What processor should I get if I get the Sager NP9280

[ily924]

Ok so like today i found out about the NP9280. Im really excited about it but its a bit pricey. What processor should i choose? Im planning on gaming a lot. I mostly plan on Grand Theft Auto and I heard its a pretty demanding PC game. Which processor will make it run smoothly? Or will the NP5797 be able to run GTA smoothly as well? Please help! :confused:

[Mosaic]

I would say the Q9650 is more than enough for current applications and many to come, if it is supported. The L2 cache is outstanding and it runs extremely cool given you have adequate ventilation, and it is the most price-friendly choice considering the price jump from a quad core to a quad core extreme is very large. I run the Q9650 with dual 9800M GTX's and 4 GB of ram to run every current game out there, max settings, except for Crysis. As it stands, even the most beast desktop can only run Crysis at what, roughly 65 FPS? And we are talking dual GTX295's, so with that being said, your bottleneck won't ever come from your CPU on a Sager, it will always come from the downscaled graphics us unfortunate laptop gamers get.

+rep? Cheers!

[ily924]

Thank you mosaic. I will consider it. Do you think it will run GTA smoothly?

[powerpack]

Give this a look to try and get an idea how it might do, link (http://www.yougamers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94390). This is one game that seems quad threaded. But it is also one game that gets heavily knocked for being poorly coded. I have no comment on the reality of coding issues.

Seems like one game you cannot have too much CPU for?

[robamb2002]

The only problem I'm seeing with the suggestions is they are based on Core 2 duo processors and not the Core i7 that comes in the new NP9280. I can't speek from personal experience but from what I know of the poorly coded GTA4, the NP5797 would be playable according to notebookcheck.net, with 48fps on low, 47fps on med and 33fps on high settings(link (http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html)) but the NP9280 would play better due to the tripple channel mem and better processor. you are compairing a core 2 duo mobile to a core i7 desktop processor. If you have the money and want a kickin machine, the NP9280 will kill the NP5797. If you don't have the money, then its not worth it :)

[KY_BULLET]

I really like GTA4 that was one of the reasons i dumped alot into this system below. I hope that this will play it...Any comments appreciated...Thanks

[powerpack]

I really like GTA4 that was one of the reasons i dumped alot into this system below. I hope that this will play it...Any comments appreciated...ThanksYou will be fine I see highest settings avg in the 40fps. Give or take?

[ily924]

yes. which i7 processor? I dont know which one. is the $735 worth it?

[powerpack]

yes. which i7 processor? I dont know which one. is the $735 worth it???? I don't know where we are? That said I would never recommend that kind of upgrade. Say more about what you say?:confused:

[Woody]

I think the question may be which of the three available Core i7 processors to choose and how that compares to the Core 2 Quad processors from the discontinued NP9262 or the mobile processors found in other gaming laptops.

The slowest Core i7 920 at 2.66GHz would be a significantly faster CPU than the fastest CPU found in any other notebook and by a significant margin. The upgrades to the 940 and the 965 are pricey and are probably more CPU than you need for the time being. You could always consider upgrading down the road if you end up keeping the machine a while since those CPUs will certainly come down in price in the future.

[KY_BULLET]

Take a look here th should help you decide...http://www.cpubenchmark.net/

[Jon]

Ok so like today i found out about the NP9280. Im really excited about it but its a bit pricey. What processor should i choose? Im planning on gaming a lot. I mostly plan on Grand Theft Auto and I heard its a pretty demanding PC game. Which processor will make it run smoothly? Or will the NP5797 be able to run GTA smoothly as well? Please help! :confused:

Just get the basic i7 (you can overclock it). The Extreme is for bragging rights! Nothing wrong with that:if once can afford it. I play GTA with a 9300 mobile quad & No Problems! I'm sure with a single 280M(on the 5797) & a decently clocked processor it will be More than ok!

[ily924]

Just get the basic i7 (you can overclock it). The Extreme is for bragging rights! Nothing wrong with that:if once can afford it. I play GTA with a 9300 mobile quad & No Problems! I'm sure with a single 280M(on the 5797) & a decently clocked processor it will be More than ok!

Thanks JON. I just read about overclocking and it seems like a pretty cool idea. I looked at KY BULLET's post and visited the website and it helped me. Cheers KY BULLET! But, will the laptop be able to handle overclocking? Im new to this so help please? Wont it like overheat or something?:notworthy

[Mosaic]

The Q9650 + 9800M GTX's SLi runs GTAIV very smoothly, the only problem is, all current laptop mobile cards render the shadows extremely strangely, as in they are all very jagged and disfigured. However, the latest GTAIV patch has fixed that, and you can disable shadows now. I run GTAIV with the aforementioned setup, 4 GB ram, and vista x64 at 1680x1050 with settings maxed out and vsync enabled and everything runs at max framerates. However, there is alot of tweaking that you must do in order to get the game to run the way its supposed to. There is a bug where the game will crash because of "lack of physical memory" etc, meaning the engine doesn't properly recognize how much RAM you have, or on-board video card memory. You will have to edit .cfg files and create a text file called commanline.txt and the engine will execute it when you run gtaIV.exe. just google GTAIV commandline.txt tweaks and you will find what you exactly need.

Great game, great fun, poorly ported to PC. However as I said above, there is alot of tweaks you can do to the game to get it running the way its supposed to be ran.

Q9650 runs great. Better than great, most games dont even utilize all four cores yet anyways.

[KY_BULLET]

I pretty sure there are ways to overclock the I7 920 close to 3.20Ghz and I7 940 over 3.20Ghz...But the I7 965 is locked in the bios i hear and won't let you...I'm sure one of these geniuses here will figure it out eventually:cool:...That will be intersting to see how high it can go when someone figures out how to crack it. I'm new to this overclocking too...I would be afraid to try on my own..Couldn't imagine frying a damn expensive cpu like this one....

[Woody]

....But, will the laptop be able to handle overclocking? Im new to this so help please? Wont it like overheat or something?:notworthy

It depends on a great many factors. If you don't have any experience overclocking desktops you probably shouldn't try to overclock a notebook. Notebooks are generally built to very tight tolerances and don't have a lot of room for overclocking. The thing is that the heatsink and fan are probably identical for all three CPU choices available in this notebook so if you get a good chip you will certainly have more room for overclocking the 920 than the more expensive, faster processors but there's no guarantee. It will also likely void your warranty and you could damage the notebook.

[powerpack]

I doubt BIOS options for OC'ing. So you are stuck with software OC. As such you can't really play with voltage. What that means? You should not be able to destroy your CPU. You see the CPU is designed to shut down before permanent damage from heat. Also it is so easy to monitor temperature really you are not going to damage your CPU even if you try. What happens is it will just BSOD or do something else.

The top choice for CPU never makes economic sense. Too much extra money for too few extra clocks.

[Jon]

I pretty sure there are ways to overclock the I7 920 close to 3.20Ghz and I7 940 over 3.20Ghz...But the I7 965 is locked in the bios i hear and won't let you...I'm sure one of these geniuses here will figure it out eventually:cool:...That will be intersting to see how high it can go when someone figures out how to crack it. I'm new to this overclocking too...I would be afraid to try on my own..Couldn't imagine frying a damn expensive cpu like this one....

Just my opinion but if your nervous about overclocking then you shouldnt! you always can learn more about it in the future. The i7's are (i think) so powerful that they should be MORE than sufficient(without overclocking) for anything you'd throw at them in everyday life!

[shadow]

the 965 is faster in more than just clock speed. it will run hotter but will be the fastest cpu out at the moment

[KY_BULLET]

the 965 is faster in more than just clock speed. it will run hotter but will be the fastest cpu out at the moment

Ya but the 9280/9262 has 4 fans at variable speeds...Keep them on high it shouldn't get hot...But sound like a helocopter is landing on your roof probably:-/...

[powerpack]

the 965 is faster in more than just clock speed. it will run hotter but will be the fastest cpu out at the momentAll have the same 130w TDP so the running hotter appears incorrect?

[shadow]

i stand corrected. for some reason i thinking the 765 against the core series. i wasn't even thinking the right architecture. my bad. but i bet it does run at least 1 degree hotter than the 720

[fallenxlionheart]

i stand corrected. for some reason i thinking the 765 against the core series. i wasn't even thinking the right architecture. my bad. but i bet it does run at least 1 degree hotter than the 720

would one degree truly make that much of a difference...

[shadow]

only if you were trying to make a point. or being a smart a$$ or both.

[powerpack]

only if you were trying to make a point. or being a smart a$$ or both.Or bored and desperately trying to make conversation.:p:D:)

Been there done that. I could say way more about TDP than anyone wants to know. I will refrain. As said 1 degree is not the issue.;)

[shadow]

do you realize i was making a joke? you are right 1 degree wont matter. you seem to keep replying also, look to thine own self before degrading others.

[powerpack]

do you realize i was making a joke? you are right 1 degree wont matter. you seem to keep replying also, look to thine own self before degrading others.Actually was not trying to make fun or disrespect you in any way. I thought your posts were good. And what might of been considered a jab? Not even directed at you. But it was followed buy many faces? Not trying to make fun or belittle anyone. But certainly not you.

Anyway sorry if you took offense not meant that way for you or anyone. Have a great night and to all good luck on that choice of CPU.

And yes I do get humor and I did get it.:cool:

[shadow]

fair enough. it's all good

[fallenxlionheart]

there was a major misunderstanding there lol... these forums are much more mature than many ive been in before

[shadow]

i could say cacka doodie. oh wait i just did