Same quesiton as always. Good for Gaming? Long-lasting?

[Viamonte]

Display: 18.4" Full HD (1920 x 1080) Display
- Processor: 45nm Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Processor Q9000 / 6MB L2 Cache, 2.0GHz, 1066MHz FSB[+$165.00]
- Video & Graphics Card: Dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M Graphics with 1GB DDR3 Video Memory in SLI Mode
- Operating System: Genuine MS Windows® 7 Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition
- Memory: 6GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 1 X 4GB + 1 X 2GB[+$330.00]
- Primary Hard Disk Drive: 320GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive[+$35.00]
- Optical Drive: 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
- Wireless Network Card: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300AGN - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Integrated Security Device: Fingerprint Reader
- Warranty: Sager 3 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty[+$269.00]


total $3,248.00

built on sager.com

money limitations left me without blue-ray or a larger hard drive, so don't even bother. My doubts are mainly about the ram, processor and videoboard, and how long this rig should last playing things at high-medium definitions.

[ps: i know, the battery won't last long]

 

[Viamonte]

as an alternative, i have the following desktop:

Base Studio XPS 8000
Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 Original 64-bit
Intel® Core™i5-750 (2.66 GHz, 8 MB L3 cache) - BRH8800
6GB DDR3 1066MHz (2x2GB + 2x1GB)
Monitor Monitor Dell SX2210 22' Full HD
nVidia GeForce GTX260 - 1792MB GDDR3 [sli, i guess? taking by the memory...]
HDD SATA 1TB (7200RPM) 3.0Gb/s c/ 16MB cache
Blu-Ray Combo
Soundblaster X-Fi MB – Software Enabled

 

[Maziar]

Yes that's a killer laptop however u can buy from www.xoticpc.com i think they sell it cheaper too

 

[Viamonte]

Umm tip isn't bad, but the rig ends up with the same price or slightly higher. Either way, the difference is around a hundred bucks...

Either way, my greatest concern is that of comparison. I've found that notebook would NOT perform the same as a desktop with the same parts [or at least, with the same part NAMES...] that's why I ask.

 

[lostandwandering]

The GTX 280m's for laptops are about equal to the 9800GTX + for desktops. The 9800GTX is a little bit behind your GTX 260's. The laptop will be good, but not quite up to your desktop's specs.

edit: if you want some benchmarks, look here: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html

 

[Viamonte]

Which basically means even the most bad ass mobile gpu won't least long playing things at highest seetings, I'm beggining to learn, right?

 

[lostandwandering]

Which basically means even the most bad ass mobile gpu won't least long playing things at highest seetings, I'm beggining to learn, right?

Not really, but then again neither will a desktop GPU. The only difference is that with a desktop, you can change the GPU. The SLI GTX 280's in the Sager will certainly handle almost all games with good settings. Crysis being about the only exception, but again even most desktop cards have a hard time with that game.

edit: Keep in mind that the laptop managed a very respectable 53 FPS in the Crysis benchmark on high settings.

 

[Maziar]

Well as Logan said a GTX 280M = desktop 9800GTX so the performance is good and when in SLI mode 2 GTX 280M can handle every game at good settings,you can run Crysis at very high settings with 1920x1200 resolution with an average of 29-30 which is good.

To Logan,that 53 FPS is the FPS in a low resolution like 1024x768

 

[lostandwandering]

To Logan,that 53 FPS is the FPS in a low resolution like 1024x768

That's really odd that they chose a very CPU dependent resolution to test the graphics card performance. I like notebookcheck.net but sometimes they do some very strange things.....

 

[Maziar]

Yup you can't always trust notebookcheck

 

[Viamonte]

i'v throughly read the notebook reviews for the latest models in notebookcheck, and am quite puzzled at their tests. What is my interest in the pc's performance for 1280 resolution? I wanna know how it goes on a 1900, for christ's sake.

 

[lostandwandering]

i'v throughly read the notebook reviews for the latest models in notebookcheck, and am quite puzzled at their tests. What is my interest in the pc's performance for 1280 resolution? I wanna know how it goes on a 1900, for christ's sake.

lol, that's what we're getting at. Anyway, like Maz and I have said the GTX 280's in SLI in the laptop will perform similarly to an SLI 9800 GTX setup for a desktop. Take a look at Guru 3d's review to get a feel for performance (or anyone's 9800GTX SLI reviews for that): http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce--9800-gtx-sli-review-bfg/7

 

[Maziar]

Or this link too
http://anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3660

 

[Viamonte]

Thanks both of you for your replys, but this last bit of info was the most useful of them all. Anandtech has a very informative high-end laptop article, and a pletora of information about mobile gaming around. That and notebookcheck together, and I finally learned a reasonably trustworthy way to search for laptop information.

All in all, the alienware m17x is *the* greatest mobile gaming machine for a mid-range price of US$3~4000 of the momment, undisputed. Most desktop-cpu pcs are far beyond that price range, aren't equipped with SLI or crossfire and are aimed at enterprise applications. Against other similar machines, the alienware stays ahead based on it's comparatively bright and color-faithful display, it's long battery duration in office mode [important when it's your only pc] and the absurdly efficient cooling system, keeping even the battery on toucheable levels, on full load. That's not mentioning it's cool design, but I guess that's more a personal opinion thing.

If only it wasn't glossy displayed or would be stretched a bit further to 18.4".. oh well.. we can't have it all. Either way, it's more than sufficient for any private movie or gaming session on a 17" display, even if you have to retreat to a dark location. But then again, every single high-end gaming machine at the momment requires that [I wonder why?]

Thanks to you both and, if there's no extra info to be had [or a point in which i can be proved wrong at my last statement], the topic can be closed.

 

[lostandwandering]

All in all, the alienware m17x is *the* greatest mobile gaming machine for a mid-range price of US$3~4000 of the momment, undisputed.

That I don't really agree with, but I guess it may depend on the context. In the 17'' segment, yes it is the best performer since Sager doesn't offer an SLI system in a 17'' chasis anymore. However, the Sager we were discussing earlier on will give you performance that is on par with the Alienware in every aspect other than with battery life (chalk that up to Alienware using Hybrid SLI). And the Sager is actually cheaper by about $150 with some extra screen size.

 

[Viamonte]

Indeed. But it's extremelly ugly, its display is darker and less colourful, it heats a lot more [which becomes even more important to me who lives in Rio de Janeiro and will sometimes NOT be operating the system on a 24Cº enviroment] and you actually have to remove the keyboard if you want 8GB RAM.

oh.. and dell has international warranty.

 

[Maziar]

AW M17x display is rated average:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5234

"The display's quality is unfortunately average. It has dual lighting lamps (as opposed to one on most notebooks), but unless I was told that I would not know. It is neither particularly bright nor vivid. Viewing angles are on par with other notebooks – side-to-side are good, but from above and below it washes out and darkens, respectively. The display is also not evenly lit, as some areas appear brighter than others (even if the screen is all the same color). None of the issues I mentioned affect gaming or everyday usage, but they are there and out of place on a notebook starting at close to $2,000. I would like to see a better quality display used."

Sager NP9850 has a better Display:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5243

"The M980NU uses an all-glass style display, which given the overall design of the notebook actually works pretty well. While some additional reflection was noted, the screen at higher brightness levels was able to drown out most of the reflections. One thing also worth mentioning is there was no dust present underneath the screen cover on our review unit, which the same can't be said out of a lot of all-glass displays. The panel offered on this gaming notebook is a WUXGA 16:9 1920x1080 model, which offers excellent color saturation and above average viewing angles. Colors looked very bright and vibrant, a requirement for any gaming system. The screen appeared to have a quick refresh rate, as no tearing or smearing was noticed while we were testing games on this system. Vertical viewing angles were fairly good, offering a 20-25 degree viewing sweet spot before colors started to wash out or invert. Horizontal viewing angles were good out past 70 degrees, where reflections started to overpower what you could see on the display."

But its your money you can with either you want,both are good laptops,just sharing ideas

 

[Viamonte]

Umm... while a different opinion is always valid, anandtech's review counts with the backup of color fidelity and brightness testing software, while this site seems to vocalize it only. And it's interesting to note the WUXGA 16:9 1920x1080 display notebookreview atributes to the sager is the same anandtech atributes to the alienware[withy the difference alienware's display reaches a higher maximum definition of 1900 x 1200, hence being 16:10], while the viewing angles are equal too.

The difference, according to anandtech seems to be in the technology used behind the display and in the alienware's more advanced chipset.



All in all, it makes me feel we could be getting more bang for the buck... after all, the most high-end need of a game is the video card used, which seems held down on such ordinary displays.