- Processor : Intel Core i7-620M 2.66GHz (up to 3.33GHz with Turbo Boost), 4MB cache
- Memory : 2 x 2048MB DDR3 SO-DIMM RAM 1066MHz
- Hard drive : 2 x 320GB Seagate Momentus 7,200rpm SATA II
- Graphics card : 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M GDDR3
- Screen : 17.3-inch 1920 x 1080 FHD TFT
- Operating system : not included
- DirectX 10 supported
- Dimension (HWD) : 1.5~1.9x16.2x10.9 inches
- Optical drive : Dual Layer 8x DVD-RW
- Primary 6-cell lithium-polymer battery
- Power adapter
- Plus internal system.
Price : €1,599.00
Starting price : €1,599.00
Starting weight : 8.7 pounds
Customizable : yes.
For more information about component, customization and price, visit mySN's official website here. Please note that the website is using German.
The specification above is the default specification of XMG7.c RPC-EDITION, so it comes with default (not minimum, as it still can be downgraded) price and weight.
External accessories and any software (including operating system), are not included in price.
The specification above is the default specification of XMG7.c RPC-EDITION, so it comes with default (not minimum, as it still can be downgraded) price and weight.
External accessories and any software (including operating system), are not included in price.
This time, let us travel to Europe! And the destination is mySN from Germany. Although mySN is not a well-known laptop reseller, it offers high-end gaming laptops, at fair price. There are two versions code-named XMG7 : XMG7.c which has lower specification (and price, of course), and this RPC-EDITION. XMG7.c RPC-EDITION gives you Core i7-620M 2.66GHz, 4GB DDR3 memory, 1GB GTX 285M and 640GB SATA II 7,200rpm for $1,941.51 (currently : 1 euro = 1.2142 dollar). Well, if you think that's too expensive, you can still downgrade a bit for a lower price. Say, get the GTX 280M and Messegerät body kit (a.k.a Gehäuseoptionen) will lower the price by $240.42, makes the price to down to $1,701.09. But unfortunately, hard drive and memory components can not be downgraded. Only graphics card that can be downgraded. In other words, $1,701.09 is the minimum price (still too expensive? Go for XMG7.c 'normal edition') . Quite comparable to M15x that I recommend, with difference in price of $300. Not bad, I suppose...
And please note that XMG7.c is based on Clevo W870CU barebone.
And please note that XMG7.c is based on Clevo W870CU barebone.
XMG7.c RPC-EDITION uses Core i7-620M as its default processor. Core i7-620M has a normal clock speed of 2.66GHz, much higher than standard (used in most gaming laptops) i7-720QM 1.6GHz. Nevertheless, note that i7-620M is a dual cores processor, while Core i7-720QM is a quad. You can upgrade 620M to 720QM for €35 (currently about $42.50) if you wish. For gaming purpose, i7-620M is faster in most games than i7-720QM, since most current games don't use multiple cores, not taking significant advantages on quad cores, so dual cores is better due to its higher clock speed. Quad cores processor is highly useful for running heavy multi-threaded applications (running multiple games, perhaps?), so single application will not run efficiently. Core i7-620M consumes less power and is also cooler than i7-720QM, so upgrading to i7-720QM will reduce battery life and waste more heat. Core i7-620M has all of Intel features ; Turbo Boost to greatly increase performance for demanding applications, Hyper-Threading to improve performance for multi-threaded software, VT-x, VT-d, TXT, Enhanced Speedstep Technology, Thermal Monitor Technology, Execute Disable Bit and many more. Complete! Want to upgrade? Think again.
GeForce GTX 285M is the most advanced graphics card from NVIDIA, certainly before Fermi is released. According to notebookcheck, GTX 285M is only 3% to 6% faster than GTX 280M. Whether 6% is worth enough for additional cost €123 (currently $152.67)? If I were you, I will go with GTX 280M instead of GTX 285M for financial reason. GTX 285M is capable of playing latest games at high-ultra setting and resolution smoothly. Only small numbers of high-class games (Crysis, BF Bad Company 2, etc) that need medium-high setting to run flawlessly. GTX 285M is equipped with CUDA to dramatically increase performance in computing (mostly for research, medical, energy and other needs that are not related to video games), PureVideo HD to bring ultra-smooth, clear and pure video images, and PhysX to have more realistic visual effects in order to bring living gaming experience. Please note that not every game supports PhysX, unfortunately.
For the memory, 4GB DDR3 is fairly enough for gaming purpose. Current games only need 2GB of memory, so upgrade is not necessary. Unless if you were to run Photoshop, designing, CADing and running other applications that need huge memory to run, upgrading memory is nearly a must. You can upgrade it to 8GB for €260.00 (currently $315.70). Expensive? Yes, of course.
For the hard drive, 640GB is more than enough to store tons of HD games and multimedia applications and files without worrying of running out of space. But if it's not enough for your needs, you can upgrade it up to 1,280GB (2 x 640GB) for €76 ($92.28), but for me, personally, that is not necessary.
XMG7.c RPC-EDITION has some cons, unfortunately, and certainly...
Cons on : short battery life. This problem always occurs on every single high-end gaming laptop, so this is a normal case, very annoying normal case. XMG7.c RPC-EDITION can not last even close to two hours, but very close to its half. This laptop can last maximally only for 1 hour and 6 minutes or so (with no running application and minimum brightness setting), but far less than 2 hours. Uh, is this a laptop or a small dekstop PC with UPS?
Cons two : noise. According to notebookcheck, XMG7.c RPC-EDITION is very noisy even while in idle mode (no running application). The noise hit its loudest point while playing DVD. Not a good deal. Probably because XMG7.c RPC-EDITION consumes high power and produces much heat so it needs good cooling system : noisy fans. And yes, this laptop consumes very high power under load.
Cons three : loudspeaker. The bass is not loud enough to be comfortably heard. It's indistinct and just horrible. External dekstop speaker or headphones is recommended.
Cons four, five, six... nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine : weight, display, touchpad and some (9993?) minor problems.
Okay, those are common cons of XMG7.c RPC-EDITION taken from many sources. If you own this laptop and have any additional pros and/or cons, please write in comment. And please comment this review...
References :
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-mySN-XMG7-c-Notebook.22205.0.html
GeForce GTX 285M is the most advanced graphics card from NVIDIA, certainly before Fermi is released. According to notebookcheck, GTX 285M is only 3% to 6% faster than GTX 280M. Whether 6% is worth enough for additional cost €123 (currently $152.67)? If I were you, I will go with GTX 280M instead of GTX 285M for financial reason. GTX 285M is capable of playing latest games at high-ultra setting and resolution smoothly. Only small numbers of high-class games (Crysis, BF Bad Company 2, etc) that need medium-high setting to run flawlessly. GTX 285M is equipped with CUDA to dramatically increase performance in computing (mostly for research, medical, energy and other needs that are not related to video games), PureVideo HD to bring ultra-smooth, clear and pure video images, and PhysX to have more realistic visual effects in order to bring living gaming experience. Please note that not every game supports PhysX, unfortunately.
For the memory, 4GB DDR3 is fairly enough for gaming purpose. Current games only need 2GB of memory, so upgrade is not necessary. Unless if you were to run Photoshop, designing, CADing and running other applications that need huge memory to run, upgrading memory is nearly a must. You can upgrade it to 8GB for €260.00 (currently $315.70). Expensive? Yes, of course.
For the hard drive, 640GB is more than enough to store tons of HD games and multimedia applications and files without worrying of running out of space. But if it's not enough for your needs, you can upgrade it up to 1,280GB (2 x 640GB) for €76 ($92.28), but for me, personally, that is not necessary.
Cons on : short battery life. This problem always occurs on every single high-end gaming laptop, so this is a normal case, very annoying normal case. XMG7.c RPC-EDITION can not last even close to two hours, but very close to its half. This laptop can last maximally only for 1 hour and 6 minutes or so (with no running application and minimum brightness setting), but far less than 2 hours. Uh, is this a laptop or a small dekstop PC with UPS?
Cons two : noise. According to notebookcheck, XMG7.c RPC-EDITION is very noisy even while in idle mode (no running application). The noise hit its loudest point while playing DVD. Not a good deal. Probably because XMG7.c RPC-EDITION consumes high power and produces much heat so it needs good cooling system : noisy fans. And yes, this laptop consumes very high power under load.
Cons three : loudspeaker. The bass is not loud enough to be comfortably heard. It's indistinct and just horrible. External dekstop speaker or headphones is recommended.
Cons four, five, six... nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine : weight, display, touchpad and some (9993?) minor problems.
Okay, those are common cons of XMG7.c RPC-EDITION taken from many sources. If you own this laptop and have any additional pros and/or cons, please write in comment. And please comment this review...
References :
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-mySN-XMG7-c-Notebook.22205.0.html
