Solved! Questions on a Sony Aw

[MillaTime021]

Hello,

Quick question for the board. I am looking at a Sony AW with a Geforce 9600 and I would like to upgrade the card to a 9800 GTX. I use to work in the industry and I remember it being nearly impossible to upgrade notebook GPU's. Does anyone think that this can be done on a Sony AW? Thanks!

 

[lostandwandering]

Things haven't changed much. Few notebooks can do a GPU upgrade and they are generally the gaming laptops in the $1500+ category (see Clevo laptops). As far as I know, Sony's don't have upgradeable GPUs.

 

[MillaTime021]

The Gateway FX was on my short list because of it's price. 1000 isn't bad for a 17" screen with a 9800 gtx....seems to have decent reviews too...... what do you think?

 

[lostandwandering]

The Gateway FX isn't bad, but Asus has a model with a faster CPU and a GTX 260M for around $1250 which I think would be a better option. I think Asus has better build quality plus the Gateway's screen is inconsistent. What I mean is some people buying the FX are getting WVGA screens (1440x900) and others are getting a much better WUXGA screen (1920x1200) and Gateway doesn't really disclose this.

Here is the Asus: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220639

 

[MillaTime021]

only problem is the 9800gts a better card than the 260 according to the specs (faster clock, faster buffer, slower memory) HD screen is nice but I can but a WUXGA for around 200.

 

[lostandwandering]

only problem is the 9800gts a better card than the 260 according to the specs (faster clock, faster buffer, slower memory) HD screen is nice but I can but a WUXGA for around 200.

The 260 has more shaders than the 9800 (112 vs 64) and those count more than clock speed.

9800 GTS: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9800M-GTS.9918.0.html

GTX 260: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-260M.14559.0.html

 

[MillaTime021]

interesting.... never owned a Sager....how do you like their brand?

 

[lostandwandering]

interesting.... never owned a Sager....how do you like their brand?

I've owned my laptop for over 2 years now. Love the quality and the support has been good. They are generally known as offering some of the best performance/price systems on the market. They are a reseller for a company called Clevo, who's laptops are used by companies like Xotic PC, Falcon Northwest, Alienware, Widow PC and a few other high-end builders.