Its Arrived M17x Refreshed i7

Hoping the new NVIDIA cards show up there soon as well.

The new ATI cards as well 5870

love the RGB Display option

looks like I will have a M17x for sale shortly lol

Cool, real cool ... the first one to the review Dave?

cheers ...

I hate to say this but unless something changes my mind I'll hold out for the 5870s.

Well I won't jump on the bandwagon until I see a DX.11 card option, preferably a NVIDIA.

Still not sold on a 128 Bit 5870 option

I'd be happy just to see a manual right now, lol. Can't make a decision until I see all the info.

So no nVidia cards are available AT ALL!!! Wonder why they would do that! And what happens if an m17x fails under CC what would they repair/replace with??

nVidia is quite a way away with a DX11 card just yet Hopefully after more users raving enough about the current HD4870 (and now the HD5870) performance, then it will make nVidia rethinks its strategy.

cheers ...

from what i read NVIDIA probably will not have a dx11 Mobile GPu until after June.

The ATI 5870 option should be out by march

I also want a manual - want to know what the refresh has for guts before I commit $ to it. Still thinking I want USB 3 before a major purchase but we'll see. (not for debate here, imo).

However, I wouln't count on Nvidia having a DX11 chip till next year. Why? Because wheneve they rush things they muck up the chip (mobile's that is). And I think they've learned from that. The counter to that is that AMD will eat them alive if they have a full year of DX11 chips with no answers.

Second reason I say that is the "new" 300 series mobiles aren't new, but they are at the same time. The core logic sections are unchanged, aside from DX 10.1 ability which is a small change really from DX10. But the major change is that they enable DDR5, which the G92 core could not do. So they did change the core, but they didn't go DX11, which I translate as "sizeable enough redesign work to be likely the only chip they'll put out in 2010 that is 'new'". I don't think it will help their marketshare nor do I think it's a good strategy, but I'd bet that is exactly the boat they are in. Fermi won't be ready for mobile use until at least 32nm and possibly not till 22nm. So they revamped the G92 for DDR5 and 10.1 support and called it a day. They happily used the 3xx moniker even though it's meaningless on core design.

So if you truly want DX11 and the strongest chip, I have a feeling you'll be in AMD's hands if you buy in 2010. If Nvidia rushes a DX11 mobile out the door, be wary. But I don't think they can really do it, though they may try to do something before the year closes (Dec) but we'll see.

What I find amusing is that I think there may not be SLI available on the new chipset (changeover to Intel chipset for the I7 mobiles). I tend to think that's why the AMD GPU's are the first available. Have to see if Nvidia changes it's mind on that. So far in the whole wide market, there isn't any SLI on an I7 mobile, which is likely because I7 mobiles only run on Intel chipsets, which is related to the spat going on right now.

RGBLED = finally
No hybrid GPU (9400) = Intel chipset, which is another "finally" because I won't touch Nvidia chipsets ever, ever, ever.
Wonder what the memory limit is, considering DDR3 may well come in 8gbx2 sticks in the course of 2010.
Wonder if Dell has considered bolting on a USB 3 chip and giving 2 ports of USB 3 in a refresh. Probably just wanted to get the I7 out the door and will consider that later in the year. USB 3 would make possible real docking stations amongst other things, due to the bandwidth available, without need for a special slot.

Still no Intel SSD's available which is a bit strange for Dell.

Be interesting to see some early reviews - but I'd bet shipping won't happen for a month or so.

CPU AND memory over-volting!!!

I couldn't resist the options for the new M17x. ORDERED!

That is definitively hot! Nice going NWGuru.

cheers ...

It's a benchmarkers dream

NW have any thoughts on how well OC'ing and Turbo mode will work together? I have some thoughts and concern. And disabling Turbo does not seem like the best option.

Honestly all I can do is guess at this point. Testing it out is part of the fun.

Do you have an ETA and can you tell me how you configured?

OK I know only guesses as no one has or has tried.

My curiosity concern. Intel in document I have read (don't have the link at this time) does not guarantee Turbo boost will work as described. Certain thermal conditions must be met. OC'ing increases thermal stress if it makes turbo not work? It will take one hell of an OC to make up for no TB on a dual threaded app? I am assuming i7 here?

Yes, ETA is 2-4 and I got the i7-920XM with 4870s XFire.

We my friend are in different tax brackets! That is one hell of a setup. Can't wait to see how it does stock and after you tweak it.