Help Me Spend $5k :) USD

[Karamazovmm]

the p270wm = nyx 7212 is going to take a while to get here, since there are some problems with that machine and currently there is no ETA for a re release of it.

Go for the m18x.

and I would order one from aw, since you can also get some discount by talking to allan here in the aw forum, or talk on the phone.

While the budget is high getting more bang for your back is one good thing.

A good build would be:

CPU: i7 3920xm
GPU: 2x 7970m
RAM: I would put that myself, I do value what I get in return
HDD: A good samsung 830 at 512gb is one great buy, couple that with 1 1tb HDD, and you are golden (again buy separate)

Configuring from the aw site, I can get a 3520 price point (I added the win 7 pro), add the cost of the 512gb (600) and the 1tb HDD (120).

The cost to get 32gb of memory at neweg is around 200 for a 1333mhz, rarely you are going to need more than that, and since size matters more than speed...


Thus total would be 4420, and then you can get yourself more warranty, and add the blu ray that you want (100), I never saw the need for a blu ray burner, a external HDD or thumb drive is much more convenient

[HumbleSage]

the p270wm = nyx 7212 is going to take a while to get here, since there are some problems with that machine and currently there is no ETA for a re release of it.

Go for the m18x.

and I would order one from aw, since you can also get some discount by talking to allan here in the aw forum, or talk on the phone.

While the budget is high getting more bang for your back is one good thing.

A good build would be:

CPU: i7 3920xm
GPU: 2x 7970m
RAM: I would put that myself, I do value what I get in return
HDD: A good samsung 830 at 512gb is one great buy, couple that with 1 1tb HDD, and you are golden (again buy separate)

Configuring from the aw site, I can get a 3520 price point (I added the win 7 pro), add the cost of the 512gb (600) and the 1tb HDD (120).

The cost to get 32gb of memory at neweg is around 200 for a 1333mhz, rarely you are going to need more than that, and since size matters more than speed...


Thus total would be 4420, and then you can get yourself more warranty, and add the blu ray that you want (100), I never saw the need for a blu ray burner, a external HDD or thumb drive is much more convenient

This all sounds great. I do want a Blu-ray burner in it though, can Alan make that happen? I am currently negotiating with HIDevolution.com because they are the only reseller I can find that can make a slot-load blu-ray burner happen. Also why did you choose the AMD over Nvidia?

I have 2 Samsung SSD 830's mirrored in my server for system partition only. Boots Windows Server 2008 R2 with all services including Exchange server in 33sec flat. I was going to make that change after my purchase.

You make a very good point and I agree, I may have a 5k budget but it is all about getting the max bang out of that buck, I'm not about to just squander it foolishly. If I can come under kudos.

[knight427]

Did you consider a mobile workstation? Of course you'd need to wait for the Dell M6700 or HP 8770w...and give up dual GPU, but your professional apps might be better served with a pro-GPU. Also, you can get a 10-bit IPS screen in either one. You can easily hit $5000 with Extreme CPU+IPS+FX5xxx.

[HumbleSage]

Did you consider a mobile workstation? Of course you'd need to wait for the Dell M6700 or HP 8770w...and give up dual GPU, but your professional apps might be better served with a pro-GPU. Also, you can get a 10-bit IPS screen in either one. You can easily hit $5000 with Extreme CPU+IPS+FX5xxx.

Actually I did, Thing is I got that up to 7k easily and just couldn't justify the tradeoff you know?

[knight427]

It sounds like your top priority is gaming, in which case it's hard to argue against a gaming machine with dual-graphics. I just wanted to see if you had considered it since you also do a lot of professional applications in addition to gaming.

Oh, and IMHO it would be better to spend $2.5k now and cut your life expectancy to 1.5yrs. You'll be able to upgrade sooner, plus your laptop will still have reasonable market value in 1.5yrs...not so much in 3yrs.

[HumbleSage]

It sounds like your top priority is gaming, in which case it's hard to argue against a gaming machine with dual-graphics. I just wanted to see if you had considered it since you also do a lot of professional applications in addition to gaming.

Oh, and IMHO it would be better to spend $2.5k now and cut your life expectancy to 1.5yrs. You'll be able to upgrade sooner, plus your laptop will still have reasonable market value in 1.5yrs...not so much in 3yrs.

Actually the priority is about equal, I've just always thought if the machine can handle gaming then you can pretty much throw anything else at it.

[knight427]

Actually the priority is about equal, I've just always thought if the machine can handle gaming then you can pretty much throw anything else at it.

I suppose it depends on what you are doing and expecting. I know pro GPUs double check every frame, which means the pro version GPUs will always be slower than the gaming versions clock-for-clock. The drivers are also optimized for pro apps and "certified" for stability. But yeah, I'll bet dual-7970m can "overcome" any driver disadvantages through pure power (assuming stability of course).

[HumbleSage]

I suppose it depends on what you are doing and expecting. I know pro GPUs double check every frame, which means the pro version GPUs will always be slower than the gaming versions clock-for-clock. The drivers are also optimized for pro apps and "certified" for stability. But yeah, I'll bet dual-7970m can "overcome" any driver disadvantages through pure power (assuming stability of course).

Ahhh good to know! So like Mr.MM You think I should go with the 7970m's as well? What are your reasons for choosing those over the NVIDIA set?

[Karamazovmm]

the reason is because the 675m yields every time the 7970m is thrown. Its a base 40% advantage regarding the Red dragon against the mighty frog.

for a better comparison think that the 675m is a 560ti heavily downclocked and the 7970m is a 570 with some overclock

[Bartlett]

Mr MM is spot on. The 7970M is currently the graphics leader by a wide margin. Until the 680M comes out after Nvidia is done tinkering it in the attempts to make it 1% faster and 50% more expensive, the 7970 is clearly going to be the best option.

I second going with M18x as well. If you go through Dell I am sure they can give you a mean discount in a heartbeat, probably around 20% or so.