browser while playing a video.
d. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Very small text and icons, that can be hard to read. Lots of stuff fits on the screen, which means less scrolling. Good for applications that require a high level of detail like CAD or Photo Editing.

I am not sure....

13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
I don't even know the difference.

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Not really... I prefer nothing crazy looking.

15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last? 3+ Years

Notebook Components

16) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 500GB? Do you want a SSD drive? In the beginning I want to start off with 250GB and then go up from there. In the future will be getting a SSD.

17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive? Blu-ray player is a must.

 

Answer: W870

Edit: Alienware SLI 17 incher of course, if you are prepared for the hideous looks and also pay more than you need

 

Agreed. Based on your uses, there is no reason to buy the D900F. In fact, there is no reason for you to buy the W870CU either. But if you must choose between the two, go with the W870CU and get the 720QM as none of the applications or games you use are heavily taxing on the CPU.

 

Thank you Do you think we will ever see a mobile i9 upgrade in the future?

 

Not for socket 988.

 

What about the possible i9 Gulftown for the D900?

 

It should. It's just a socket 1366 32nm shrunk i7 with two more cores squeezed into the die so it should work with a proper BIOS update. The desktop X58's can already accept the Gulftown i9 so the same should be with the D900F. Then again, Clevo likes to play tricks with us so who knows.

 

Hmm... very interesting.