Asus delivers mobile 4870X2

By The Inquirer
Feb 20, 2009 | 17 Comments
Tags: asus | gaming | laptop | ati

The new mobile gaming powerhouse from ASUS cracks the 20,000 3DMark barrier.

Mighty ASUS has come forward with a mighty laptop design indeed. The W90VP is an 18.4-inch Full HD laptop, the first to feature a Mobility Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics card, and will target seriously deep-pocketed gamers with itchy trigger fingers.

Asus' opening line is "Take to the streets in high gear with the W90..." let's hope they're talking about playing GTA IV and not actually taking the 5.2Kg behemoth out of the door.

The double whopper has some powerful goodies, but not top-of-the-range stuff. A quad-core Q9300 2.53GHz processor is coupled to a mobile X38 chipset (yes) and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 X2 to provide the graphics muscle.

Despite being days away from launch, one forum legend at Xtremesystems - Kinc - has already benchmarked the thing and scored >20K marks in 3DMark 06. Considering the processor could limit overall performance while driving the cards, Kinc upped the FSB to 416MHz, and almost got to the magic 4GHz.

He shouldn't have any trouble playing Far Cry 2 on this one, especially if Kinc delivers on the promise of doing some LN2 cooling on that laptop, soon-ish.

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17 Comments

Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.

nesquick Feb 20, 2009 10:58 AM	I think gaming laptops are starting to get ridiculous, like seriously 5kg for a laptop is absurd, you want the thing to be as light and mobile as possible not weigh nearly as much as some desktop cases.
thesorehead Feb 20, 2009 11:11 AM	nah, gaming notebooks are not meant to be Portege R500s. Different horse, different course. I know that the last time I went to a LAN I would have preferred carrying a single bag and setting up with a single power cable to setting up my box, screen and keyboard. Having said that, there are all the advantages of desktop PCs to consider. Most importantly cost and upgradeability.
t8y Feb 20, 2009 11:13 AM	yes, and i think that 'laptop' isnt the right name for such a product.. considering the weight, quadcore cpu and 4870x2, it will literally cook your scrotum
cleadge Feb 20, 2009 11:27 AM	they really need to stop labeling them as "laptops" and start calling them a "desktop replacement" especially with how much they are starting to weight now, and the limited battery life.
LordBug Feb 20, 2009 12:03 PM	What some people don't realise about these gaming laptops is the brilliance of them for LAN parties. You rock up with your bag. Pull out laptop, power cable, mouse and headphones. Bang. No messing around connecting the monitor to the case, power for both, mice and keyboards and a tangle of cords and confusion. And seriously, 5kg ain't that much if you're already a LAN visiting nut.
AIMBOT Feb 20, 2009 12:16 PM	I guess... If you have more money than sense, and really, really love going to LANs. Like, more than you love your mother.
Jack Genders Feb 20, 2009 12:35 PM	Good specs, though I agree with nesquick. Desktops for gaming, laptops for convenience and mobility. Seriously, image the heat this thing will put out. Do you want 5KG+ on your lap while you game and it cooks you thighs and roasts you never regions.
MedicineBaby Feb 20, 2009 2:59 PM	Sometimes I get a little lost at what market manufacturers are trying to satisfy if any. For the manufacturers it is raising the bar in terms of capabilities and performance which is good, but sometimes they get carried away with it.
orcone Feb 20, 2009 4:20 PM	Jack, your regions may be never regions. But mine are definitely hot smoking nether regions!
emccat Feb 20, 2009 5:02 PM	it must be like $7K-$10k though?
SlickGrunt Feb 20, 2009 8:08 PM	A pure luxury. Someone got the money, why not? Don't like all the cords, bulky equipment and the clutter the two create when combined, why not? Enjoy the fact is uses no where near as much power as a standard desktop would, why not? Those are the things I would consider if ever had the do$h to throw around for a new rig.
strifus Feb 21, 2009 8:56 AM	First thing is, how many ppl these days actually put their laptop on their laps while using it? Second thing, has anyone here tried gaming while said laptop is on ones lap? I mean even with a simple game like WoW, its not quite feasable, as it requires the movement of a mouse and not a touchpad mind you. What I am trying to say is that the above being the case, 5kg isnt so bad, although quite a bit on the heavy side. However, if need your gaming rig to be mobile, you cant be picky especially if you want it to be powerful.
Snotty-ASO- Feb 23, 2009 8:13 AM	Im not a LAN enthusiast but i have worked away from home quite a bit in past and one of these wouldve tops ! Id lug the sucker there no probs
Truckasauras Feb 23, 2009 9:11 AM	I sure wouldn't complain about it weighing too much if someone (Atomic) were to give away one as a prize...
silver Feb 23, 2009 10:37 PM	how much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!and will aussie asus ever release it here?????????? i know for afact wont release G50Vt 15.4 (not the 15.6 poor resolution model flying around) because of shit aussie dollar this was asuses poor excuse on phone......so be same for W90Vp.....does any one know an aussie online store to get it?????????or predictions of our stuffed....shitted on.... crap upped dollar gets a quad core boost
cleadge Feb 24, 2009 11:06 AM	Heck if i had the do$h i would definitely get one.. would make 22hr+ flights all the more bearable.
pierre Mar 6, 2009 3:29 PM	$4400 on newegg... bit expensive but not as bad as i thought...

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