Hypersonic Aviator EX7: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7800 GTX First Look
by Josh Venning on October 10, 2005 9:30 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Introduction
When thinking about the ideal gaming system, your first choice probably wouldn't be a laptop. It's common sense that desktop systems are better suited to meet the requirements needed for serious gaming. Lately though, we've been seeing some notebook systems that try to tackle this preconception, with interesting results. One of these systems, made by Hypersonic, does the job very well. While it is an excellent laptop, one part on the inside really caught our attention.
Any gaming system needs a good graphics card, and if you were thinking about the most powerful one right now, you'd be thinking about NVIDIA's 7800 GTX. (The X1800 XT might surpass it, but it will be another month before you can purchase such cards.) We've reviewed many of these cards and given their huge power draws, high heat levels, and generally monstrous size (for a graphics card), the thought of one of these cards in a notebook would have seemed a bit ludicrous. But it looks like NVIDIA has managed to fit one in there with their mobile version of the card, the GeForce Go 7800 GTX.
The system that we're reviewing is the Hypersonic Aviator EX7, and it appears to be the most powerful gaming notebook on the market at this time. The GeForce Go 7800 GTX does differ slightly from its desktop counterpart, and we'll be talking about those differences in the next section. We'll also be looking at some performance test results to give us a better idea of how the Go 7800 GTX compares with a normal 7800 GTX. Rest assured, the Go 7800 GTX lives up to its name and the results are impressive indeed.
Notebook gaming is, by no means, new. Both NVIDIA and ATI have been making quality mobile versions of their most popular parts, which we've looked at in the past. Specifically, the Mobility RADEON X800 XT by ATI and NVIDIA's GeForce Go 6800 Ultra. Now, we have a chance to look at the performance of the mobile version of the 7800 GTX: the most powerful mobile graphics card currently on the market.
When thinking about the ideal gaming system, your first choice probably wouldn't be a laptop. It's common sense that desktop systems are better suited to meet the requirements needed for serious gaming. Lately though, we've been seeing some notebook systems that try to tackle this preconception, with interesting results. One of these systems, made by Hypersonic, does the job very well. While it is an excellent laptop, one part on the inside really caught our attention.
Any gaming system needs a good graphics card, and if you were thinking about the most powerful one right now, you'd be thinking about NVIDIA's 7800 GTX. (The X1800 XT might surpass it, but it will be another month before you can purchase such cards.) We've reviewed many of these cards and given their huge power draws, high heat levels, and generally monstrous size (for a graphics card), the thought of one of these cards in a notebook would have seemed a bit ludicrous. But it looks like NVIDIA has managed to fit one in there with their mobile version of the card, the GeForce Go 7800 GTX.
The system that we're reviewing is the Hypersonic Aviator EX7, and it appears to be the most powerful gaming notebook on the market at this time. The GeForce Go 7800 GTX does differ slightly from its desktop counterpart, and we'll be talking about those differences in the next section. We'll also be looking at some performance test results to give us a better idea of how the Go 7800 GTX compares with a normal 7800 GTX. Rest assured, the Go 7800 GTX lives up to its name and the results are impressive indeed.
Notebook gaming is, by no means, new. Both NVIDIA and ATI have been making quality mobile versions of their most popular parts, which we've looked at in the past. Specifically, the Mobility RADEON X800 XT by ATI and NVIDIA's GeForce Go 6800 Ultra. Now, we have a chance to look at the performance of the mobile version of the 7800 GTX: the most powerful mobile graphics card currently on the market.
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cryptonomicon - Tuesday, October 11, 2005 - link
Wouldn't it have made the benches slightly more accurate if the same processor was used?Don't tell me intel doesnt give parts to AT to review anymore..
fishmonger12 - Monday, October 10, 2005 - link
i did a double take when i first saw the processors used... however, at high resolutions such as the ones used, the game wouldn't be very cpu limited. it still might account for a 3-5 frame difference though...timmiser - Tuesday, October 11, 2005 - link
I'm thinking AT should just redo this just to prove their point!ElFenix - Monday, October 10, 2005 - link
in the second to last article it claims that the power draw for the X1800XT is higher than that of the X850XT. but according to your initial X1800XT review, power draw for that part is lower than the X850XT. i can only imagine that what you really meant is the X800XT mobile part.ElFenix - Monday, October 10, 2005 - link
as was stated early on, far too warm and too big to sit on your lap for any time. they probably shouldn't be called notebooks either. 13 lbs would put your leg to sleep. no, these should be called portables.what i really want, and no one really seems to provide, is a truely mobile notebook computer with good gaming capability. there is a big gap between the x300 type graphics you get on a laptop with good mobility and the 6800gt/7800gt/x800 graphics you can get on a portable that weighs as much as 2 text books and is too big to possibly open on an airplane or a cramped college desk. the acer ferrari/travelmate 8100 laptop is about as close as it gets (x700, under 7 lbs, 15" screen) but i find the warranty to be a bit lacking.
Johnmcl7 - Tuesday, October 11, 2005 - link
Dell have the Precision M70 which comes with a GeForce 6800 class card although since it's a Quadro you obviously pay a lot more for the machine.John
ElFenix - Tuesday, October 11, 2005 - link
hmmm... looks like a latitude d810 with better gfx... i wonder why you can't get that gfx card in a d810? i wonder how much it would be to order the gfx card as a spare part for your d810? actually... comparing prices between the M70 and d810 it isn't that differentbbomb - Monday, October 10, 2005 - link
Didnt they just release the 6100 and 6150 GO mobile parts? And now a week later the 7800GTX Go part? Why did they even bother with the 6x series then?JarredWalton - Monday, October 10, 2005 - link
Because they don't cost $500+ for just the GPU. Those are the budget offerings for laptops. If you want a $1000 lappy with okay graphics, that's what you'll get.yacoub - Monday, October 10, 2005 - link
I'd totally pay $1800 for one of those. Sadly, it probably retails for almost three times that much. Laptops are the ultimate rip-off. Shame, 'cause it'd be nice to finally replace the desktop with something still decent for gaming. It's simply not worth paying three to four times as much though. $1500 will get you a high end AMD-based system with a real 7800GTX.