Energy, Efficiency, And Battery Life
The use of a desktop processor is certain to hurt the X7200’s power consumption, though increased performance could help its efficiency.
A single graphics card helps the X8100/GeForce GTX 480M combination place first in power consumption, while a desktop processor hurts the X7200 by more than many people might have thought. Let’s see how these stack up in performance.
Using the CrossFire-equipped M17x as our high-end graphics baseline, we see that the single-GPU GeForce GTX 480M falls far behind, while the dual-GPU GeForce GTX 460M SLI setup surges ahead. Remember that, at the beginning of this article, we pointed out that the computational power of the 480M exceeds that of the 460M by only 15%, so this outcome is no surprise.
Dividing performance by power gives us an efficiency baseline of 100%. Since no electronic device is 100% efficient, we subtracted the baseline from all scores to focus only on the efficiency difference. The Core i7-940XM’s low 55 W TDP puts the X8100 in the lead here, while the Core i7-950’s super-high 130 W TDP drops AVADirect’s X7200 to the bottom of our efficiency chart. The processors have such vastly different power specifications that any reasonably-accurate assessment of graphics efficiency is impossible.
The X8100’s lower energy use is also seen in its superior battery life, which makes any of these notebooks capable of doing a few “notebook things” on-the-go. Of course you’ll need a wall outlet for high-end games, but any of these gaming notebooks is still at least 300% more portable than a similarly-capable desktop gaming system.
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$3,142 is not a value.
"three-gigapixel Webcam"
Now that'd be an awesome webcam. If only it was true...
thanks tom for this article.
last gaming laptop i'll ever own was the HDX20 8800m series... google it - thats why. It lasted me a few generations - and the wifey uses it now, still games well(for the games she plays anyway).
All these "gaming" laptops are on 17" screens... i'd just as well plug it into an external monitor - which defeats the purpose a bit - might as well have a small fragbox for the price...
I wish some company would rejuvinate the spirit of HP's HDX Dragon line...
So, why can#t we have a fully enabled GF106 for desktops? Ffs Nvidia...
I still wonder if laptop mobile graphics will still be a good options when AMD's Fusion comes in..........
it's so funny that the mid range sli setup destroys the top of the like ati crossfire setup, lol. nvidia for life..
Thanks for the article;however,I hoped you compare it with 2 GTX 480Ms as well
BTW,you can find this laptop(with the same config as the review) much cheaper from other sites such as XoticPC.(Starts from $2100)
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np728 [...] -2881.html
True value will hit when the cpus with the integrated graphics come out, hopefully. That is their purpose, right? I hardly find 3,100 or 2,100 dollars a value. Gaming on the go is a privilege, not a need. Value on a privilege needs to be steeper than this.
Thanks for the article;however,I hoped you compare it with 2 GTX 480Ms as well
Yes, well, the X8100 didn't support two of them due to power issues (most HUGE notebooks won't) and the other X7200 (the one with the 980X installed) had already been sent back.
soo umm i7 950 DESKTOP vs i7 920 XM MOBILE?
did someone forgot to mention that the AMD cards were paired with mobile procs, while 460Ms got the destkop stuff?
It did not made any sense when I saw that crysis high AMD gets slaughtered, and then V High is evenish. Then I looked back and saw that AMD gets a mobile CPU that could have been the bottleneck given the gfx power...
Would have been nice to see the GTX 480m SLI results from when you had that notebook but otherwise good review, been able to find nothing on GTX 460m SLI until this!
40mins battery time to do what ?????
Nice article. Will Toms ever do an new article devoted to microstuttering? It's been years since the subject has been approached, yet the phenomenon is still prevalent.
I STILL don't understand the fetish that anyone would possibly have with gaming on a laptop.
It's not like you can just take this baby to the park and play some Black Ops while Fido is chasing a tennis ball.
It draws some serious power, and costs double what a desktop version would. Did I forget to mention on a desktop you could be playing on a 24" screen?
Get a good desktop case, manage your cords properly and understand that desktops aren't that big of a deal to move if mobility is your thing.
IMHO, big waste of money. Laptops aren't suitable yet for gaming. For me personally, I don't like the screen and keyboard being on the same level....I need the keyboard lower, and carrying around a different keyboard sort of kills the idea of practicality and mobility.
It always amazes me when people talk about how gaming laptops are useless machines that cost so much more then their desktop counterparts.
It only goes to show you have never been to a LAN party.
No one intends on using these machines away from a power socket.
Weigh your computer case, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speaker system, all the cables....tell me if they weigh more then 17lbs and if it can fit in a small backpack. Not to mention the time it takes to break down the whole system, pack it, reassemble it, then break it down again, then reassemble it.
last gaming laptop i'll ever own was the HDX20 8800m series... google it - thats why. It lasted me a few generations - and the wifey uses it now, still games well(for the games she plays anyway).All these "gaming" laptops are on 17" screens... i'd just as well plug it into an external monitor - which defeats the purpose a bit - might as well have a small fragbox for the price...I wish some company would rejuvinate the spirit of HP's HDX Dragon line...
There's a little hypocrisy in your post. You mention "gaming laptops" "only" having 17" screens and then talk about just getting a fragbox. But is a 20" monster "laptop" really a laptop? Technically its portable but its over 15lbs..."might as well just get a fragbox" IMO.
It always amazes me when people talk about how gaming laptops are useless machines that cost so much more then their desktop counterparts.It only goes to show you have never been to a LAN party.No one intends on using these machines away from a power socket. Weigh your computer case, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speaker system, all the cables....tell me if they weigh more then 17lbs and if it can fit in a small backpack. Not to mention the time it takes to break down the whole system, pack it, reassemble it, then break it down again, then reassemble it.
and you would pay 3000 dollars to not have to do that? wow
Where did I say I would personally pay 3000 for a gaming laptop? oh yeah, I didnt.
There are plenty of good gaming laptops out there for around $1000
wow
$3142 is value! You are kidding right!