Fast enough to game with the best of 'em?

Okay so here's the thing, I know the processor of the M14x is more than enough for gaming, but what concerns me is the power of the GT555M. Being weaker than the GTX460, is this GPU gonna be able to play most if not all games at maximum settings at 30+fps? As you can see, my current alien is an M11x R1, and it's been all but perfect for me up to this point, there are times when the ULV CPU shows it's weakness, especially when gaming/multitasking, the CPU runs constantly at 100% and I can literally feel the effort the CPU is making trying to run everything I want it to run. Usually though, I've been able to run games at max settings with x4AA with slight stuttering here and there but overall playable. Also, a bigger screen wouldn't hurt, but I also travel quite a bit and so 14-15" is my limit, 14" being perfect actually. So with that said, will the GT555M be able to game with maximum settings without stuterring? Will I feel an enormous difference with my current M11x R1? Well I am expecting a "wow" improvement when I get this laptop with regard to gaming, but I wish to know how the GT555M performance fairs with regard to intense gaming..Is this a full pledged gaming notebook at the 14-15.6" range?

Thanks!

 

Please see the other threads nvidia 555mGT and m14x first review.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/571604-nvidia-555m-gt.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/571351-alienware-m14x-first-review.html

Thanks,

StevenX

 

Yes I did, but I was hoping for more subjective answers, maybe with people who came from M15/M11x and bought the M14..Like is there a great difference, is the GT555M graphics actually an improvement over his/her prev system, is it significantly weaker than the GTX460, like noticeably in an actual, real world feel..Those kinds of stuff..

 

Like any GPU (below the best out there) it depends on the game. The 460M sure as hell can't handle every game at max settings.

However, nearly all games that the 460M can handle, the 555M should also be able to handle. You're looking at a 15-20% drop in performance for most games; so games that already run at the likes of 40fps and above on the 460M should definitely be playable on the 555M at the same settings. In terms of the real world, you're not likely to notice much of a difference; you might find the occasional game where you have to turn one or two settings down compared to the 460M.

If you're looking to play EVERY game out there maxed out, then get the M18x with Crossfire 6970s. That will do what you want. Nothing less will.

 

I see your point, may have exaggerated on the maximum settings on every game thing..I guess I just wanna know if the GT555M is sort of a reason to re-consider getting an M14x..So let's say the GTX460M runs a game at 40fps in a certain setting, then the GT555M would run it at around 20% slower? So 32fps? I know this depends on the game, but is this the main concept?

Also, a little out of topic, is it true that I wouldn't need anything stronger than the 2630QM as I am a regular gamer and the GT555M would bottleneck the 2720/2820QM anyway? Plus the issue where the 2630QM only clocks RAM at 1333MHz as supposed to the rated 1600MHz..is this true?

I've been doing my reading but there doesn't seem to be a straight answer..Thanks!

 

That is pretty much the concept. If the GTX 460M is capable of playing a game at 40fps and above, you should be able to say with 95% certainty that the 555M will also handle it in a perfectly playable way.

As for the processor, in 99% of cases that is correct. There'll be the occasional game that might benefit significantly from something stronger than the 2630QM, but for most games it'll be at most one or two frames per second, if any improvement at all.

As for the RAM, that is true, the 2630QM does not support 1600MHz RAM. Anything above 1333MHz will be downclocked to 1333MHz. However, we still aren't sure how the overclocking functions work; we might still be able to get the RAM running at 1600MHz with the 2630QM. In any case, the difference between 1333MHz RAM and 1600MHz RAM is still being debated but from what I've read the general agreement is that it should make barely any difference (if any) in games.

 

Ah, the RAM thing sucks..I mean I want the 1600 on the base model..Having to upgrade the processor for this is unfair! I know it won't make much difference, but bragging rights to having a 14" laptop with 1600MHz RAM wouldn't hurt lol..Rep added..

On another standpoint, will the better processors overclock better? As well as the 3GB GT555M, will this OC better than the 1.5GB counterpart? Probably not but just wanna cover all angles..

 

Like I said we might still be able to OC the RAM to 1600MHz on the 2630QM. There's definitely RAM options in the BIOS.

The better processors might overclock better but in reality Sandy Bridge processors are notoriously difficult to overclock. You're talking bumps of 100MHz overall before it becomes unstable. As for the GPU, in theory it shouldn't make a difference, it's the same GPU and the same shaders...whether the memory would OC better (or possibly worse) I've no idea.

 

I literally cover these points going from my M15x, hd radeon 5850 and the i7-720qm to the m14x in the posts I list above.

We wont know for sure until we get the system in hand.

 

If you game at 1366x760 the GT555 shouldn't be far behind the GTX460 at a higher resolution.

 

The simple answer you want is: NO.

If you compare both the GT555m with the GTX460m at the same resolution the 460m will win by a bit. That's what all the synthetic benchmarks show. However, the m14x gains portability and some battery life which is important to some people. k?

 

I think I'd be using the 900p resolution thing..With the screen upgrade..So is the difference really great? But I guess the battery life of the GT555 compared to the GTX460 is better right? Cause I was thinking about the G53SW of Asus which has the 2630QM and GTX460..The only thing that's making me lean toward Alienware is the battery life and I'm sort of an Alienware Fanboy..So yeah..A realistic fanboy though lol..

 

Sandy Bridge processors are actually notoriously EASY to overclock. The limitation you mention would be of the motherboard. My i5 2500K easily OC'd to 4.7 GHz on air. Been running at that rock solid for over a month. Not to mention passing hours and hours of Prime95/Linpack/etc.

 

@Beast- you ask a question that is very difficult to answer. Each game utilizes the GPU differently depending on how it's coded. Even games that use the same unreal engine 3 can have different performance profiles.

So we do our 'best' to try and generalize a performance difference between the two cards. Some have said 20 percent less than the 460mGTX. I dont know where this figure came from to be honest. I can only tell you what I know. That is the first benchmarks came in for the m14x with 3dmark11 scores at 1400 stock. My 5850 stock scores 2300-2400 stock depending on driver. If almost 1000 points on 3dmark11 looks like 20 percent, well I don't know what to say.

What I will say is that the 555 will be a low end high tier performer and we will do what we can in this forum to get the most out of it.

Best Wishes,

StevenX

 

Why do people seem to get mad when i'm just asking an honest to goodness question cause the thread i read on this consisted of people going OT and yapping about stuff that don't really answer anything but actually add more confusion then there already is.

This is just me asking if there will be a noticeable, real life, difference with the GT555M and GTX460..Like when someone who has no idea about which card is installed where, and plays a game on both, would he be able to pick out which is the GTX460M? That's the kind of difference I'm talking about..

Thank you Steve, I kinda thought some of you guys already had the M14x with you and have tested it out, anyway, when you do, I'm sure you'll be posting quite a lot of useful information on it..

 

How on earth would anyone have it 3 days after release...? Alienware usually take a minimum of 2 weeks to get a system to your door. And that's when they're not overrun with orders for their latest release.

 

Simple answer, very rough, based on rough benchmarks from other notebooks with different components and the like.

If the 555M gets you 1.0 FPS, the 460 is probably about 1.2. Ish.

 

The m14x appears to have only two boards that it ships with, one for the two types of GPUs attached to them. Arguably, there is no difference between the boards in terms of what memory it would support... also this means it is highly likely that the CPU on a system could be upgraded at a later date.

 

Depends on the game, BeastRider. There'll likely be zero difference with titles such as Dead Space 2 & Dragon Age 2 but a noticable difference with the likes of Metro 2033, GTA IV and Crysis. It'll probably also take the GTX460M a year longer to become technologically redundant too.

 

Doesn't Dell release their laptops on retail stores at the same time as when they start accepting orders? I'm not from US so I don't know how they do it there..Here when they release online, most resellers have them available as well..Sorry, I didn't know that Dell sells online first before they release it on retail outlets.