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Talked to dell 2 day, about the 9300! - Page 4

post #61 of 82
1/26/05 at 7:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by |-007-|
Nah, I disagree. PCI Express will definitely be around for more than 2 years, so a Sonoma based notebook will last much longer. I'll also point out that Sonoma will let you upgrade to Serial ATA hard drives. So, I think that Sonoma will make a significant enough difference (at least for me).
True that PCI Express will be around for a while. But right now its PCI Express x1. In two years what will it be? PCI Express x4 x8 x16? Just like AGP was x1 x2 x4 ... Point is that the i9300 motherboard is PCI Express x1. So best one could hope for is a jump in technology and a NVidia or ATI to make a card within the next 18 months that allows for a PCI Expressx1 with more Horse Power than the Go6800 which consumes siginifigantly less watts to improve the battery life.
Edit: And Dell would have to stick it on a board thats comptible with the i9300 interface.
Could it Happen? Sure, will it play any games that the ATI 9700 on the i9200 cant? Nope.

I don't know enough about the advantages of Serial ATA hard drives to coment on that part.

For people think i am trying to defend an i9200 purchase, I am personally waiting on the i9300.
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post #62 of 82
1/26/05 at 7:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by |-007-|
Nah, I disagree. PCI Express will definitely be around for more than 2 years, so a Sonoma based notebook will last much longer. I'll also point out that Sonoma will let you upgrade to Serial ATA hard drives. So, I think that Sonoma will make a significant enough difference (at least for me).
All of these things are true to some degree. However the GPU and Hard Drive will not necessarily be upgradeable just because the laptop has the Sonoma chipset. The GPU interface is not standardized so you can't just go buy "an off the shelf" GPU and install it. Also the SATA interface will be a different interface than the PATA interface that the laptops are currently shipping with so if you did buy a SATA drive where would you install it if the system doesn't have a SATA connector?

I highly doubt the I9300 will be any more upgradeable than the I9200 just because it will be using the Sonoma chipset. Dell may make an upgraded for the GPU in the I9300 if they plan to keep the system around for a long period of time but that is not dependant on the PCI-E specification.

As to some of the questions regarding battery life I bet Dell gets at least 4 hrs out of the 9 cell battery which is close enough to the 5 hrs in the I9200 considering the performance upgrade the GPU will offer.
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post #63 of 82
1/26/05 at 7:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonicwind
But I'll bet $20 just for fun if you want
Heh, it's tempting. But I don't bet unless I have insider information. So, let me make a couple of calls to Austin, and I'll get back to you

The battery thing isn't a huge deal -- it was just a speculative observation. If I were a hardcore gamer, I'd have no problems with 2.5 hours of battery life and something 4lbs lighter than the Sager.

And if Dell really does replace the 9200 with the 9300, then they'll certainly offer it with something like the X600, which is comparable to the MR9700 and will offer better battery life and reasonable gaming performance if that's what you need.
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post #64 of 82
1/26/05 at 9:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaddyOf2Girls
True that PCI Express will be around for a while. But right now its PCI Express x1. In two years what will it be? PCI Express x4 x8 x16? Just like AGP was x1 x2 x4 ... Point is that the i9300 motherboard is PCI Express x1.
I believe the Sonoma based boards are shipping with 16 lanes for their PCIe graphics connectivity, so I don't think this is really an issue. PCIe x1 is much slower than even AGP 4x so there would be little point shipping it with only a single lane allocated to graphics.
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post #65 of 82
1/26/05 at 9:50pm
I've seen nothing about the i9300 supporting sata drives. Also, if the i9300 will support either a x300 or 6800go, does this mean it will support any ATI or NVidia GPU? I thought their i/f was different.

ATI's PowerPlay reduces power drain with their new GPUs when they're not being pushed hard. Doesn't NVidia's PowerMizer Technology also lower power requirements when not using it for intensive 3D?
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post #66 of 82
1/26/05 at 11:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Each Hit
I've seen nothing about the i9300 supporting sata drives.
The Swedish data sheet said eide.

Quote:
Also, if the i9300 will support either a x300 or 6800go, does this mean it will support any ATI or NVidia GPU? I thought their i/f was different.
Dell could offer several graphics options, and they could even implement with different mobos if they wanted to. That seems to be their plan for the i6000. PCIe for laptops doesn't guarantee any sort of interchangability of graphics cards, or even an upgrade path for that matter.

Quote:
ATI's PowerPlay reduces power drain with their new GPUs when they're not being pushed hard. Doesn't NVidia's PowerMizer Technology also lower power requirements when not using it for intensive 3D?
Yes, they both do some power management. If the go6800 ran at the full 35W, you wouldn't get more than 1.5 hours of battery assuming the rest of the system consumed a mere 15W.

BTW, the original Swedish data sheet also listed a 9-cell 80WHr battery.
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post #67 of 82
1/27/05 at 2:06am
Alright. PCI-Express will be upgraded eventually, but let's explore that. We know that video cards are backwards compatable with slower AGP speeds to some extent. I don't think we'll have to deal with that for PCI-Express within 2 years though. PCI-Express provides a load of bandwidth. AGP 8x can transfer at 2.1gb/sec while PCI-E can do that both directions for a theoretical max of 4gb/sec. Even the best of the best desktop graphics cards can't fully utilize 2.1gb/sec, so having double the bandwidth available is leaving a LOT of headroom for laptop graphics cards.

As for upgradability-- not worried at all since hard drives are standard, meaning you can go out and buy one (not from bestbuy of course). Since I'm planning on getting the i8600's replacement or the next XPS depending on graphics card. Looking at the life of the previous i8600, I can expect a lot of GPU upgrades and considering the fact that the XPS is built for upgradability, it speaks for itself.
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post #68 of 82
1/27/05 at 11:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dellbert
I'm just curious what sort of logic you guys are using when you say the 9300 will have the same battery life. This is not sour grapes. Sonoma requires a couple of watts more than the 400MHz version of the P-M. The go6800 requires a lot more watts.

Sure, it's possible that the 9300 will have a bigger battery and weigh more than the 9200. (snip)
From what I've seen (which could be wrong, or changed by the time the i9300 is released), the i9300 looks identical to the i9200. Many times batteries will be used for several models. Now, the i9200 battery only works in the i9200. The i9300 may use the exact same battery bay, and would be interchangable with the i9200. Perhaps they will simply use the 9 cell 80Whr battery as standard with the i9300 instead of the 6 cell 53Whr the i9200 uses? 9 cell i9300 with low end graphics equal or better than 6 cell i9200 battery life?
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post #69 of 82
1/27/05 at 1:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RobsTV
From what I've seen (which could be wrong, or changed by the time the i9300 is released), the i9300 looks identical to the i9200.
The swedish data sheet says that the image is only for illustration in other words a pic of the 9200, i wold be suprised if they dont have change anything in the design.
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post #70 of 82
1/27/05 at 3:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by G-M
The swedish data sheet says that the image is only for illustration in other words a pic of the 9200, i wold be suprised if they dont have change anything in the design.
No, it will look the same according to DELL Sweden. A look at the fact sheet gives a hint too; the dimensions are 41.5mm x 394mm x 288 mm for both models.
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post #71 of 82
1/27/05 at 6:17pm
The I9300 will look exactly like the I9200, they will differ from each other by the
chipset I9200 is using 855PM, I9300 will use 915PM, the I9300 will support 400
MHz dual channel DDR2 and is ready for 533 MHz. The video will be ATI mobility
Radeon X300 with 64MB/128MB, or NVIDIA Geforce 6800 go with 256MB.
Harddisk will be the same as the I9200, 40Gb - 60Gb - 80Gb - 100Gb.

^Closer Call^
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post #72 of 82
1/27/05 at 6:44pm
Closer Call, what's your source? If they plan to replace the 9200, it doesn't make sense to offer the 9300 with a low-end and high-end graphics card. They need a mid-range. Dell always offers "good, better, best."
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post #73 of 82
1/27/05 at 8:20pm
They replaced the i9100 with the i9200, and they were even farther apart in specifications. If one were using the machine for multimedia use, it seems the lacking 3D capabilities of the x300 would be a non-issue. Plus, if both versions of the i9300 had the same motherboard, it would allow users to upgrade the video cards. Maybe there will be a middle pci-e card offered, like the x600.

I don't see where the i9200 would fit in, and keeping an older design in production adds cost. I think the extremely successful i8600 will be a harder model for them to discontinue, but I think it's getting close to its EOL.

EDIT: Talked to Dell today, and I was told that the i9300 will have a glossy screen like the 700m. Maybe the i9200 will fit in as the model for those who like anti-glare.
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post #74 of 82
1/28/05 at 5:12am
>>dellbert

I have a very good friend working for Dell, and i asked him
He sent me some pictures of the spec's

^Closer Call^
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post #75 of 82
1/28/05 at 6:39am
Closer Cal:l will it have the 6800go have the gddr3 version memory?
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post #76 of 82
1/28/05 at 7:50am
I hope this will answer your question G-M
Geforce 6800 go


^Closer Call^
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post #77 of 82
1/28/05 at 11:56am
No, he's asking because Nvidia has two versions. He is wondering which it will include.
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post #78 of 82
1/28/05 at 12:19pm
I dont see them keeping the 9200 around unless they are going to keep on selling computers with the older chipset and video cards. The 8600 should not be hard to replace as long as it has a decent graphics solution. The 8600 and 600m are so outdated I cant believe people still buy those.
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post #79 of 82
1/28/05 at 12:57pm
jepp Maklar got it right.
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post #80 of 82
1/28/05 at 1:28pm
Based on all the speculation and what we have seen posted here I suspect the I9300 will replace I9200. With a 64mb X300, 128mb X300 and a 256mb Go6800 they will have most of the customer base covered. I also suspect an Ultra-brite high-gloss LCD for WUXGA and possibly stick with the Anti-glare technology for the WXGA+. With battery life I suspect numbers that look like this:

X300 6 cell - 3.4hrs.
X300 9 cell - 5.2hrs.
Go6800 6 cell - 2.5hrs.
Go6800 9 cell - 4hrs.

From a marketing standpoint this would all eliminate the need for the I9200. I suspect the I9200 was simply to have a 17" product available for the Holiday buying season.

This of course is all just speculation but this would be good news and means I will have to add another Notebook to my toy collection.
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