x7200 FTW!

Hey, NBR enthusiasts, i'm considering to order that beast, but haven't dealt with such a huge machine before and am curious about:

1. Is there a chance to get non-ex CPU's overclocked, like i7-960 and especially i7-970 after a price drop?

2. What is your primary use of those hefty monsters: gaming or corporate? By the latter i mean to empty your own or company's pocket by at least 5000$ on Xeon-based lappy with 24Gb of Ram and Quadro Fx GPU?

3. Are u satisfied with this beast? Some minor pros and cons will be appreciated...

Thanks

 

Chosing Quadro FX = No dual cards in SLI.

Thus I prefer a D900F with Xeon and Quadro FX...

And D900F has 1200p screen while x7200's screen is 1080p.

 

Thanks for the info, mate! And what spheres do people use such Xeon laptops in? Quadro is good for designers, wright?

 

I personally plan on buying it's SB successor for a drafting platform that's relatively mobile. A Quadro/FirePro card is great in this instance, as it'll accelerate some CAD and 3d drafting/modeling programs.

That said, the difference between the Xeon and a regular 1366 i7 is very little. I'd go with the consumer level i7 950-970.

 

Yes. But you'll need to experiment. For example, Intel XTU has been flaky on these machines w/ out the correct BIOS. Also be aware, the BIOS is not really meant for OC'ing the CPU. For example, you won't be able to change the core voltages on the processor. There have been some people who've unlocked some features of the BIOS, but I cannot say what they've been able to accomplish.

The big problem you will have here is heat. You're running desktop components in a tiny box w/ small fans when compared to a desktop. Some people's x7200s are running 90-95C under load - not much room for OC'ing IMHO. But that is not happening to everyone. For instance, my x7200 runs 70C under load.

Also note, if you get an SLI/CF configuration, you may need to purchase an extra PSU in order to not trip the safety features of a single PSU.

Work. I have multiple language compilers and virtual machines for testing different OSs, and no games. $5000 sounds like you want all the bells and whistles. If you know what you need, you can configure a decent x7200 for quite a bit less.

100% satisfied.

Pros:
+ Desktop CPUs (hex cores are almost a necessity in my work)
+ Near Desktop drive capacity (and speed)
+ Near desktop GPU capable w/ SLI or CF.
+ USB 3.0.
+ 12.5mm for disk drive bays


Cons:
- LCD is just on the average side (is that really a con?)
- Heat can be a problem when fully loaded and you want to use this as a laptop and not a desktop replacement
- Average sound through speakers (but I didn't expect too much from a laptop)
- Weight. I knew going in this machine would be heavy. TBH, I really don't mind it, but if there was some magical way to give all these features and remove weight, I'd be all for it.

I would recommend going through the x7200 owner's lounge thread. There is a ton of info there and once you're done reading the thread, ppl are good about answering any questions.

 

+ rep jclausius! that was really helpful and i'd better stick to x7200 owner's lounge)

 

Do u personally think it's wise to choose an i7 970 platform now, or hold my horses till next gen processors come out? thanks

 

there is a sager unlocked bios in owner's lounge might able to oc no extreme cpu...thakns to Torment78
the non extreme cpu's multiplier is locked, have to rise bclk.......but when i rise bclk just a little to 160mhz with 6gb hyperx 1600 2:10, things goes wrong often............now i upgraded to 12g hyperx 1600 things goes wrong almost every time

 

well, i consider that's a more RAM - harder CPU OC law! pretty common thing.. does it recognize your ram at full 1600Mhz speeds? i thought 1333Mhz is a limit. thanks

 

yes, but the uncore votage xmp gives is too low, if u rise uncore and memory will go back to "no preset" button..........choosing xmp 1600 will lock everything about ram.......