We've seen the efficiency of Nvidia's Kepler architecture first-hand on the desktop. But AMD's Radeon HD 7970M pulls off a stellar showing in Xotic PC's Sager NP9150 notebook, reminding everyone that even a Pitcairn-based flagship packs a serious punch.
The gaming notebook market is divided between tier-one manufacturers, customer-direct distributors, and boutique builders. The biggest reason to buy from one of the first two options is a warranty on hardware that comes straight from the hands that built your machine. Most of them last from one to three years, and many can be extended right at the point of sale.
Custom notebook builders generally offer a larger range of component and software options, add-on peripherals, chassis customization, and enhanced technical support. Often, that comes at a price premium that enthusiasts are reluctant to pay. Yet, not every builder charges the same rate for its bespoke services.

Xotic PC is out to offer its customers the best of the custom-built market at the smallest markup possible, going so far as to add lifetime labor to the phone support offered by most of its competitors. Power users still get the manufacturer’s full range of warranty options, too.
Today we see if Xotic PC can really deliver on its value promises.
| Xotic PC / Sager NP9150 Custom Component List | |
|---|---|
| Platform | Intel FCPGA988, HM77 Express, MXM-3 Discrete Graphics |
| CPU | Core i7-3820QM (Ivy Bridge) 2.7 GHz-3.7 GHz, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, 45 W Max TDP |
| RAM | Samsung 16 GB (4 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600 SO-DIMM, CL11, 1.35 V, Non-ECC |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon HD 7970M: 850 MHz, 2 GB GDDR5-4800 |
| Display | 15.6" FHD 16:9 Glossy Sager Screen (1920x1080) |
| Webcam | 2.0 Megapixel |
| Audio | Integrated HD Audio |
| Security | Built-in Fingerprint Reader |
| Storage | |
| Hard Drive | Intel SSD 520 120 GB, SATA 6Gb/s |
| Optical Drive | TSST SN-208AB 8x DVD Burner |
| Media Drive | 9-in-1 Flash Media Interface |
| Networking | |
| Wireless LAN | Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N 1103 (3x3) |
| Wireless PAN | None: Combo-card sacrificed for Wi-Fi upgrade |
| Gigabit Network | Realtek RTL8411 PCIe 10/100/1000 Mb/s Ethernet |
| IEEE-1394 | Integrated IEEE-1394 Controller |
| Telephony | Not Available |
| Peripheral Interfaces | |
| USB | 1 x USB 2.0, 3 x USB 3.0 |
| Expansion Card | Not Available |
| HDD | 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s |
| Audio | Headphone, Microphone, Line-In, Digital Out Jacks |
| Video | 1 x Single-Link DVI-I, 1 x HDMI, 1 x DisplayPort |
| Power & Weight | |
| AC Adapter | 180 W Power Brick, 100-240 V AC to 19 V DC |
| Battery | 14.8 V, 5200 mAh (76.96 Wh) Single |
| Weight | Notebook 7.1 lbs, AC Adapter 1.8 lbs, Total 8.9 lbs |
| Software | |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, OEM |
| Service | |
| Warranty | Lifetime Labor, One-year parts |
| Price | $2119 |
- Can Xotic PC Provide More Value?
- AMD's Radeon HD 7970M, Exposed
- System And Benchmark Configurations
- Benchmark Results: Battlefield 3 And Metro 2033
- Benchmark Results: DiRT3, StarCraft II, And Skyrim
- Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Benchmark Results: Productivity
- Power Consumption And Battery Life
- Average Performance, Efficiency, And Value
- Did AMD's Mobile Graphics Lead Xotic PC To Victory?
- Update: Taking AMD To Task On Enduro
There really is no need to be rude, even if some of your points are valid.
Now, you at Tom's could try to reproduce these issues, for example on BF3 multiplayer with 64 players (say Caspian border). Please show people the MIN fps too, since that reveals the issues pretty well. Also try to lower your graphics to see if you can get a better fps readings (I promise you will not).
It would be great if you could add this information to the article, and join Anandtech in putting pressure on AMD to fix this issue for us users. We would be forver in your debt
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6243/amds-enduro-switchable-graphics-levels-up/5
Check the comments and the last 'update' part of the article. This card has been out for almost half a year now with broken switching software.
If I recall it is a Enduro related bug causing 7970M to be under utilized in games like BF3, it was quite a big deal in June/July on NotebookReview's Forum, not sure if it is fixed by new drivers.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-gtx-650-benchmark,3297-7.html
Check this thread (and the "Sager and Clevo forums") for more details:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/682097-7970m-logging-thread-games-utilization-issues-only-post-logs-no-questions-please.html
, and AVOID 7970M for now. Its been months and no fix from either AMD or Clevo. You do not get what you pay for when bying this configuration.
Makes good sense to me.
You didn't test BF3 multiplayer wwith 64 players? The single player works fine, but the multiplayer suffers from enduro issues. Here are some screenshots taken by me:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/716/bf320120727225130242.jpg/
18 fps is not fine in my opinion. Also got 8 fps at times in Civ 5. I have a P170EM Clevo with 3610Qm and 7970M. Anandtech also posted an article concerning Enduro, and they weren't aware of Enduro issues either, but when the people from Notebook review informed them about it, they were able to reproduce the issues. They also edited their article to include a mention about the issue.
The issue is real, and affect all AMD 7000M seriers card that are in laptops which have no MUX-cable. This cable allows a user to use only the dedicated GPU instead of the iGPU. When there is no MUX, the image is always forced through the iGPU, and the Enduro technology that is supposed to make this happen is broken. With Alienware's laptops that have MUX, you can force Enduro off and the issue goes away. If you enable Enduro in AW, the issue comes back.
What you get is sudden FPS drops, stuttering, low GPU utilization. It does not affect every game, but I'd still say its present in most games, e.g. witcher 1 & 2, crysis 2, BF3 multiplayer (more evident on certain maps), GTA 4, etc. etc. (the list goes on).
When you try to reduce the graphics level to get better fps, you only get lower GPU utilization and the same fps. Now this is a serious issue to people playing online shooting games and other competitive games.
Notebook review forums have numerous threads about the issue, and we have been following how the situation develops for months now. So far, AMD has been very silent regarding fixes to these Enduro related issues.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6243/amds-enduro-switchable-graphics-levels-up/5
Check the comments and the last 'update' part of the article. This card has been out for almost half a year now with broken switching software.
It is the best mobile graphics card regardless of price right now. That it has an issue such as this is very bad and should be fixed, but if someone wants the best, then they can get a laptop that can disable Enduro or doesn't support it at all. They shouldn't have to do this and that they do after al of this time is despicable, but that doesn't detract from the 7970M's capability when you work around the Enduro problem.
You do realize that the Enduro issue cripples the 7970M in laptops wihtout option to turn Enduro off? Just a 670? JUST?! 670 gtx is a pretty powerful card if you have not noticed. The 7970M is based on a downclocked 7870M, which quite clearly loses to a 670 gtx.
Gaming wise, the 680M is superior to the 7970M. It is more powerful, runs cooler, Overclocks better. Only downside is its ridiculous price (its 300€ more expensive). With the Enduro issues, even the 580M beats the 7970M at times. That is just not right.
And this is coming from a owner of a Clevo P170EM with a 7970M.
Meant that the 7970M is based on a downclocked 7870.
Some laptops can disable Enduro and without it, the 7970M is far better than the 680M. A 670 is a good card, but the 680M performs nothing like it because of its huge memory bandwidth bottle-neck. Throw in some AA and the 680M comes to a halt in comparison. I'm not saying that Enduro isn't a problem, just that without it, the 680M wouldn't be able to beat the 7970M if you use some good AA.
Imagine this except with the 680M that has like 20% lower memory bandwidth than even the 660 Ti and the 660.
This review is based on a Clevo EM-series. All these laptops are affected by Enduro, and I couldn't really recommend anyone to buy one with a 7970M. The 680M memory runs at a much higher speed than the memory in 7970M. When overclocked, the 680M eats 7970M alive. Its based on a better card, it is better. Nvidia knows this and that is why they are charging this ridiculous amount of money for it.