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

By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Power, Efficiency, And Battery Life

With only a single graphics module and low-power quad-core notebook processor, the GT725 is miserly. The IQ17 isn’t far behind at idle, its dual-core CPU consuming the least amount of power, while its dual-GPU graphics subsystem requires the most. The desktop Core i7 of Eurocom’s D900F requires enormous power, even while idle.

Super-low power consumption allows the GT725 to take the efficiency crown, while super-high performance lets the D900F take second place in this comparison of power consumption to overall performance.

The IQ17-D2 has the longest run time and shortest charge time from a battery in Battery Eater Pro’s non-gaming 3D rendering test.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
32 Comments Comment from the forums
  • 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
    Reply
  • lashabane
    I love ASI's products.
    Reply
  • CoryInJapan
    That not bad for a gaming laptop.Could play COD4 and TF2 on there all day.
    Reply
  • lashabane
    There really needs to be an edit function.
    Reply
  • doomtomb
    Eurocom had some awesome performance but the power consumption is scary. You can't be away from an outlet for more than 45 minutes.
    Reply
  • tacoslave
    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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152126
    its got pretty decent battery life (3 hours) and it doesnt hurt the wallet that much anyway.
    Reply
  • curnel_D
    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.
    Reply
  • melvis72
    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.
    Reply
  • liquidsnake718
    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.
    Reply
  • Ehsan w
    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
    Reply