WidowPC Sting 517D Review (pics, specs)

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by Charles Jefferies

Overview &amp; Introduction

WidowPC Sting 517D notebook (view large image)

The WidowPC Sting 517D is a high-end gaming notebook with more power than most desktops. It features a high-resolution 17” display, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and the holy grail of notebook GPUs, the Nvidia GeForce Go7900GTX with 512MB of dedicated memory.

Our test machine has the following specifications:

Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core2Duo T7600 2.33GHz
• Memory: 2GB WidowPC L33T RAM
• Screen: 17&quot; 1920x1200 WUXGA
• Hard Drive One: 100GB 7200RPM SATA
• Hot Swappable Hard Drive: 100GB 7200RPM SATA (only available on special
  request)
• Hot Swappable Optical Drive: External DVD-RAM Multidrive
• Video Card: nVidia 7900 GTX 512MB Cache
• Wireless: Intel Pro Wireless 54Mbps a/b/g with Bluetooth
• Operating System: Microsoft XP Professional
• Media Features: 1.3Mpixel Digital Video Camera, 4-in-1 card reader

Our 517D has the highest specifications available, and it is certainly not for the budget-conscious, its final price as configured is retail $4,799.75. According to WidowPC, the price is “always negotiable”, so I would assume it can be had for less. The 517D starts at $2,695. Product Page.

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Reasons to Buy

With a Core 2 Duo processor and a 512MB Nvidia graphics card, the 517D's first and foremost audience is gamers. The 517D is also targeted toward those who use 3D modeling applications extensively, as it has an option for the most powerful mobile workstation card available, the Nvidia QuadroFX Go2500 512MB, which is based on the Go7900GTX.

When it comes to competition, there are very few notebooks that can stand up to the 517D in terms of overall performance. Its number one competitor is the Dell XPS M1710, which is also very expensive and does not have the feature set that the 517D does.

Alienware's Area-51 m5750 is another 17” gaming notebook, but its ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 256MB has considerably less performance than the 517D's Nvidia Go7900GTX 512MB.

Build &amp; Design

When I first took the 517D out of its box, I immediately noticed the spider logo on the black lid. I was deeply impressed from the moment I first saw it; the design and overall appearance are a far cry from the ordinary notebook. From top to bottom, the 517D is a work of art. All aspects of the design fit together seamlessly, and nothing looks out of place.

Here's a look at the dimensions:

• Thickness: Front, 1”, back, 1.8”
• Weight: 9.4 pounds w/ battery
• Across: 15.6”
• Front to back: 11.5”

The 517D is a heavy notebook, without a doubt. It is difficult to use on a lap because the main fan is on the right side of the notebook, and a knee can easily block it. I recommend getting some sort of pad if this is to see lap use.

The most eye-catching aspect of this notebook is the lid. Made out of aluminum, it is all-black and has the WidowPC signature black widow spider logo right in the center.

WidowPC 517D lid (view large image)

The rest of the case is made of high-strength ABS plastic. It feels extremely sturdy, and is virtually inflexible. I found the chassis to be stiff as a board.

Pushing on the back of the screen does not yield any ripples or distortions on the screen. There is a bit of flex when I twisted the screen side to side, but considering the 517D has a large 17” display, it is both expected and normal. This display does not flex as much as an ordinary 17” notebook thanks to being covered in aluminum. The hinges for the display are unmovable and anchor the display to the chassis well.

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The inside of the notebook is beautiful. The bright silver colors make a striking match for the black lid. What I admire about the inside of this notebook in comparison to other notebooks is the sophisticated and detailed look, along with the variation of textures. The full-size keyboard is bolstered on either side by a pill-shaped integrated speaker with an silver grill and metal trim. A clear strip of inlaid plastic lines the keyboard along the top, and has three programmable hot buttons and the power on/off button placed in it.

The palmrests of the 517D are textured and feel quite nice. The integrated touchpad is slightly off-center to the left to line up with the main keyboard. The touchpad buttons are made of metal, with matte silver tops and shiny borders.

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The most interesting feature about the inside of the notebook is the LCD display on the leading edge. All the status buttons are located in it, and it also displays military time. I found the LCD display to be convenient; the ability to see the time while playing a game is a plus. The display extends beyond the front of the notebook and is visible when the lid is closed. Four round buttons flank the LCD display on either side. The LCD and all the buttons are inlaid in a piece of clear plastic like the buttons above the keyboard.

Overall, the look of the interior is very elegant and will set the 517D apart in any crowd. I received compliments from everyone I showed this notebook to.

Screen &amp; Camera

WidowPC Sting 517D Screen (view large image)

The WidowPC Sting 517D features a glossy 17” display is available with both  WSXGA+ (1680x1050 pixels) and WUXGA (1920x1200 pixels) resolutions. Our test model has the latter.

The screen is exquisite. It has ample brightness, and the contrast is excellent. Black is black, and white is white; no color distortions. The display has five brightness settings; I was fine even at the lowest setting. There is very little light leakage, the majority of which comes from the bottom of the display. It is unnoticeable except when viewing an all-dark image.

The displays viewing angles are great, even from above. People sitting on either side of the screen would not have a problem viewing it. Movies and games especially almost pop out of the screen; it is simply a pleasure to look at. As with the typical glossy screen, it is very reflective and acts as a mirror.

Integrated web camera (view large image)

Camera: The 517D has a 1.3 megapixel camera integrated above the display. Despite its resolution, I found the video quality to be generally poor, and it is basically unusable in low-light conditions. There needs to be an abundance of natural light for this camera to produce an acceptable picture. The video feed is choppy. And although the Bison Cam software allows video capture, it does not have an option for taking a still image.

Speakers

The 517D has two integrated speakers, which are located at the rear of the notebook. Sound comes out of the top of the notebook through grilles to the right and left of the keyboard, and out of the sides at the back corners of the chassis. Integrated sound is provided by Intel high-definition audio and SRS WOW technology.

Speaker on the left side (view large image)

As far as notebook speakers go, these are top-notch in terms of sound quality, and they actually have a decent amount of bass. They do not sound tinny at all, and are quite usable for gaming, listening to music, and watching movies. The virtual surround sound works well and I could always tell where sounds occurred in games or movies.

Processor &amp; Performance

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Equipped with a top-shelf Core 2 Duo T7600 2.33GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, a 100GB 7,200RPM hard drive and a 512MB Nvidia dedicated graphics card, our WidowPC Sting 517D should be one of, if not the fastest notebooks we have tested. Let's see how it did.

Benchmarking notes:

Prior to testing, I fully tuned up the machine, defragmented the hard drive, and disabled all unnecessary services. I did a Windows Update and installed the latest LaptopVideo2Go Nvidia drivers, version 92.91. I used the GeForce Go7900GTX stock clocks of 500MHz Core/600MHz Memory (1.2GHz effective). All Internet connections were disabled.

Overall System Performance.

PCMark05 Score

Scoring an incredible 5,885 marks in PCMark05, the 517D is the fastest notebook in terms of overall system performance that we have ever tested.

PCMark05 Comparison Results:

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
WidowPC Sting D517D (Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz, Nvidia 7900GTX 512MB)	5,885PCMarks
Fujitsu N6410 (1.66GHz Core Duo)	3,487 PCMarks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60)	5,597 PCMarks
Sony Vaio SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	3,637 PCMarks
Panasonic ToughBook T4 (Intel 1.20GHz LV)	1,390 PCMarks
Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400)	3,646 PCMarks
Sony VAIO FE590 (1.83GHz Core Duo)	3,427 PCMarks

Processor Performance

 

CPU-Z (view large image)

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Sandra Processor Arithmetic Results (view large image)

Sandra Processor Multimedia Results (view large image)

The Core 2 Duo T7600's performance is nothing short of mind blowing. It is the fastest mobile processor on the market, and it looks as if it will stay in that position for some time.

Hard Drive &amp; Memory Performance

HDTune Results (view large image)

Sandra Memory Results (view large image)

Sandra Latency Results (view large image)

The installed hard drive is a Hitachi 100GB 7,200RPM unit. It operates at a low temperature, although it is a bit noisy as Hitachi hard drives traditionally are. A soft clicking noise is audible when the drive is accessed. Loading times for games and other applications were very fast.

2GB of RAM is a must-have for gamers and power users. The latest games will require more than 1GB of RAM to run smoothly at the highest settings. I did not run out of RAM during any scenario.

3D Performance

3DMark05 Result (view large image)

3DMark05 Results and comparison:

Notebook	3DMark 05 Results
WidowPC Sting D517D (Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz, Nvidia 7900GTX 512MB)	8,715 3D Marks
Apple MacBook Pro (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 128MB)	2,866 3D Marks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60 Nvidia GeForce Go7800 GTX)	7,078 3DMarks
ThinkPad T43 (1.86GHz, ATI X300 64MB graphics)	727 3DMarks
Asus V6Va (2.13 GHz Pentium M, ATI Radeon Mobility x700 128 MB)	2,530 3D Marks
Fujitsu n6410 (1.66 GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400 128MB)	2,273 3DMarks
HP dv4000 (1.86GHz Pentium M, ATI X700 128MB)	2,536 3D Marks
Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 256MB)	4,157 3DMarks

 

3DMark06 Result (view large image)

3DMark06 Results and Comparison:

Notebook	3D Mark 06 Results
WidowPC Sting D517D (Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz, Nvidia 7900GTX 512MB)	4,833
Apple MacBook Pro (2.00GHz Core Duo, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 128MB)	1,528
Alienware Area 51 m5550 (2.33GHz Core 2 Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB)	2,183
ASUS A8Ja (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 512MB)	1,973
Dell XPS M1710 (2.16GHz Core Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX 512MB)	4,744
HP Pavilion dv6000z (1.8GHz Turion X2 TL-56, nVidia GeForce Go 7200 256MB)	674
Sony SZ-110B in Speed Mode (1.83GHz Core Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7400 256MB)	794
Toshiba Satellite P100-222 (2.16GHz Core Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GS 512MB)	3,534

The GeForce Go7900GTX 512MB puts up a strong showing in 3DMark06. Nothing short of an SLI dual-graphics card setup will surpass the above scores.

Gaming Benchmarks

I benchmarked the framerate using FRAPS.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2

Settings: 1920x1200, Maximum, Bloom

[Level: Jabba's Palace]

0X AA

Average FPS: 71

4X AA

Average FPS: 44

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[Level: Death Star]

0X AA

Average FPS: 67

4X AA

Average FPS: 45

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F.E.A.R. Combat

Settings: 1600x1200, Maximum, 16X AF

[Level: Office]

Average FPS: 51

[Level: Docks]

Average FPS: 65

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Half-Life 2: Lost Coast Video Stress Test

Settings: 1920x1200, Maximum, Full HDR, Color Correction=OFF

0X AA/ 8X AF

Average FPS: 87.01

2X AA/8X AF

Average FPS: 80.18

4X AA/8X AF

Average FPS: 70.82

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Counter-Strike: Source Video Stress Test

Settings: 1920x1200, Maximum, Color Correction=OFF

0X AA/8X AF

Average FPS: 151.46

4X AA/8X AF

Average FPS: 104.95

----------------------------------------

Powering through the latest titles at the helm of the Sting 517D is a true pleasure. All games run flawlessly at the highest settings, even Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, a demanding HDR (High Dynamic Range)-enabled game. F.E.A.R. Combat is also very demanding, yet runs without hiccups. There is not a game on the market the Go7900GTX cannot run at the highest settings.

Heat &amp; Noise

A notebook with as high-powered of components as this one needs an effective, reliable cooling system. Thanks to two large fans and large copper heatsinks, the Sting 517D does a commendable job of cooling itself. During normal usage, the surface of the notebook is lukewarm at most, and  while gaming, it does not get much warmer. The surface of the notebook is generally the same temperature all over, which indicates that heat is being dissipated very effectively. There are no 'hotspots'. This is not a notebook one can warm their hands on as might be expected.

The bottom of the notebook is a slightly different story. Taking a closer look at the side pictures,  notice that the chassis of the 517D is thin at the front and gets thick at the back. The back half of the bottom is a reasonable temperature, and does not feel hot. However, the thinner front half of the chassis is noticably warmer, and can get hot while gaming. Under normal usage, the front is not hot at all. I never ran into any heat issues with this notebook however, even after hours of gaming, and I did not feel that it was close to overheating at any time.

Bottom side view of WidowPC 517D (view large image)

The two fans are on the bottom of the notebook. The primary fan is located on the right side, and is quite large in diameter. The secondary fan, designed to cool the video card, is located in the center of the chassis. The fans come on 5-6 minutes after powering on the notebook, and the noise level is noticeable at idle. When gaming, the fans do increase in RPM, but not by much and it should not be that audible over the sounds of the game. I did not find the sound to be intrusive, so your neighbor in the library won't be bothered. The sound is civilized, as it sounds like a constant, quiet flow of air (read: not a trickle) that is easy to tune out. All air goes through one monstrous vent in the back right of the notebook. The air coming out of the vent at idle is cool or mild, although when gaming, the exhaust is quite toasty (yes, you can warm your hands with it).

Cooling vent (view large image)

Overall, the cooling system is very effective, refined, and has a reasonable noise level, although I would not classify it as quiet. It is louder than the typical notebook but not annoying or intrustive, which is what really counts.

Keyboard &amp; Touchpad

 

WidowPC keyboard (view large image)

The Sting 517D features a full-size keyboard and separate number pad. The keyboard on this notebook is a 'feel-good' keyboard as I like to call them, and has excellent tactile feedback. Keystroke is a bit longer than the traditional notebook; it reminds me of a desktop keyboard. The entire keyboard has 100% no flex, rest assured. The numpad is equally as stable. The plastic used for the keys is fairly thick, which I like because it gives the keyboard a more heavy-duty feel.

There is one aspect of this keyboard that is really disappointing – the lack of dedicated Home/PgUp/PgDn/End keys. Instead of being stand-alone keys, they are integrated into the arrow keys as secondary functions. To use them, one must press the Fn (Function) key + one of the arrow keys. How annoying. It is unacceptable really; considering that this is a 17” chassis, there should have been enough room to have them as dedicated keys. This is my number one complaint about this notebook.

One other aspect of the keyboard I should point out is that the number pad is a odd in terms of layout; it only has three columns of keys, versus the regular four. It is not something I am concerned over since all the necessary keys are present, but some of them are rearranged and/or resized and it will take a bit of getting used to.

Touchpad (view large image)

The touchpad on the 517D is 'widescreen' to match the display. It is subtly textured, like laminated, fine-grained sandpaper. It has accurate tracking and I did not run into any issues with it. Along the right side, it has a dedicated zone for the scroll bar. It worked in all applications I tested it in. The touchpad buttons look elegant and are made of aluminum. They give a high-quality 'clack' sound when pressed down. In the middle of the right- and left-click buttons is a four-way navigation pad. In addition to scrolling up and down, it can also scroll side to side. It is a convenient feature when viewing large pictures and spreadsheets.

Input &amp; Output Ports

The WidowPC Sting 517D has a multitude of ports as a desktop replacement should have, including an ever rare DVI-D port for connections to external monitors and HDTVs, four USB 2.0 ports, and a legacy Serial port. The port placement is detailed in the following photos. All descriptions are left to right.

Right side view: Headphone, Microphone jack, ExpressCard/54 slot (top), 4-in-1 media reader (bottom), IEEE 1394 mini-Firewire, 2x USB 2.0, speaker (view large image)

Left side view: Lock slot, speaker, modular optical drive (view large image)

Rear view: Exhaust vent, S/PDIF-out, Line-in jack, 2x USB 2.0, DVI-out, TV antenna jack (enabled with TV Tuner option only), RJ-11 phone jack, RJ-45 LAN jack, 7-pin S-Video out, DC-in, Serial port (view large image)

The 517D does not have a PCMCIA card slot, only an ExpressCard/54.

Optical Drive

The Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-K16 optical drive installed in our 517D reads and writes CDs and DVDs, along with dual-layer DVDs. The drive was reasonably quiet for all tasks, and I did not have any problems burning different types of media.

The optical drive in the 517D is modular – it can be swapped out for a modular hard drive, which was included with this unit.

Modular bay optical drive (view large image)

It is interesting that a notebook as large as 17” comes with a modular drive, as they are usually found on ultraportables, but it is a convenient feature nonetheless.

To take out the optical drive, there is an unlock switch on the bottom of the notebook, and a switch to push out the drive. It is a very easy procedure, and takes about five seconds to get the drive out. The secondary modular bay hard drive is only available by special order.

Wireless

Our test notebook came configured with the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG mini-PCI wireless card and an internal Bluetooth v1.2 module. The wireless performs as it should; I connected to unsecured (no, not my neighbor's) and secured (64-bit WEP and 128-bit WAP) wireless networks without any hiccups. I could not test the Bluetooth because I do not own any Bluetooth devices, but I expect that it would perform as it should. Note that the 517D does not have an option for the newer Bluetooth v2.0.

An infrared port is located on the front edge of the notebook for use with the optional remote control (available with purchase of TV Tuner option).

Battery

Equipped with an 8-cell Li-Ion battery, I managed 1 hour and 36 minutes unplugged, with the screen brightness at minimum, wireless card activated and surfing the Internet the entire time (it should be noted that I do not live on the Internet as many are led to believe). The battery life is not very impressive, but considering that it is only an 8-cell battery, not much life is to be expected when paired with a 17” display and 512MB Nvidia graphics card.

Operating System &amp; Software

The WidowPC Sting 517D comes with Windows XP Home Edition standard, while XP Professional is available for an additional $75. Our notebook came pre-installed with the latter.

Thankfully, no “bloatware” installed; the desktop is not an advertising space as many mainstream brands treat it as. The only software that comes preinstalled is Nero OEM Suite for burning CD/DVD media, and InterVideo WinDVD for DVD watching.

Customer Support

In my time with the WidowPC Sting 517D, I did not have to contact customer support. It comes standard with a one-year parts and labor warranty. An additional year of coverage (2 years total) is available for $295, and an additional two years (3 years total) is $420. All warranties carry a 90-day display guarantee. For a notebook as expensive as this one, I would highly recommend at least a two-year warranty, although the warranty upgrade prices are rather steep.

Availability

WidowPC sells directly from through its website or via phone, their lineup of laptops can be seen here. The Sting 517D can be found here on WidowPC website.

Conclusion

So, how much is one willing to pay to have the ultimate gaming machine? A notebook with full specifications like our test WidowPC Sting 517D has will cost above and beyond what a normal notebook runs, but for that, it comes with the phenomenal design, excessive power, and a one-of-a-kind ownership experience that is to be expected of a notebook of this stature. Out of all the 17” notebooks I have reviewed in the past year, the WidowPC Sting 517D has been my favorite. I do feel the price is a bit high, but I would not hesitate to recommend the Sting 517D to the extreme gamer with a good deal of cash to spare.

Pros:

• Seamless design
• Incredible attention to detail
• Beautiful widescreen
• Unsurpassed power
• Runs cool
• Great speakers
• 'Feel-good' keyboard

Cons:

• No dedicated Home/PgUp/PgDn/End keys
• Poor camera
• Highly expensive
• Expensive warranty upgrade prices

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Boo, Chaz gets all the fun


Nice notebook, just look at the 3DMark05!

 

Yes, but can you play BF2 on high settings on this machine? LOL Just kidding. Now that is what I call a gaming rig!

Thanks Chaz, for a great review.

 

WOW, can I add one comment... You captured perfectly what a glossy screen will do with reflected light.. You can see your tripod etc in the camera shot.. that would drive me buggers

 

What a powerful labtop. It's too big for me personally, but still. I did notice that the Merom it came with was a B1 stepping Engineering Sample. Hopefully, they aren't selling them with B1 stepping since that'd be against Intel policy.

 

for such an expensive laptop you would think the included warranty would be longer than only a year.

 

Quite impressive. Are there unseen differences between this one and the other Clevo's to account for the extra cost? Any other modifications besides the custom lid?

 

So it's a Clevo/Sager 5760 with a spider carved in the lid....
Why pay almost 5 grand for something you can get for just over 2000?

I get almost the same 3dMark scores (see sig), and it only cost me $2300.
WidowPC wants $3200 for a machine with my specs. *boggle*

 

Good review, but I have to agree with Elminst. Except for the lid with the spider on it, I don't see any other difference in terms of physical appearance or specs between this and a Sager 5760. The exact same configuration (2gb ram, T7600, 2 harddrives, XP pro, 7900GTX) at powernotebooks.com costs $3245, which is more than $1500 cheaper than what widowPC charges.

 

Pretty much its an enthusiast factor, people will pay for cool, sure there isn't alot but there are people out there!

As well, most probrably aren't even educated enough that such a dealer like PN even exists!

 

Another superb review Chaz! Well done!

 

Nice review Chaz -- the benchmark numbers are extremely impressive and the look is certainly a different one. Obviously the customization and branding of the look is one reason for the higher price over the 5760. And remember, Chaz did say in the review WidowPC doesn't set their price in stone.

 

"pill-shaped integrated speaker"

a pill is generally thought of as a rounded tablet, you more likely mean "lozenge"

yes, this is a critically important distinction, glad to help out.

 

Yea...I'm jealous too! I'd love to play with one of those!

 

You know what's even more fun? Going back to your regular machine after using one of those.

Thanks - there really was no way to avoid not capturing the reflection. I had to dive out of the way of the shot after pressing the camera button to avoid getting caught.

That is an interesting observation - I had not noticed that. I don't believe most vendors are actually shipping T7600 machines right now so that is probably why.

Not that I can tell. They add the spider logo on the top, and customize the Windows installation a bit.

You are both right - this is much more than what you would pay from a normal vendor. However, WidowPC does have a price match gurantee.

Thanks for all the kind compliments everyone.

 

Ah, you didn't fall for the trap

 

Excellent work, Chaz, as always. Now I guess I won't need to fret over my Sager NP5760 review when I get it back. Guess that'll leave more time for actual play.

C.

 

Awesome notebook if only I had 4gs growing on my money tree,but I've to agree with quiong,why buy this one when you can save 1,500 and have the samething. Love the spider and the military time display,lucky U Chaz.

 

That's gotta be tough .

Well the black lid with the spider logo is nice...and if this is true... .

 

They also only have a 90 day guarentee on the display (even with the 3 year warranty). WTF ??????????
Booooooooooo windowPC boooooooooooooo

 

Sager's 30 day pixel guarantee is $200, so 90 days is actually very good.

 

Chaz knows his job. Now he sets the standards for a review - big work indeed.
This is an extraordinary machine, but I hope there are some better cost/power ratios available.

Cheers,

Ivan

 

decent review for a decent mechine

 

Hello evreybody !!
Unfortunately there are no another superb review about the DELL XPS M1710,
if it would be available (with heat profiles etc..) it would be possible to compare a Clevo M570U and a DELL XPS M1710..

But, a part the price.. DELL provide a T7600G.. so I think it is faster than Clevo M570U...

About the Thermal design engineering, DELL has a double heatpipe.. and the rest of cooling material component (passive and active) it woul be better IMHO..

But there are not good revies on the XPS...

anyway, if you can help us to do a choice, please have a look here ->
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=103083

or here-> http://forumz.tomshardware.com/mobi...ELL-XPS-M1710-Santech-M2910-ftopict48310.html

Thanks so much !!
Bye !!

 

At the time I did this review, that processor didn't exist.

 

Great review Chaz, and a beautiful lappie. I hope you price matched, because Widow does seem to be extremely expensive. I price matched an updated version of my Clevo (the 19" beast- now 20") the M590KE - and the result was a bit scary.. Hypersonic, RJTech, M-Tech, Sager came in around $4,200 - Widow PC wanted $6,200 give or take. Same specs, 3 yr warranty etc. I wonder whether it's not more economical to ship a pc off to get a custom paint job? I think Widow and Voodoo have to rethink 'information richness' in the internet age when people can so easily comparison shop..Doesn't a custom paint job go for around 600? Could shave about a grand and a half off an Alienware at that rate with the sickest looking lappie...
Thanks for the reply, btw..

 

Wow chaz nice notebook!!!

Can i ask you af favour? Would you like to play FEAR and find an enemy?

Then check your frames when you don't shoot at the enemy and note it.
And also plz note the framerate while you ARE shoting at the enemy.

It gives a big difference for me somehow.

 

I sent this laptop back a long time ago, it's not mine. Unfortunately I can't test it but I know there are a lot of people on this forum who have Go7900 cards.

 

Oh sorry my mistake

 

thats great for $4000+ my $1700 toshiba gets 4989 3d mark 06 with a 7900gtx 512mh

 

the toshiba isn't built nearly as well and it gets HOT (i've tried it in stores i burnt my hand literally)

Please don't bump something with that kind of comment...