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Enginerd   07-14-2009 at 06:30:06 PM

Hey guys,
I am looking in the next two week to be buying a new gaming laptop. I believe that I have settled on the Sager 5797.(If there are others I should consider, except for gateway, please feel free to mention them!) I am now stuck on whether I should get the Q9000(2.0 Ghz) or P9700(2.8 Ghz) processor. I am an engineering student. Although I like to game.(And would like good performance considering I will be spending $2300 on a laptop. :kaola: ) Also would the 25w vs. 45w TDP make a noticeable difference in battery life/heat? Thanks in advance.

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frozenlead   07-14-2009 at 07:14:55 PM
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The Q9000 is quad-core, and use more power than it's dual-core brother, and more heat.

For the notebook, though, I think you should get the dual. The quad may be clocked too low to feed the GPU (a 280, I think), and the dual adds in to battery life.
Most engineering applications you'll come to know and love (matlab, solidworks, CAD..) like having quad-cores, but the dual in that notebook is no laughing matter either. Your university probably has far better machines for you to use, anyway.

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ Sager NP5793 | T8100 2.1GHz | 4GB DDR2-667 | 8800mGTX 512MB | 320GB 5400rpm | 1920x1200 17", 24" | Win 7 x64
 Reply to frozenlead
Enginerd   07-14-2009 at 07:29:33 PM
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frozenlead wrote :

The Q9000 is quad-core, and use more power than it's dual-core brother, and more heat.

For the notebook, though, I think you should get the dual. The quad may be clocked too low to feed the GPU (a 280, I think), and the dual adds in to battery life.
Most engineering applications you'll come to know and love (matlab, solidworks, CAD..) like having quad-cores, but the dual in that notebook is no laughing matter either. Your university probably has far better machines for you to use, anyway.



How much battery life do you think I would gain from getting the P9700 vs. the Q9000? 10min? 20min? 30min? And yes the GPU would be the GTX 280m. Btw, does the 5797 use hybrid power(integrated graphics on power saver) or does it just down clock the 280 for lower power modes? Do you think that I could undervolt for even more battery life? Also I have heard of GPU undervolting, although never seen it in practice... Is this possible and would it be a good idea?
Yeah the engineering labs are pretty sweet. We have some very nice, new maxed out Alienware labs. :D

------------------------------ Gateway P-172X FX|T8300|4gb DDR2-667|2x160gb 7200rpm HDD in Raid 0| 512mb 8800m GTS|17'' WUXGA (1920 x 1200 max. resolution)(BROKEN AND GETTING REFUND!!!)
http://www.speedtest.net/result/309252744.png
 Reply to Enginerd
frozenlead   07-14-2009 at 09:18:37 PM
- 0 +

You won't gain so much. My guess is probably 15 minutes.

The 5797 does not use hybrid power - the 280 is just downclocked when put in "power saver" mode.

You can undervolt, but I've no idea how. I'm sure there's a solution though - BIOS mod or software undervolting. It's a computer. You can make it do anything if you try hard enough. As for it being a good idea...dunno. If it's stable, it won't hurt.

Alienware labs? That doesn't make any sense. Alienware makes gaming machines, not work computers. That was kind of a waste of money on the university's part. I was talking like cluster computing, maybe even supercomputing, depending on your university.

------------------------------ Sager NP5793 | T8100 2.1GHz | 4GB DDR2-667 | 8800mGTX 512MB | 320GB 5400rpm | 1920x1200 17", 24" | Win 7 x64
 Reply to frozenlead
Enginerd   07-14-2009 at 11:58:18 PM
- 0 +

Anybody else?

And yes we do have cluster computing and a supercomputer. But they are only available to people with research and specific classes. Which is not me. :(

yet... :P

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ Gateway P-172X FX|T8300|4gb DDR2-667|2x160gb 7200rpm HDD in Raid 0| 512mb 8800m GTS|17'' WUXGA (1920 x 1200 max. resolution)(BROKEN AND GETTING REFUND!!!)
http://www.speedtest.net/result/309252744.png
 Reply to Enginerd
frozenlead   07-15-2009 at 01:23:21 AM
- 0 +

Enginerd wrote :


yet... :P



I lol'd.

------------------------------ Sager NP5793 | T8100 2.1GHz | 4GB DDR2-667 | 8800mGTX 512MB | 320GB 5400rpm | 1920x1200 17", 24" | Win 7 x64
 Reply to frozenlead
lostandwandering   07-15-2009 at 03:12:59 AM
- 0 +

I agree with Frozen, I feel the faster clocked dual will win out in most case.

1) Yes it is possible to undervolt GPUs. I've never done it, but I know people who have. That being said, I'm not sure how much it will help your battery life since Windows and NV drivers do a decent job throttling the card back when on battery.

------------------------------ LAPTOP: Sager NP5760|T7200|2gb DDR2-667| 100gb 7200rpm HDD| 512mb 7950GTX|17'' WUXGA

Desktop: Core2 E7200 | Corsair 2gb DDR2-800 | Gigabyte EP35-DS3L | 250gb Seagate Barracuda | MSI GTX260 (192 SP) | Corsair VX550 | Antec 300 case
Reply to lostandwandering
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