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

Features
By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Benchmark Results: Crysis And Far Cry 2

Though we have not-yet tested a dual-GPU GeForce GTX 280M SLI notebook, our results prove certain that no lesser notebook can play Crysis at High Quality details and acceptable resolutions. Two elder graphics cards of the IQ17-D2 beat the single newer card of the GT725, but only at the impossibly-choppy 1920x1200 setting.

Cranking up Crysis visual details further shows that all three of these gaming notebooks are going to have a tough time handling the high-resolution gaming that spoils us on the desktop.

ASI’s twin Mobility Radeon HD 3870 graphics cards edge out MSI’s single HD 4850 at the only playable resolution. By now we’re starting to see a pattern for the big Eurocom notebook, its Core i7 desktop-class CPU most likely the biggest contributor to superior gaming performance.

The IQ17-D2 leads even against the Core i7 monster at Far Cry 2’s highest details and 4x AA, again at the only playable setting.

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