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ASI's IQ17-D2: Is Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 Still Fast Enough?

2:00 AM - 10/16/2009 by Thomas Soderstrom

The launch of the Radeon HD 5800-series desktop parts puts the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 three generations behind, yet cancellations of Asus' ill-fated Radeon HD 4870 X2-based W90VP notebook models may have once again put it at the top of AMD’s mobile graphics portfolio. It’s not like the competition has gotten tougher, since Nvidia's GeForce GTX 200M-series offerings are re-branded two generation-old desktop parts. And while we expect AMD to eventually put its newfound 2D energy efficiency to good use in a notebook GPU, we don’t like to hold our breath waiting for product announcements (an editor once popped a blood vessel doing this).

This was the harsh climate buyers faced a few months ago when Nvidia launched an efficiency-enhanced version of its desktop 8800 GTS 512 as a 1GB model named GTX 280M. The article that claimed high praise for its brutal honesty was equally panned for its lack of comparison to Mobility 4870 X2—a solution that, as ATI's mobile product page indicates, no longer technically exists. Several editors continued scouring the industry for anyone willing to pony up with ATI’s most powerful mobile graphics solution, and a multitude of requests were finally answered by an unlikely source when white-box supplier ASI stepped up to the plate.

Available with dual Mobility Radeon HD 3870 graphics cards for around $1,300, the only “catch” to the ASI IQ17 gaming notebook is that buyers must be willing to either install their own Socket P mobile CPU, DDR3 memory, and hard drives or source their system through one of ASI's reseller partners.

That values the hardware of our as-delivered test system to around $2,480, complete with a Core 2 Extreme X9100 CPU, two Toshiba MK3254GSY 320GB hard drives, and two Crucial CT25664BC1067 DDR3-1066 memory modules. If you have someone else order the same parts and add the operating system, expect to pay around $2,800-$3,000, including installation fees.

ASI IQ17-D2 Configuration Options
CPUIntel Core 2 Duo/Quad/Extreme (Socket P Mobile) FSB-800/1066
ChipsetIntel PM45-ICH9M-Enhanced
RAMUp to 4GB DDR3-1066 or DDR3-800
GraphicsATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2
Display17" WUXGA (1920x1200)
HDDUp to two 2.5” (9.5mm thick) SATA 3.0 Gb/s HDD, RAID 0/1
SoundIntegrated HD Audio
Wired LANIntegrated Gigabit LAN
Wireless LANIntel WiFi Link 5300 802.11n
TelephonyNone
BluetoothInternal Bluetooth Module
OpticalH-L Data GSA-T50N 8x DVD±R, 6x DVD±RW, 5x DVD-RAM
Media ReaderMulti-format flash card interface
Webcam2.0 Megapixel
ExpansionExpressCard/54
USB 2.0 Three ports (1-rear, 2-right)
IEEE-13941 x FireWire 400 (right-side)
eSATA1 x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s (rear)
Audio I/OHeadphone, Microphone, Digital Optical Out (right-side)
Video Out1 x VGA, 1 x HDMI (rear)
Battery12-cell 14.8V 6600mAh
WeightNotebook 10.0 lbs (filled), Power Adapter 2.8 lbs, Total 12.8 pounds
WarrantyOne-year parts and labor
SupportOne-year online and telephone
Total PriceApproximately $1,300 w/o CPU, RAM, HDD
Talkback
Anonymous 10/16/2009 8:45 AM
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--2+

i have a 3870 x2 and its still rocking the new games great!
1920 x 1200 resolutions run smoothly,
i just have to tone the antialaising to like 2x or off on a few games like re5

lashabane 10/16/2009 8:54 AM
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-0+

I love [b]ASI[b]'s products.

CoryInJapan 10/16/2009 8:54 AM
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-1+

That not bad for a gaming laptop.Could play COD4 and TF2 on there all day.

lashabane 10/16/2009 8:55 AM
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-9+

There really needs to be an edit function.

doomtomb 10/16/2009 8:56 AM
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-0+

Eurocom had some awesome performance but the power consumption is scary. You can't be away from an outlet for more than 45 minutes.

tacoslave 10/16/2009 9:05 AM
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-0+

i like my desktop for gaming but when i have to go someplace and its a long trip i use this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6834152126
its got pretty decent battery life (3 hours) and it doesnt hurt the wallet that much anyway.

Curnel_D 10/16/2009 9:08 AM
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-1+

I'm an ASI partner, and I've been reselling these laptops since 2005. Most of their lineup are Brandless Compal (second largest OEM notebook supplier) notebooks. Not many score real high in the looks department, but the quality and durability is head and shoulders above the competition.

melvis72 10/16/2009 9:53 AM
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-4+

I'd like to see a review on an Alienware M17x with Dual 280's or Dual 4870's just to see if all the money wasted is fast or not.

liquidsnake718 10/16/2009 10:16 AM
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-1+

Not bad, I wouldnt get a laptop for gaming. Just get a mobile gaming device like a psp or dsi. I would rather play with a regular laptop than spend on a crazy laptop when I can just buy a ps3 or even build another great PC for that insane price. Crysis, COD5, STALKER and Fallout arent meant to be played with Laptops anyway on their max settings. You can play these in low or medium settings which is fine but I would never expect the world with even these mobile beasts.

Ehsan W 10/16/2009 12:46 PM
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-11+

I suggest Ati drops whatever they have now, and start working on the mobility 5xxx series
Since the desktop versions already don't use a lot of power
but gives really good performance, they could totally rape Nvidia in a year

amdfangirl 10/16/2009 2:08 PM
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jonpaul37 10/16/2009 2:38 PM
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-5+

I agree, if ATI had a mobility soultion for the 5xxx series that could be in a really nice position in the laptop market.

jonpaul37 10/16/2009 2:38 PM
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I agree, if ATI had a mobility soultion for the 5xxx series that could be in a really nice position in the laptop market.

jtt283 10/16/2009 2:59 PM
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-2+

If the battery won't last through a three hour flight from TYS to MSP, it's not a viable option for me.

__-_-_-__ 10/16/2009 3:02 PM
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--1+

I've that ASI aka ocz whitebook aka flextronics W840DI aka Alienware M17.
I've it with ati mobility 2x3870 crossfire. I can run crysis at 1900x1200 @30fps. yes it's fast enough. btw you don't have much better. the mobility 4850 is just 10-20% faster and it's much more expensive. and the GTX 280M is on pair with the 3870.
THAT NOTEBOOK CAN BE UPGRADED TO 2X4850 crossfire but of course ASI and Flextroncis sucks and they will not sell those cards. (2x4870 won't work because the second slot is not MXM-IV)

"is that buyers must be willing to either install their own Socket P mobile CPU, DDR3 memory, and hard drives or source their system through one of ASI's reseller partners."
CRAP! ALL LIES! I bought the barebone and build it myself it was MUCH MORE CHEAP.
I've 2 Gskill SSD's, an engineering sample of the intel QX3000 and some OEM 2x2gb ram. works perfectly.

ALSO BEWARE OF THE CRAPPY ATI DRIVERS FOR THE 3870! the latest available were released ONE YEAR AGO.

__-_-_-__ 10/16/2009 3:24 PM
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-1+

lashabane :
I love [b]ASI[b]'s products.


ASI doesn't make the notebook. It's just a distributor (the previous distributor was OCZ that left the contract because Flextronics and ATI were unable to provide drivers to the graphic cards as well as other issues). Who makes it it's Flextronics (which bought Arima, the notebook was still designed by Arima).
Alienware get's it's M17 directly from Flextronics and sells it to the public. (ofc because they have a their own design. but the hardware is EXACTLY the same.
With the difference that Aliware bios locks the overclock. which sucks since the notebook is capable of high overclocks. But with the Flextronics bios you can easily overclock and of course you can flash the M17 bios.

LATTEH 10/16/2009 3:27 PM
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-0+

i still have a 3850 it still runs pretty strong (good enough for me to play the games i like) but with the 5xxx series i think it may be time to upgrade

ProDigit80 10/16/2009 3:49 PM
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-1+

I care less about performance on notebook drives.
But the Power efficiency, and battery life page tells me enough that this is not a notebook I'm looking for,or ever buy!
45 minutes under load???
I hope you understand after a year the battery will have 80% of it's capacity.
A year later it's only 66%.
That means after 2 years you'd only get 25 minutes of battery life out of this machine!

cookoy 10/16/2009 4:17 PM
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-0+

can't convince myself why i should use my notebook to play games - the real stuffs and not solitaire. i use mine for browsing, watching non-HD videos and work. more concerned about the heat generated by dedicated graphics chips. if i want to play games, i use my desktop.

fulle 10/16/2009 6:21 PM
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-1+

Articles like this always have people coming on saying stupid shit like:
"I would never buy a laptop with this poor of battery life"
or "Why would anyone try to play anything but solitaire on a Laptop? I could build a Desktop for far less".

Well, congratulations, a DTR style laptop doesn't suit your needs. There's still a market filled with people who relocate often (e.g. Military), or need a powerful machine to take to customer sites (which will have a power outlet btw), or even would buy one because they wipe their ass with 100s and just wanted something to take a friend's houses so they could game together.


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