Opinions on to buy or not to buy upcoming turion x2 19"/20.1" sli notebook - Page 2

Yeah, the Clevo M590KE desktop (if that will go over better with you guys) is what I'm getting...

Your new rig sounds awesome, Aussie027. Unfortunately I don't think it would easily fit into the overhead compartment of most international flights

Many of us need DTR laptops. A desktop isn't portable, a SFF won't fit into carry-on luggage, and a 'normal' laptop isn't powerful enough for many of our apps nor will it double as portable entertainment for games and movies. DTRs are the only thing fulfills this niche requirement.

Yep, DTRs aren't for everyone. But as long as there are customers like me that need and buy them, they will exist (I hope!).

Edit: BTW, I'd be the first in line to buy a 19" DTR with a Conroe CPU and DX10 GPU--especially if it's SLI!! And I don't care if the battery only lasts 10 minutes, I only need it as a voltage regulator for finicky international electricity and built-in UPS. <shrug>

SFF might fit, but why would you want to bring it onboard instead of in a suitcase? Are you seriously going to bring a 19" laptop onboard? Ten minutes would probably be just about long enough to superheat your lap (don't even think about putting it on those flimsy plastic food trays). It'd span the entire width of your seat and everyone around you will be staring at you. Even 17" is too big IMHO.

Yes. Not to use but to keep it in my posession. Laptop theft from checked luggage is a big problem on international flights. I base my statement on the fact that 5 of my 10 colleges have had their laptops stolen from checked luggage on international flights.

BTW, even though it's not convienient to use a DTR on a plane they are pretty handy for passing the time during the 6 hour layovers--something that can't be done if one checks the laptop to the final destination.

Crap that's bad. On the up side it might be a good way to get a new computer if you can make do with the temporary inconvenience of it being stolen.

At TPA I've haven't found power outlets at the waiting areas. I might be able to find them in a lounge somewhere, but... with less than 50min battery life, I've found that having to hunt down outlets and plug in wherever I go is becoming more than inconvenient.

That's looking at the bright side of things.

Unfortunately most airlines have a monetary cap on laptops and the cap usually doesn't cover the cost of high-end laptops, such as Sagers. And, of course, there's no replacing data that isn't backed up. I, too, am beginning to suspect that airports are trying to save money by removing outlets so travelers can't suck up electricity with our many electronic devices. Curse the bean-counters.

Despite this I usually manage to find outlets. Besides the lounges you mentioned, there's:

T-Mobile hotspots
'Business' centers
Long corridors with polished floors (outlets needed for buffers)
Unused check-in counters
Bars, (usually near a tables against a wall)
Anywhere that offers pay-per-use Wi-Fi

Anyone else have a favorite spot?

(As an aside, when I'm king of the world, electricity will be free, just like the internet.)

What is the screen resolution of this new SLI rig going to be? If it's less than 1920x1200 the SLI would be useless and performance gains would be negligable. Even at 1920x1200 you are only looking at maybe 20-30% speed gains at best and considering that a single 7900GTX will run pretty much any game available maxed out at that resolution it seems redundant.

A single 7900GTX in a Core 2 Duo system will probably outperform or at least match a 7900GTX SLI setup on an AMD rig. Something to consider when choosing a system since CPU also plays an important role in modern gaming performance.

People talk about future proofing but this argument doesn't make much sense since there is rarely any reason to buy hardware for software that has not yet been released. IMO it would be better to buy a $2000 computer today that can run anything currently available, sell it in a year and buy another system for that price than to buy a $4000 system today and keep it for two years. Based on history it's extremely likely that in one year $2000 will buy you a mobile system that's more powerful than anything you can buy today for any price.

Also these fancy latest graphics cards are powerful and pretty but they won't run DirectX 10 when it comes out and you will all want a DX10 card next year. When DX10 comes out those dual DX9 cards will start to feel a little lame.

Do you own an SLI rig Woody87?

I suppose there will be a market for these kinds of systems. When I build systems I consider efficiency, economy, and many other factors rather than just raw horsepower but that's just my personal preferences and what I recommend to those whom I build for or advise.

Some people are willing to pay any price to have the most power possible and this means frequent and very expensive upgrades to maintain that cutting edge. It goes beyond practicality and is someone's personal preference. Obviously this route is not the best for those who either have limited funds or wish to maximize their gaming investment and spend their money on other things as well.

There is a price/performance curve that has a "sweet spot" depending on your computing needs. You get much above the sweet spot and you will pay significantly more money for relatively little performance gain and if you get below the sweet spot you will lose significant performance for relatively little savings. The trick is pinpointing that "sweet spot" as it applies to you personally.

Ultra high end technology is great and fun but isn't always the best thing for everybody.

In an attempt to keep this thread from derailing I would not recommend this system for anyone except the hardcore technology enthusiast who considers price and convenience as lesser factors in their buying decision. On the other hand, such impressive systems are important for manufacturers to demonstrate the capabilites of these technologies and there will of course be those who want it.

I take it you have never played or heard about games like Oblivion.

Yep, me! Yep, and for me it's SLI.

I have both single GPU and SLI desktops at home and I can say from personal experience that SLI provides more than 'relatively little performanace gain' in the games I play, at the resolutions I choose, and with the detail I prefer. There is a significant difference in quality and smoothness with SLI over my single 7900gtx rig.

The problem with these threads is they tend to get way off topic. The discussion was supposed to be a general discussion on people's various opinions about the attractiveness of purchasing this particular laptop ("laptop" is not the best description of this mobile system IMO). I never intended to make this into a discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of general SLI configurations on desktop systems. If you have spent a great deal of money on a system you naturally want to feel as if you did something worthwhile.

Oblivion is widely considered to be the most demanding mainstream PC game currently available but due to the nature of it's gameplay it's not necessary to achieve 60 FPS in order to fully enjoy it such as you would with a faster paced game like QuakeIV. On the other hand, Oblivion is an extremely GPU dependent game and probably the one that benefits the most from an extra graphics card. Some games are more CPU dependent and in these cases a player will benefit more from a faster CPU and RAM than from a faster graphics system.

Another consideration which hasn't been mentioned is the responsiveness of the monitor. The monitors used by Sager aren't the fastest and ghosting is noticeable even in moderately paced games like Battlefield2. For this reason alone desktop replacements aren't the ideal platform for this kind of gaming except for those who absolutely need the added benefit of mobility and are willing to live with these drawbacks.

The mobile versions of NVidias graphics cards are typically going to be slower and clocked less than their equivelent named desktop counterparts. The advantages of dual graphics cards systems increase with slower cards for a given screen resolution so this could also be a valid consideration for choosing an SLI configuration in a mobile PC.

Agreed, and my opinion is it's a viable choice for those of us with particular needs/wants. No worries, you didn't. I mentioned my desktop SLI because I wanted to counter the point that SLI doesn't provided significant benefits at the resolution that these 19/20" laptops will be using--it does, and I used my desktops as examples for my aurgument. In that respect SLI in desktops is relevant to the discussion. I'm not sure if this is what you intended but it sounds like you are saying those of us with SLI systems are only touting its benefits to justify the money we spent. If so, you are presumptuous, assuming you know more about us than you actually do.

SLI in laptops work, is useful, and has a legitimate market IMO. I certainly agree that users should always carefully evaluate their needs/wants/means and buy accordingly.

I for one love the fact that not only can I take my SLI notebook back and forth from home and work, but also that it only uses 220w max. A similarly configured desktop would use 2-3x that amount of electricity.

Also, I just love the reactions I get when people look at the size of this thing

Crazy i know i would love to have it... if it didnt cost an arm and a leg just to a card board box model of it...
Whats your battery life? and when its out dated can i have it ?

Battery life is less than an hour...doing anything. If you're doing anything application intensive, make it less than a half an hour.

When the M590KE comes out, I'm going to ask Sager (or one of the other vendors) to sell me the motherboard. Then just swap'em and add the new CPU/memory

You're probably looking at a bloody fortune for the mboard alone. When my 8790's first mboard went, I was looking around trying to get it fixed w/o sending back to the US. One place I found would sell me the mboard- it was going to cost ~$1500. At that price, you start wondering where to draw the line. I would imagine a brand new top of the line unit's mobo's going to run you that or more. But hey, if that's in your ballpark, then you're set

you can always try rjtech.com, mobos for others are about 500-600

Yes most MOBO replacements for the Sager/clevo line should run from 400-700. However, when the the new model you are refering to comes out it may be a bit more because of the big board and features like SLI.

Paying $400-700 sounds awfully cheap compared to the $3k+ for a new system

Even if you add everything up (including upgrading), it's still cheaper than a MALX