2D vs 3D laptops

[Bolas]

I'm still having trouble thinking through the 3D vs no 3D issue. At a given price point, it seems like you give up a lot of computing power in order to get 3D. For example, at around $2300 (about $2500 including tax), you can get either of these options, configured at www.xoticpc.com:

Sager NP8170 / Clevo P170HM
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen (1920x1080)-
- 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM, 2.2-3.3GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
- IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6970 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- 8,192MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
- 120GB Intel 510 Series Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA III)
- 6X Blue-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
$2,274.00

ASUS G74SX-3DE - PRE ORDER
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Screen (1920x1080) 120Hz 3D Ready w/ 3D Vision Glasses
- Included nVIDIA Wireless 3D Glasses (Bundled with 3D Screen)
- 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) - Standard (Does not support DDR3 1600MHz Ram)
- Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 3,072MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- 16,384MB (16GB) DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4GBx4)-
- 120GB OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS Sandforce Solid State Drive (Up to Sequential Read 550MB/s - Write 500MB/s SSD Serial-ATA III)
- 6X Blu-Ray Writer/Reader + 8X DVDRW/CDRW Super Multi Combo Drive- Default
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card
- Asus G Series Matching Backpack made by Targus
- Asus G Series Gaming Mouse
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Pre-Installed + Drivers & Utilities Disk
- 2 Year ASUS GLOBAL Warranty 24/7 Support / 1 Year North America (N.A.) Accidental Coverage (Accidental Requires Registration)
$2,278.00

Given that I'm mostly playing Starcraft II, League of Legends, and Civilization V... how much of a difference in immersion and enjoyment will 3D make? Am I better off with one system or the other? Is there anyone that has experienced any of these games on a 3D system that could advise me what it's like?

I do plan to get a Sprint HTC EVO 3D when it comes out later this month, so I would have a source for 3D photos and videos, which is also a consideration.

If I could get a laptop with dual gpu's and a 3D display, I think I would hold out and save up for that, since my need for a new laptop is not urgent. I wonder if the high end Sager refresh with Sandy Bridge E will support 120Hz displays? Anyone know for sure?

Looking at these two options:

Sager
Pro: better cpu, better gpu, future upgrades easy, could upgrade now for more $$$, minimalist aesthetic
Con: slightly worse ssd, less memory, no Blu-Ray burner, no mouse, ho-hum case, noisier, no backlighting, poor keyboard layout

Asus:
Pro: more memory, Blu-Ray burner, nice case, included mouse, matte screen, 120Hz screen, 3D Vision, best SSD, quiet, backlit keyboard, stealth aesthetic
Con: worse cpu, worse gpu, potentially impossible to upgrade cpu or gpu, mediocre keyboard layout, no support for faster memory (DDR3 1600 MHz)

I'd appreciate any insight into the laptop decision.

 

[Axon]

Well, LoL is a competitive multiplayer game, so I think there is no real reason to need or want 3d in that kind of gaming scenario. SC2 and Civ5 i don't know what you're doing with, but again, if its online multiplayer, I'd rather be in a position where you don't have to worry about your system petering in an competitive scenario.

Did you see that Clevo refreshed the x7200? http://www.anandtech.com/show/4361/avadirects-clevo-x7200-amd-6970m-crossfire
Now includes 6970 crossfire GPUs. Ridiculous. Still X58, but imo, that's not bad at all. The benches are just unbelievable. It's like a powerful desktop system. I'm sure once it launches you can get it with a 3d screen.

To me, 3D is just unnecessary. I kinda feel like you want it though, and if you buy a system without it, you'll regret it.

You can call up xoticPC or Power Notebooks and pick their brains. They'll tip you off to what's coming down the pipe if you ask nicely.

 

[corkyg]

"To me, 3D is just unnecessary. I kinda feel like you want it though, and if you buy a system without it, you'll regret it."

Amen! I remember when 3-D movies were a fad - what's next to be resurrected . . . "Smell-o-Vision?"

 

[Bolas]

Did you see that Clevo refreshed the x7200? Now includes 6970 crossfire GPUs. Ridiculous. Still X58, but imo, that's not bad at all. The benches are just unbelievable. It's like a powerful desktop system. I'm sure once it launches you can get it with a 3d screen.

Yes it's the x58 that is a hangup. If it offered a Sandy Bridge core i7 2600K then I would buy it. I have heard that they are going to refresh it this fall to use a Sandy Bridge E chip with socket LGA 2011.... now THAT is tempting IF they offer it with a 120Hz screen and the computer isn't too noisy...

I thought dual 6970's have been available on the Clevo for over a month now?!? I have never seen that one where the dual gpu's (485m's, etc) wasn't an option. But then I just started looking seriously in April.

To me, 3D is just unnecessary. I kinda feel like you want it though, and if you buy a system without it, you'll regret it.

I'm concerned that if I don't get it, I'll regret it... and if I do get it and it's lame, then I'll regret it... so I'm trying to figure out which I would like better by researching things more ahead of time, so that I can purchase something I will enjoy for four years or more without regrets.

You can call up xoticPC or Power Notebooks and pick their brains. They'll tip you off to what's coming down the pipe if you ask nicely.

Xoticpc is local for me, I can drive in and see them if I want. But yes, they do seem to know what's coming down the pipe as good as anyone does.

 

[sdi-baja]

3D means little to me...
I think you get a heck of a lot more for your money with the Sager NP8170 / Clevo P170HM. I just got mine direct from Sager... excellent service. 5 calendar days from order to my hands.
Try reconfiguring the Sager 8170 http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_info&model_name=NP8170 and dumbing it down to the specs of the ASUS... significant savings

 

[Bolas]

Here's the main choice right now. Sager vs Alienware. 3D vs 2D.

Sager NP8170-S1 / Clevo P170HM
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 120Hz 3D "MatteType" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Screen (1920x1080) - With 1 Pair NVIDIA 3D Glasses (Can only be used NVIDIA 485M/560M & 580M)
- Included nVIDIA Wireless 3D Glasses (Bundled with 3D Screen)
- -2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM, 2.2-3.3GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- nVidia GeForce GTX 580M 2,048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 (User Upgradeable)
- ~ 16,384MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS)~
- ~ 250GB Intel 510 Series Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA III)
- ~ 6X Blu-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive - Special
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 (3x3)-
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC) Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs
$3,084.00


Alienware M18x
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7 2720QM 2.2GHz (3.3GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (2DIMMS)
VIDEO CARD Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6990M AMD CrossFireX
HARD DRIVE 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
WIRELESS + BLUETOOTH Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming & Video and Bluetooth 3.0
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
SYSTEM COLOR Space Black Anodized Aluminum
ALIENFX COLOR Mars Red
OS CUSTOMIZATION Alien Red Glyphs
GEAR STORE Alienware Orion M18x Backpack - TSA Friendly
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1 Year Basic Plan
LCD PANEL 18.4-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 WLED
SOUND OPTIONS Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
NAMEPLATE Standard Nameplate
POWER ADAPTERS Alienware M18x 330W A/C Adapter
$2,998.99 (subtotal)

Then I'd want to get this from Newegg to fix up the Alienware.

Kingston HyperX 8GB (4 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3K2/8GX
Item #: N82E16820104230
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$25.00 Mail-in Rebate (per pair)
$189.98 subtotal, $149.98 after rebates.

Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) SSDSC2MH120A2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820167042
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$40.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$269.00 subtotal, $229 after rebates

Total: $3377.97

So it comes down to... do I want the Sager with the larger SSD, the 3D matte display, the fingerprint reader, the Nvidia graphics, the superior customer service, the pre-installed memory and SSD, and the lower power consumption... or do I want the Alienware with the dual Radeon GPU's, the larger screen, and the backlit keyboard, but only 2D display.

Yes, obviously I could just get a 2D Sager with a Radeon 6990m GPU for around $2600 if I want to save some money. I did think of that already.

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

[shadyboy08]

Need to really decide how bad you care about 3d. In my case, I don't care so much for 3d on a small laptop screen. I don't really have the itch for 3d but If I did, I want 3d on a big screen TV.

Seeing something "pop out" on me on a small screen just doesn't sound too appealing, but I can't judge until I've seen it, right? heh

 

[mnewsham]

I would get TWO 6990m's over the single GTX 580m (especially since a single 6990m beats the 580m) 3D while cool and fun really just gives me a headache after awhile.