Test Setup
Below are the tested configurations for the four laptops included in this roundup. Again, keep in mind that the Gateway P-171XL and the tested configuration for the Sager and NP9262 are no longer available. The P-171XL has been replaced by the P-173XL, which has a slower processor as well as a lower price. The NP9262 is now available with Penryn-based processors, including quad-core models, and it ships with 9800M GT instead of 8800M GTX. The 9800M GT is virtually identical to the 8800M GTX, except it has a 20% higher clock GPU speed (with the same amount of memory bandwidth).
| Alienware m15x Test System | |
| Processor | Core 2 Extreme X9000 (2.80GHz 6MB 800FSB) |
| Memory | 2x2048MB Qimonda DDR2-667 5-5-5-15 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX 512MB NVIDIA drivers: 175.80 (Beta from Alienware) Intel GMA X3100 for BinaryGFX |
| Display | 15.4" WUXGA (1920x1200) Matte (LG Philips LP154WU1) |
| Hard Drive | 1x200GB Seagate Momentus 7200.2 (ST9200420ASG) |
| Optical Drive | Matshita BD-MLT UJ-220S Blu-ray/DVD Recorder |
| Battery | 9-Cell 56WHr 6-Cell 41WHr (Optional Smart Bay) |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit |
| Gateway P-171XL FX Test System | |
| Processor | Core 2 Extreme X7900 (2.80GHz 4MB 667FSB) |
| Memory | 2x2048MB Samsung DDR2-667 5-5-5-15 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS 512MB NVIDIA drivers: 175.95 (Hacked from LaptopVideo2Go.com) |
| Display | 17" WUXGA (1920x1200) Matte (Samsung LTN170WU-L02) |
| Hard Drive | 2x200GB Seagate Momentus 7200.2 in RAID 0 (ST9200420AS) |
| Optical Drive | Toshiba TS-L802A HD-DVD Reader/DVD Recorder |
| Battery | 9-Cell 86WHr |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit |
| Gateway P-6831 FX Test System | |
| Processor | Core 2 Duo T5450 (1.67GHz 2MB 667FSB) |
| Memory | 1x1024MB + 1x2048MB Samsung DDR2-667 5-5-5-15 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS 512MB NVIDIA drivers: 167.46 (from Gateway) |
| Display | 17" WXGA+ (1440x900) UltraBright (Samsung LTN170X2-L02) |
| Hard Drive | 250GB 5400RPM Western Digital (Scorpio WD2500BEVS-22UST0) |
| Optical Drive | Optiarc AD-7563A DVD Recorder |
| Battery | 9-Cell 86WHr |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit |
| Gateway P-7811 FX Test System | |
| Processor | Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz 3MB 1066FSB) |
| Memory | 2x2048MB Samsung DDR3-1066 7-7-7-20 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS 512MB NVIDIA drivers: 176.02 (Beta from Gateway) |
| Display | 17" WUXGA (1920x1200) Glossy (AU Optronics AUO 1088) |
| Hard Drive | 200GB Seagate Momentus 7200.2 (ST9200420AS) |
| Optical Drive | 8X SuperMulti DVD Recorder |
| Battery | 9-Cell 86WHr |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit |
| Sager NP9262 Test System | |
| Processor | Core 2 Duo E6850 (3.00GHz 4MB 1333FSB) |
| Memory | 2x1024MB Apacer Technology DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 |
| Graphics | Dual NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX 512MB NVIDIA drivers: 175.95 (from Sager) |
| Display | 17" WUXGA (1920x1200) Matte (LG Philips LP171WU1? - "LPL 0801" in ASTRA32) |
| Hard Drive | 160GB Seagate Momentus 7200.2 (ST9160823AS) |
| Optical Drive | TSST Corp TS-L632H DVD Recorder |
| Battery | 12-Cell 97WHr |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit |
We certainly expect the Sager NP9262 to place at the top of the charts in pretty much everything, followed by the Alienware m15x and then the two Gateway notebooks. The P-171XL has a faster hard drive subsystem and processor while the P-7811 has a faster graphics chip. We will also be taking a detailed look at battery life, noise levels, and LCD quality. The Alienware m15x supports both discrete and integrated graphics, which we will benchmark where appropriate. (That means we won't be running our gaming tests - most of them fail completely, and even those that work don't provide acceptable performance.)
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yyrkoon - Friday, August 29, 2008 - link
Yeah, I would not expect my desktop to beat the laptop performance wise(in games), but with what I have for resolution/monitor wise it does perfectly fine for me.It is just that lately, since we are going 100% green energy(solar/wind), or as close to 100% as possible, I have been on this power consumption 'kick'. I would hope that the Intel motherboard with the desktop G45 chipset, and x4500HD would use half of what I am using power wise now with my current desktop, but I suspect that I would have to get the laptop based mini itx motherboard/CPU/memory for it to be truly where I would like to see things power wise. Even only 100W is roughly 8.33 amps off of the batteries on a 12v system : / Depending on how many batteries you have, that can be substantial.
I do realize that gaming on the Intel mini ITX boards would take the back seat because of performance, but it would be a perfect machine for running almost everything except for games. That is, until Photoshop, Illustrator, etc start leveraging the GPU/parallel processing.
Oarngemeat - Friday, August 29, 2008 - link
Good article - but the Alienware is not the first laptop with dual graphics cards like this. Maybe for a gaming laptop, but my Sony SZ is getting close to two years old and can do the same thing. Sounds like it even does things the same way, I have to reboot to switch graphics. I've seen it average at about 50% battery performance increase too.JarredWalton - Friday, August 29, 2008 - link
That's why I say the first laptop *we've* tested. Besides, a midrange (at best) GPU that can be disabled isn't quite as useful as a high-end GPU that can be switched on/off.denka - Friday, August 29, 2008 - link
I liked the article, but I've been looking on the Internet for a review that could tell me how good are ATI's 3650's, of which ASUS seemingly is a fan seeing how they have 5 models for sale on Newegg :)Still looking.
denka - Friday, August 29, 2008 - link
Sorry, must have been a stupid question. Found my answers on www.notebookcheck.netJarredWalton - Friday, August 29, 2008 - link
I've asked AMD to get me a notebook with 3000 series graphics, but no one has been able to do so yet. Outside of the 3870, though, graphics performance will be relatively mediocre. I've got a few midrange notebooks with 9500M/8600M GPUs that I'm reviewing, and one with a Radeon 2600. Performance is around 1/3 of the 9800M GTS in gaming. Many games (GRID, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, etc.) need to run at 1280x800 and low to medium detail on such laptops before they can get solid frame rates.fabarati - Saturday, August 30, 2008 - link
The performance of midrange laptop cards go: 9600m GT GDDR3> HD3650> 8600m GT GDDR3> 9600m GT=HD2600 GDDR3>8600m GT DDR2=9500m GS DDR2>HD2600 DDR2. Now there are a few more nVidia cards, just to muddle the waters more, but this should give rough performance estimates. 9500m GS is just a rebadged 8600m GT.On my HD2600 DDR2 I play Assassin's Creed with everything on max at 1280x800. On the other hand, my max is for some reason lvl 3 instead of 4. Solid framerates for one person is not the same as for someone else. Some can't stand below 40, som don't see the difference between 30 and 60. For me, over 25 is quite fluid. It helps that Ass Creed has motionblur. That smooths things up.
Oh, And i've OC'd the Graphics memory a bit. That helps too.
flahdgee - Friday, August 29, 2008 - link
I grabbed an Alienware laptop 3 or 4 years ago, and I expected to be able to game on it. I had the Geforce 6800 Ultra Go put in it and had overheating problems from the start. I had to send it into the company for repairs to the motherboard from various components burning up. Whether I got a defective component somewhere that was tearing it up, I don't know, but it has turned me completely off to laptops, gaming ones in particular.Wolfpup - Friday, August 29, 2008 - link
I'd just be scared off of Alienware-which I am anyway...I'm shocked that even the build quality is garbage. I don't get the point of that 15x thing. Dell's 1730 is SOOOO much better built, and it's higher end, for basically the same price. Those Gateway models seem to be a lot better built too, for at least $1000 less (or worse...)
cheetah2k - Monday, September 1, 2008 - link
Anandtech, you call this a "gaming laptop round-up"??Wheres the almighty Dell 1730 with dual 8800GTX's in all its glory? The little girls to scared to come out to play??
Who wants an Alienware, Gateway or Sagem-blahh??? Build quality and service is just shocking....
Get a grip fellas