System
Overview
The
WidowPC Sting 517D2 looks like a true gaming enthusiast notebook, graced naturally
with a black widow logo. While we are officially reviewing the WidowPC 517D2, however,
it's worth noting that the chassis is provided by a major notebook ODM, who also
supplies an essentially identical notebook chassis to a number of other companies.
NVIDIA showed us a couple notebooks back in October from different manufacturers,
but other than a few cosmetic changes the two units were the same. Not all companies
will use this exact chassis, of course, but if you look at the images and they appear
to be the same as what we're showing, you're likely getting the same system. Where
the differences come is going to be in other less-tangible areas - warranty and
support, pricing, availability, build times, configuration options, etc.
Since
pictures are worth a thousand words, we're going to dispense with about 8000 words
of filler text here and just include some shots of the system from various angles.
It's an attractive unit with a chassis typical of what you find in 17" gaming/desktop
replacement notebooks. It comes with a brushed aluminum top adorned with a black
widow, one hard drive bay, two memory slots, and a very fast GPU.
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If you're
after even more performance, WidowPC also offers an even larger notebook chassis
that includes room for up to three 2.5" hard drive bays
and the option to run dual 8800M GTX SLI. The price for the Sting 917D is naturally
higher, the system is heavier, and battery life will be quite a bit lower. The 917D
uses desktop CPUs and WidowPC offers several quad-core options along with the dual-core
E6750. The 517D2 is already pushing the limits of what most people are willing to
accept in terms of battery life (as we'll see later), so it's really more of a transportable
DTR as opposed to a mobile computer. The big brother 917D just takes that philosophy
a step further.
What
sort of person actually wants or needs a $3000+ gaming notebook? Certainly, many
would be better served by forgetting about mobile gaming and simply purchasing a
reasonable "serious" laptop for mobile use and using a faster and less
expensive desktop for gaming purposes. A $2000 desktop PC packs quite a punch these
days, and paired with a reasonable $1000 laptop you would end up with two computers
that are better suited to specific tasks. However, not everyone benefits from such
a setup. If you like to be able to move your PC around the house at will, or if
you live in cramped quarters, you might want a single DTR setup like the 517D2.
Small college dorms might not have a lot of room for a full desktop system - especially
if you have roommates - and people that are on the road a lot will appreciate something
they can easily pack along for those times when you absolutely have to get your
gaming fix away from home. LAN party goers might also like having a gaming notebook.
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stassas - Tuesday, January 8, 2008 - link
I just cannot believe there are manufacturers of FullHD notebooks not puting HDMI port to their products. Same thing for Dell 1730, I just hope Alienware will not make that mistake.Can you believe that HP do not have Gigabit internet port in their top HDX?
I am happy to spend tons of cash on my gaming/multimedia desktop replacement notebook but I want all standard stuff I could easily pack into my desktop. The only comprimise I can accept is slight performance difference.
fabarati - Wednesday, January 9, 2008 - link
This has Dual-link DVI instead, meaning you can drive a WQXGA screen att full resolution. There are few laptops who can.strikeback03 - Tuesday, January 8, 2008 - link
Depends what display you plan to connect the laptop to. As this doesn't have a Blu-Ray/HD-DVD drive, it is probably more likely to be connected to a true monitor than a TV, and monitors are more likely to have DVI than HDMI. Plus, adapters are cheap.Yahoo - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
Hahaha, I love the add in about the cake being a lie. Portal was fun :)Foxy1 - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
I’m at CES this week. During one of the many presentations, I seated myself behind the cutest guy in the room (as I figured he would be more enjoyable to watch than the presentation). After much eavesdropping, I was able to determine that it was none other than Jarred Walton of Anandtech (the author of this article). I’m happily involved with my own cutie; otherwise I would have made my move. With no wedding ring in site, I’d say he is fair game. A tall, dark, handsome geek, what more could we ask for?Foxy
JarredWalton - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
I'd take you up on the offer, but I too have a new lover. She's short, dark, about 17" wide, and she has this cute spider tattoo. The orange pin-striping seals the deal. What's better, she lets me play computer games like The Witcher and doesn't get jealous (well, not very) when I look at other women. I'd marry her, but the courts are claiming she doesn't have a soul. I keep arguing that there's more soul in some computers than in women - the only souls they have come from the hearts they rip out of their boyfriends.(One silly post deserves another, I suppose. Back to your regularly scheduled comments.)
SiliconDoc - Monday, July 28, 2008 - link
Best two comments I've seen so far. Congratulations, that 'ell teach the hotties that their nerd desires might wind them up with more than they can handle. Outside the box !eye smite - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
It's interesting to see how much the advancements are accelerating in technology. I have an x700pro 256 card in this system. I'll be sticking with it for a while yet. heheGholam - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
Just for the reference, who is it this time? Clevo again?fabarati - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
Yes it is. It's a Clevo M570RU. Used by many other resellers. So you can get the same Laptop, save the Spider logo, for much cheaper.