OMG: MSI is coming with a GTX 980M SLI notebook!!!

I know price is no object for some but man anything close to 3K on a laptop is just insane they way technology advances these days. Sure it's pretty unique but at those prices ( let me just say I have never said this before, don't even have one but it really applies to this laptop at this time) you might as well build a desktop since most owners will use it as a desktop replacement anyway.

 

I completely agree. Though to be honest I spent $2000 on my laptop when new. Another $300 on my upgraded CPU, $300 on upgraded SSD drives, and now another $100 on my new GPU.

So in the end I've invested quite a bit into this laptop over time.

And your point about it being too big and may as well be a desktop is exactly why I'm finally
thinking about going desktop again. My GT60 is even too large to transport around. I'm either going the new GS30 depending on price and how well it works out or just selling the laptop and building a small beastly desktop tower.

 

Trust me I feel your pain and can also say I've paid more than 2K a number of times on laptops and its the same story, love the performance for a year or two and then the need/want ( mostly want ) to get the latest and greatest comes in.
I have my price and 3K+ is pushing the envelope of what I feel comfortable paying....no matter how good the laptop is.

 

Dropping the cash on a pair of 980Ms was not cheap, but it has been a lot of fun

 

more from here This Gaming Laptop With a Mechanical Keyboard Is So Gleefully Insane

 

Hmm… is it possible to purchase a top line machine for less than $3K capable of playing ALL and any present games at better than 60 fps set at "ultra"; and the same for any "new" game coming in the next 24 months?

In other words, a wholly uncompromised gaming experience for 36 months. Invest in upgrades, add another 12 to 18 months of uncompromised gaming and performance.

You get what you pay for! When thinking GT80 Titan, one must not only think "true desktop replacement", but also "ULTRA"!

Pitting the cost of the average gamer vs the GT80 Titan is inappropriate! Given the cost of SLI, the OP's price comp is questionable.

SLI costs approximately $1200. Commensurate parts roughly $1500. Give or take $200 and we are legitimately in "insane" range. Like SLI, the GT80 Titan is for extreme gamers only! Kinda obvious....

So, what is most economical over a 2 to 4 year period; or, perhaps a 3 to 5 year period? A machine that needs to be replaced in 24 months, maybe less; or, one with upgrades that will last 48 months?

Always considering top line 1st Generation GPU performance; and, being 6 months or more behind playing with lowered settings unacceptable.

Seems to me, some must make a new purchase every 18 to 24 months. Isn't this so, with sub $2k machines? Can "ultra" be had at that price point *beyond* the first 6 months of a new generation? I would imagine 12 months (from now) at best, then newer games will require a drop down in settings.

I wonder, is it more economical to purchase a sub $2k machine every 18 months?

One positive, foregoing upgrades, the weight savings of a light "Ghost” like machine makes this strategy appealing.

Tinkering, and the possible performance increase can, for some, justify the added weight (and cost) of a top line upgradeable.

Of course, considering one's insanity, screen size and the relative cost must be factored. The above considers a 17 inch screen.

Comparing the GT80 Titan, an 18 inch screen must be considered. Now, perhaps ALL 18 inch screens and their consequent cost should be considered insane?!

Frankly, the majority population would consider $1500 insanely too much for a laptop when perfectly competent every day machines can be had for $1k and less!

All that said, today, I am rethinking that combining the cost of a [Bold]13 Alienware with Amplify[/bold] plus a screaming desktop build might be best for a $US3500 to 4500 budget. Thoughts?

Hope the above isn't too off topic.

Oh, lastly, imho, when thinking laptop vs desktop, the consideration MUST be vs a "custom order" desktop, tested and with guaranteed working order.

If you build it yourself, you are not considering the cost of your labor, nor the cost of time AND aggravation!!

Beaides portability, the main benefit of a desktop replacement laptop is upon receipt you just push a button and it WORKS—out of the box!

Build a desktop and you may be staring at a blank screen once you put your screwdriver down.

Again, hope this isn't too off topic.

 

Wow that looks like a PITA to work on. No wonder they went with soldered.... unless the back side is like 4 screws and EVERYTHING else is easily accessible.

 

The website is now on!

GT80 Titan SLI

 

Glad they went with 1080P. Also funny how they mention about the MXM modules but nothing about the CPU. Such a shame realy.

 

Gotta say, it looks better than I was anticipating in those pictures! Look forward to reading a good review!

 

Oh hi.

MSI's GT80 Titan is an Nvidia 980M SLI monster with a mechanical keyboard - PC Gamer

 

How badly will the 4720hq bottleneck this 980m sli setup? It seems like once you are already at this price point range, might as well go all in and pony up for the better CPU.

 

Depends on the game, with the +200Mhz overclock running at 3.6ghz it won't be too bad at all.

 

Looks really good. The price is high but it seems to be of very high quality.

I definitely want one but it sure is an investment! It would have been great if it used socketed cpu. Hell even a desktop cpu would have been interesting. But at least current core i7 are really good at gaming.

 

It is expensive, but it is not excessively more expensive than a somewhat similarly spec'd Sager NP9377-s. You also get a slightly larger screen (supposedly Samsung PLS Panel) and the mechanical keyboard. As someone who games with an Orbweaver or G13 and only uses the laptop keyboard for typing, the keyboard is not a huge selling point for me but I can certainly see the appeal in general.

 

The mobile version of processor shouldn't make too much of difference even if it's an extreme processor on steroids.

 

Bottlenecking will not be an issue when you compare the two CPUs. It's best to get the "cheaper" CPU from a gaming/value standpoint. The more expensive one will just net you better benchmarks - that's about it.

 

I am still interested in the real temps when the machine is at 110% workload.

 

So two different builds are showing up on Newegg for preorder.

i7 4720HQ with 16gb Ram for 3299
i7 4980HQ with 24gb Ram for 3699

Both have the 2x128gb M2SSD in raid.

Which would you choose and why?

 

Newegg got special permission to list them first .

If you need the more CPU power then go for the 4980HQ version. If you're really mostly going to game on it you probably wont see much difference. But when you're spending that much already whats a few hundred bucks more

 

Can anyone explain why both the 16GB and 24GB versions say "Max out memory..."? Does the CPU upgrade permit more addressable memory or denser memory modules?

Homer

 

So they can list them but everyone will be able to sell them on the same release day I suspect?

 

All resellers outside of Newegg are currently under embargo and so unable to list. I'm sure we'll all get them listed as soon as we're allowed to do so.

 

I'm sorry but this notebook looks hideous.. I rather get an Alienware 18 rather then this monstrosity.. Absolutely design..

 

One benefit of going with the top end CPU (4980HQ) versus the other one (4720HQ) is that you get Iris Pro 5200 graphics (versus the 4720HQ with the Intel HD 4600 graphics) for when you are not using your discrete GPUs (980M SLI). The performance is nearly double...not that it's a huge deal since you wouldn't necessarily game there...but it's something.

AnandTech | Intel Iris Pro 5200 Graphics Review: Core i7-4950HQ Tested

 

No need to apologize, people have different tastes and a lot instantly felt disgusted sorely by the keyboard position.

Personally, I think it looks fantastic and definitely looking forward to it.

 

What I am curious about is how the air flow is around this. I have an Alienware M18xR1 and it needs a lot of clearance underneath to avoid overheating. Not to mention the dual blast furnace exhausts out the back have to be kept clear.

Homer

 

On the product page it says "supporting up to 4x M.2 SATA SSD's in RAID 0"

I wonder why only two drives on the product, and only the 128GB option.

 

Why would they decide to use a 4980HQ on a sli-gpu machine? I cannot imagine that Iris Pro is going to get used often if at all on an sli machine. Wouldn't the 4810 (or 4910) have been a somewhat cheaper option that would have generated a bit less heat for almost comparable power?

 

Well you can't because Alienware went the way of Asus laptops. They won't be making the 18 anymore, and will have no OFFICIAL 980m SLI release from what I've seen. Actually Alienware is dead IMO. They don't even have MXM design systems anymore, and that's something MSI seems to still be pushing hard, even now offering official MXM upgrades.

At this point only MSI and Clevo will have power house laptops to offer. With Clevo still offering socketed (desktop) CPUs.

 

Just wondering when this thing will be released at some place like Xoticpc, so you can customize it a bit, get more RAM, etc.

 

We will list it as soon as our embargo drops, dont think I can say exactly when, but will post on this thread as soon as it does. For now its a Newegg exclusive.

 

8GB * 4 slots = 32GB is the max.
All CPU provide the same amount of memory support therefore upgrading it to a better/newer processor will not make that support happen.

 

Thanks! That makes the quote a marketing way of saying it and nothing to do with being close to "Max memory..."

Homer

 

Yeah.. That's why I love my nb. I hope other companies will follow MSI and Clevo.. All Hail!!!!

 

I am seriously considering pulling the trigger on a pre-order but the little devil on my shoulder says, "You know they will release a MSI GT80 Titan PRO or Dragon series in about 6 months right?"

 

If you are only considering a desktop replacement then you should consider to wait, it may be worth it.

 

Considering how easy it is to upgrade I am sure you could just buy it now and either upgrade the parts yourself to an unofficial "Pro" version in 6 months or just send it back to have them do it for you for a few extra hundred bucks. There will always be a better laptop in 6 months, and even if you wait for the "Pro" or "Dragon" edition, 6 months later there will be a better version or a new, more powerful laptop altogether. Just be thankful this thing will probably give you 3 year at least of pure gaming power, and then an easily upgradable internal structure whenever you feel like tuning up to the next gen GPU...

Seriously, go to XoticPc and compare the top model of the GT72 Dominator to the GT72 Dominator Pro, you will see there is barely any difference between the two. The Pro version has a more powerful GPU (not possible in the case of a potential GT80 PRO, since the base 980 SLI is top of the line for now) and a slightly more powerful CPU (also not possible for a potential GT80 PRO, since the 4980HQ is as good as it gets...). Just pure marketing hogwash...And even IF Nvidia releases a new flagship GPU within the next year, simply pop the top of the GT80 off and stick in a new pair, that simple! So no, I wouldn't wait for a pro version, just wait till some customizable site (not Newegg) gets their hands on it and order it from them with maxed out settings.

 

The Intel Skylark platform appears to be well worth waiting for! that's due out in about 6 months from now.

Broadwell and Haswell are not worth jumping on unless you need something now.

 

Thanks for the info, currently I own an AW18 4930mx 780 ssd combo so you make a very valid point.

 

I agree. I was going to buy a GS60 but now I'm going to wait. I may upgrade the 675M to a 970 in my current GT60. That's the only thing that's really lacking in it at the moment.

 

It's a very nice upgrade and not too expensive either.

 

Could someone tell me who will be supplying the GT80 in the UK? thanks.

 

Probably in a few days or weeks, every single MSI retailer will handle the GT80 haha

 

I couldn't help it I pulled the trigger. So will have an AW18 4930/780m/32gbRam/750HD,480ssd,1tbssdhd with more than 2 years of warranty left for sale.

I did notice this which I wasn't aware, it comes with a backpack, nice bonus hopefully.

 

Kit Guru is showing some internals of the Titan.

MSI GT80 Titan Laptop -internal shots from pre-retail sample | KitGuru

 

Wondering if anyone has pre-ordered or is planning to buy this beast?

 

Yep, I have bought one.

Expected to reach Australia on the 22nd.

 

Congrats Madness, wouldn't it be nice if they arrange for arrive on the release date. A person can always dream I guess.

 

Linus did a "review" on the Titan on CES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIE8h45r9Pk

I'm just waiting to see some reviews, and probably buy this beast!