Dual 512MB ATI HD 3870 CrossFireX vs Dual 512MB NVIDIA GeForce9800

matel

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Dec 22, 2008
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ill keep this short, my alienware laptop was stolen i had 2 nvidia 7900 gs with 512mb

i only play world of warcraft but i want higher frames then my laptop had before

so im looking to order a new laptop and trying to decide between a few options

so can someone marks these from best to last for me

1) Dual 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8600M GT – SLI Enabled
2) Dual 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT – SLI Enabled
3) Dual 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870 - CrossFireX™ Enabled!
 

frozenlead

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2>3>1.

For what you use it for, though, I highly discourage SLI. You'll find that a single 9800mGTX will crush two 7900s with room to spare - and it's much cheaper to get a non-SLI model.

EDIT: But, if you've got the cash, and are willing to blow it, who cares? Throw $30 in for a quality notebook lock.
 

matel

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Dec 22, 2008
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i think i need to try to look around more and see whats out there, i really did love my alienware thats why im leaning to them again
 

frozenlead

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alienware machines are 50% computer and 50% brand-name, so the prices on their units are way over many other comparable (and better performing) machines. But, one can't put a price on liking what you have.
 

matel

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Dec 22, 2008
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thanks you have been very helpful

my alienware laptop that was stolen was an aurora m9700

- amd turion 2.2ghz 35w L2 1mb
- PDP 1gb ddr pc3200 sodimm aw90 x2
- 9700 nvidia 7900 gs with 512mb x2 with sli
- vista 32bit

the 2gigs of ram hurt pretty bad with vista because i run a ton of mods on wow and use vent at the same time, so i dont want to go any lower then 4gigs this time

all i do on my laptop is play world of warcraft use ventrilo sometimes aim and browse the internet thats all. All my music pics and so on is on my desktop

soo iv never heard of sager but i looked over there site and they look pretty nice


so this is the 2 i am considering right now

SAGER

Display: 17" Wide Viewing Angles WUXGA LCD with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1200)[+$95.00]
- Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor E8500 / 6MB L2 Cache, 3.16GHz, 1333MHz FSB
- Video & Graphics Card: Dual Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTX Graphics with 1GB DDR3 Video Memory in SLI mode[+$745.00]
- Operating System: Genuine MS Windows® VISTA Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition
- Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2 X 2048MB
- RAID Storage Options: Non-RAID Storage
- Primary Hard Disk Drive: 250GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive
- Optical Drive: 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
- Wireless Network Card: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300AGN - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth Module
- Primary Battery: Smart Li-ION Battery Pack
- Microsoft Office: Microsoft Office Ready with Free 60-Day Trial
- Warranty: Sager 1 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty with Three-Day Shipping Both Ways Paid
- Carrying Bag: Standard Carrying Bag

Sub-Total:$3,389.00

Alienware

-17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p) with Clearview Technology –
Black Includes AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard
- Dual 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT – SLI Enabled
- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 2.1GHz (3MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
- 4GB« Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 2048MB
- Windows Vista® Home Premium with Service Pack 1
- Single Drive Configuration
160GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
- 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
- Intel® Turbo Memory (1GB) – Accelerate Data Transfer Speed
- Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
- Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound

Subtotal: $3,299.00
 

matel

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Dec 22, 2008
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how would a single Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTX from the sagar laptop and the NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT compair to my desktops GeForce 8800 GT 512MB


also i am trying to figured out if the sager NP9262 has 1GB DDR3 Video Memory when you have both sli'ed or if its each card has 1GB

i know the alienwares are each 512mb making it a total of 1GB
 

frozenlead

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The 9800mGTX is about equivalent to a 9800GT on a desktop, I think, which can trump the 8800GT by a fair amount.

The 9800mGTX's on the Sager unit are each equipped with 1GB of RAM, making the total 2x1GB. The alienware unit DOES NOT have 1GB of VRAM - this is the most common mistake when considering SLI setups! Even though you have two cards that have 512MB of memory, you do not have 1GB of memory at your disposal, as each card can only use 512MB of it. Therefore, to be correct, you have 2x512MB of memory. The Sager unit, therefore, has more VRAM and more powerful GPUs.
 

matel

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Dec 22, 2008
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ok thanks for the info :)

i never thought id buy another laptop but alienware just because i have loved the 2 i have had so much

but it is what it is, that sager looks like the stronger machine


i also need to look into if sli is even anygood for world of warcraft.

off topic question - my brother has the same laptop i had
any chance he could upgrade his ram to 4gig's with something like http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170288495354 or maybe some other setup

also would he be able to upgrade his 2 video cards? he has 2 7900's sli as well.

something like
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110328752608#ebayphotohosting
 

fulle

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May 31, 2008
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Mat.... Warcraft can run adequately on Intel integrated graphics. You don't need SLI....

To put things in perspective, about a year ago, my father had me fix a driver issue he had on a cheap ass Dell laptop he purchased for about 600 dollars refurbished. It had an an ATI graphics card in it, but not a gaming class card or anything... something around a HD 3450. The laptop was able to run WoW perfectly at native res, with the details turned up.

If you look at this chart:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

Anything posting a 3DMark of 4000 or higher will run WoW smoothly.

That said, most "gaming" laptops have at least a 9600m GT in them, and will produce a 3DMark of at least 5k or so.

For the games I play personally, which includes a few that are more shader intensive than WoW is, I wouldn't go with anything less than a 9800m GS... but don't even consider SLI an option since it adds too much heat, power consumption, size, and noise to a laptop.
 

matel

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Dec 22, 2008
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well i want to run all my settings at the highest with 24bit color 24bit depth 8x multisample

wow doesnt take much to run it running aronud the city and in the world but in 25man raids with all the spells and so on it really does start to push it, i want to run at least 40+

my desktop is pushing how i want to run the game, its good enough but i dont want to go any lower so my laptop is a little under so i dont use it for important things.

see im in a top 25 guild if my pc lags and i die i get yelled at lol so i can roll with bad frames

my desktop is
- intel core2 quad q6600 2.40ghz
- 4gigs of ram
- vista 32
- Nvidia 8800gt 512

 
About your brother's laptop, according to Crucial the Aurora m9700 can only take 2gb of RAM MAX. It has two DIMM slots, but they can only take up to 1gb sticks each.

For the GPU's it is not likely. He may be able to upgrade to 7950GTX's, but I would not expect anything more. He is also going to pay an arm and a leg for them.
 

matel

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Dec 22, 2008
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yea we once contacted alienware but just in labor it wasnt worth it

he switch from windows vista to xp and that helped him out alot with playing games

he has shown me some sites where you can overclock the gpu's but hes kind of afraid to have anything done like that
 
G

Guest

Guest
hi , sorry for jumping like this ,

I wanne buy a laptop for playing games and I was looking at alienware laptops
and found this :
[1] M17®

Design & Display: Black Ripley Design
Display: 17-inch WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD (720p)
Graphics Processor : Dual 512MB ATI® Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870 – CrossFireX™ Enabled!
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9400 2.53GHz (6MB Cache 1066MHz FSB)
Fingerprint Reader: Integrated Biometric Fingerprint Reader
Keyboard Options: Non-Illuminated Keyboard - English
Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SO-DIMM at 1067MHz - 2 x 2048MB
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 160GB 7200 RPM SATA with Free Fall Protection
Operating System: Genuine Windows® Vista Home Premium - English
Optical Drives: 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless Network Card: Internal Realtek Wireless LAN b/g Mini Card
Sound Hardware: Internal High-Definition Audio with Surround Sound
Warranty: AlienCare 1-Year Free Phone 24/7 and Collect & Return
AlienContact: Added Bonus with any AlienSupport Selection
AlienContact - Remote Alienware Support
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mobile Binder
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Owner Identification Card
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mesh Cap
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mousepad
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Sticker
Alienware Extras: M17 Keyboard Diagram Overlay
Alienware Extras: M17 Protective Cloth Sleeve
Avatar: Alienhead 3D
Window Style: Default Vista Window Style
Mouse Pointers: Standard Mouse Pointers
Power Plan: Balanced
Automatic Updates: Automatic Updates On
Time Zones: (GMT + 00.00) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

costs 1927.53 euro

and an other
G71 C2D dual core whit 4 gb ram 6404 n9700M a 1830 euro

whats best to buy cos aim afraid of the costumer support at alienware the last 1 has 3 y warranty included the alien ware 1 not.

... any suggestions.