Aviator Fx7 Vs. Aviator Ax9

I can't tell you with video editing, but if I was currently buying - and I buy only for gaming, I would more than likely go with the AX9. The reasons are 1) SLI, 2) size of the screen and 3) the pricing.

Even with the EX7, I didn't raid, so RAID is not a big deal. Two hard drives are great for segragating data and apps, but with the CX7, I have learned to get used to the one drive.

At this point in time, the dual core is not as important to me - nor the capability to have multiple optical drives.

Now - one side note to keep in mind as well. The AX9 is larger than the FX7. If you are going to be mobile, it is something to think about. For me again, not an issue.

So gaming wise, I think I would lean to the AX9. Sorry I can't help for editing.

Good luck!

Here's my 2 cents for what its worth:

a) AMD 64 X2/FX processors vs. Turion Mobile. No brainer. If the end application supports the multithreading of dual core CPU's, thats the way to go. They are both 64-bit so no hangups there (except for OS, not even going there)

b) SLI video. FX7 does not support SLI video. If your system was to be a purely gaming box then the AX9 would be the way to go. In case anyone didn't know, SLI allows 2 video cards to operate as one, basically giving you a dual core GPU with double the memory.

c) FX7 allows for RAID support while both offer SATA150 support. For the Power application user RAID support is better. Hard Drives can only transfer aboutr 70-80Mbps of data. This is a physical limitation of the drive. The 150Mbps SATA connection referes to the shared BUS the drives use. With RAID 0 2 drives appear as 1 large drive. Data is written to both at the same time, allowing for the faster transfer.

For me, if I needed a pure semi-portable gaming machine, the AX9 would be my choice. However since I do a fair amount of number crounching and data transfer the FX7 suited my needs better.

As far as video editing is concerned, my experience is limited to Using Beyond TV to record on my desktop (Hardware encoding), transfer these to my FX7, cut-out the commercials, create a DVD image, and then burn the DVD. On my desktop with a Celeron 2.8G oc'd to 3.1G with 2G RAM from the cutting of the commercials to the final burn would take up to 1.5 hours. With the Dual Core CPU FX7 rocks thru this in about 40-50 minutes now. I am not sure how this would apply to the video editing you are refering to but if its Graphical representasions then SLI support might be better, but if its video processing, I think the Dual Core would be your better option.

Alright, you got more than 2 cents, but then again I could be completely off base and misinformed in which case you got nothing.

SLI will allow you to basically have Dual GPUs. This is entirely different from a Dual Core CPU as there base functions in the Laptop/PC are different. Best thing would be to have a Dual Core CPU with SLI, but those are only available in desktop units right now.

^ that

Dranzaz hit it on the head. Good post.

One thing I am wondering about the SLI. I just recently (I know, I am slow) built a system with SLI (desktop). I didn't know about the limitation of only one display when you are in SLI mode. I wonder if this is the same case with the AX9 - that if you are in SLI mode, it is either your notebook screen or your attached monitor.

If it works like any other Video setup, you should be able to connect an external monitor to the DVI port and extend the desktop to that display and use both the external and laptop display at the same time. I personnaly have a Dell Tower unit at work with Dual 19" LCD monitors. Attached to the left hand monitor is KVM switch to my DVI port on my FX7 and the Dell desktop. The right hand LCD display's my server monitoring and the Laptop display is for my SNMP Network monitoring, the Left LCD (positioned in the middle) is for production depending on if I need access from our Corp Net or BackBone Net via the KVM switch.

The above is just my example, but all laptops produced in recent years should support the Dual Display mode and as long as the OS and drivers support it. To my knowledge, there is no real performance hit on running a dual monitor setup.

As far as a Tower unit running in SLI mode, I am not sure, but I believe Card in the top slot is the primary and only its video outputs are active. As long as the Primary card is Dual Monitor capable, you should be good to go.

Hope this helps also.

SLI is easily selectable and can be turned off. But for some reason, when it goes into SLI mode, the system will tell you that it will only use one display - and that is it. When I turn off SLI mode, then I have multiple screens without an issue - up to four screens.

Also - one thing to remember is that having two cards in the system does not mean it is in SLI mode. SLI simply means that the system is utilizing both cards at the same exact time and load sharing information over each card.

Man I can't wait to see how the AX9 works out.

and why not the Fx7??????

If

You are doing video editing the FX should be seriously considered. If you want comparison of similar machines look at
1Beyond or Boxx, you can see what they use and then build the Hype for less.

As far as SLI benefit in video, its a waste. Single 7900 should do the trick as far as duel display capability. SLI is for gamming not video editing so get the right card for what you seriously going to do with it. Singles will work fine.

That is a very tough thing to answer. I state this because desktops have had a lot of emphasis over the past several years in quieting them up. Better power supplies, sound dampening added to cases, etc. Fans have gotten a bit quieter as well. I just built a replacement desktop and it is quieter than what it was before - and now it has SLI'd graphics in it with the additional fans.

That being said - I haven't seen any solid reviews of the AX9 yet to tell you what the sound is on these. Hard to say. I would assume there is much more noise than the CX7 (similar cases) because of the dual video. But again, lets wait for reviews. Once the review is out there (even something from PCT on the Sager version), I believe a lot of individuals will be able to discuss this one more.

One possible note is Pat could report what they have seen.

I haven't convinced Hypersonic that they should send me a new model to review with each new model. Now that is a good job!

Take care and good luck.

That's just an assumption. They may have installed some sort of noise dampening - so don't take this as fact. I am just saying that with the two cards, there is going to be more need for fans.

Like I said above - maybe Pat can see what they have seen on their side.

Yes

In fact if you dont get the dual core for the video you will be waiting for graphics and everything else to render a longer time than you need to in order to see the final product.

Dual core/Dual Processors is a must for video, unless you have a server unit and have several machines hooked together (which can be exciting but costs $$$).

From what I understand, the current dual-core CPU situation is fairly new (at least on the the consumer end) and depending on the application, you may or may not get any performance gain with a dual-core CPU. This is with my experience in gaming situations were the majority of games aren't multi-threaded, and therefore the only thing you notice is that your system doesn't get bogged down when running CPU intensive applications. I don't have any experience in the editting realm so the software support may or may not be there.

With that, I would definately get the AX9. SLI, depending on the application, can give you very noticeable performance increases. I was loading Oblivion up my SLI desktop system a few days ago without realizing that SLI wasn't enabled so my frame rate was terrible. Enabling SLI brought the game pretty close to playable levels outside (this is Oblivion we are talking about ). I would wager that the notebook implementation is the same as the desktop one so it might be wise to check benchmarks at sites such as www.anandtech.com for a more complete picture.

Your need for video editting power complicates things but I would again advise you to find benchmarks for some video apps and see the real difference (Anandtech benched the FX-60 a while back against other desktop processors but I'm guessing you could find somethin comparable to a Turion in there).