post #1 of 1
2/4/05 at 10:51pm
Thread Starter 
This review puts the nVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6800 w/GDDR3 and the ATi MOBILITY™ RADEON® X800 side by side in Sager 9860 testing. The 9860 was originally released with the NVIDIA 6800 DDR2 version and morerecently has the options tested in this review. The GPU is swappable and upgrades are available which Sager addresses here:

Quote:
Sager NP9860 and nVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6800 w/GDDR3 or ATi MOBILITY™ RADEON® X800


The Sager NP9860 was designed with a modular video unit that allows exchange of the unit’s video card. At the time of design, Sager hoped that the unit would be exchangeable by the user, but recognized that as technology moved forward, some aspects of the design might require manufacturer modification in order for a new module to work properly. With cards that share the same thermal design as the original, we encourage end users to do their own exchanges. However, some cards, such as the new NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6800 w/GDDR3 and ATi MOBILITY™ RADEON® X800, have a different thermal design that requires modification of the unit by Sager in order to run optimally. New technology having this kind of impact will require Sager to modify the unit in order for the upgrade to run properly.

For those users wishing to purchase the NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6800 w/GDDR3 or ATi MOBILITY™ RADEON® X800, Sager will perform the necessary modifications to their unit and install the card. Shipping and handling charges to Sager will be the responsibility of the customer. Three-day shipping back to the customer will be paid for by Sager.

Please Contact Sager Techsupport department for detailed information.

Units with Serial Numbers starting with 84xxxxxxxxxx will be requiring modification by Sager in order for the cards to work properly.

Units with Serial Numbers starting with 85xxxxxxxxxx can be upgraded by the User.

Pricing for S/N: 84xxxxxxxxxx:
nVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6800 w/GDDR3 available Feb. 9th 2005 for $465.00.
ATi MOBILITY™ RADEON® X800 available Feb. 9th 2005 for $445.00.

Pricing for S/N: 85xxxxxxxxxx:
nVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6800 w/GDDR3 available Feb. 9th 2005 for $395.00.
ATi MOBILITY™ RADEON® X800 available Feb. 9th 2005 for $375.00.

This is not the full review for the 9860, it's only the benchmark difference of the new NVIDIA 6800 vs the new ATI x800 options for it. For the full review of the unit go here: 9860 review

Here's a picture showing the difference of the unit with and without the plate that is installed for the x800. This is the part that comes in all current 9860s and will be installed if you had one of the earlier models and wish to move into the new NVIDIA 6800 or ATI X800 GPU.



The swap is very easy only requiring the 4 screws for the cover removal:


Then 4 screws for the heatsink which leaves the GPU exposed to be pulled straight out and unplugged. Notice, the heatsink screws are to be used in order of the picture you will see on the sticker.


Also note the unit pictured here does not have the plate.



The Benchmarks

The ATI x800 comes stock clocked core 400, memory 700. The NVIDIA 6800 with GDDR3 comes stock clocked @ 330/1000 Below you will see the benchmarks stock vs the overclocked settings 454/818 for ATI and 380/1440 for the 6800.











The performance was pretty close between the two with the X800 showing more overhead performance with overclocking.

We originally had the review compaing the 6800 DDR2 vs ATI X800 here:
http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=58703 if you wish to reference that.

If we remember back, the 6800 (DDR2 version) clock speeds were:
stock 250/600 OC 340/680 in testing.

Again, the full review of the Sager 9860 unit can be found here

Discuss this here:
http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=62286