M14x Poor Performance WoW

Okay, so I ordered the m11x. Something was messed up with the video card, didn't run any games well. WoW was 4-25 fps. League was 25 or so. So I got the m14x after returning that, hoping I wouldnt once again be dissapointed. But I think I may be.

I'm getting ~10 fps or lower right now in WoW, in NAGRAND. Not a city. I don't know whats up. I tried to upgrade the driver. It said it didnt reconize the hardware. So I followed Alienware M14x - Update Nvidia driver - YouTube and updated to 280.26. My processor is the i5, everything is the default. Nothings upgraded. It doesnt seem to improve. Ever. Any ideas?

Yes I'm running the Nvidia GPU. I'm considering returning this one as well ( It's been under 21 days ) but Dell was the biggest piece of to talk to on the phone. Seriously spent over 12 hours on the phone throughout a few days just to demand a replacement or refund. I'd like for this to run WoW well so I can keep it, damn.

 

WoW ran ok for me on ultra settings using the older nvidia drivers. This was at 1600x900 res as well. Everything was on ultra. I sure wasn't getting 60+fps but it was playable at around 30-40fps. I'm sure if I toned down the detail I would be able to play it at 60+fps. Though I do have a i7 on mine.

 

Are you running the DX11 WoW client?

Direct X 11 and WoW - Forums - World of Warcraft

 

trying this now.

 

direct application of this did not work. i did a system rollback to a few days ago before i updated my drivers. it seems to be running at about 40fps now. with the direct x 11. hmm. any other ideas? i should be at 60 easily.

 

That's a Shame. I run Ultra on Rift and its beautiful at over 30fps in towns and 40-50 outside in the maps.

 

Yeah, I think im going to send it back. I'm sick of it. After all the trouble with the m11x. I get this, and dissapointed again. WoW isn't demanding. At all. This should smash through it at a solid ~60fps anywhere. And Dell was the biggest pos to talk to on the phone last time.. im sure this time wont be different. i'm just very let down all around with alienware/dell. it shouldnt be like that. and there's been a few more little issues on the side too i've had to fix upon opening my brand new laptop.. I think i'll go with a ASUS.

 

I have an Asus, my next machine is pre-determined to be an Alienware..... Should tell you something. Good luck getting support for the Asus, it's worse than Dell, and replacement parts out of warranty, forget about it!

 

If two M14x's are giving you the same results, I'd venture a guess that the issue is with the setup, not the hardware.

 

OP: Did you "whitelist" the wow.exe so that you are sure it's rendering video using the GPU and not the Integrated Graphics on the CPU? WoW runs great for me.

 

the irony of this would be if the OP returned his system, and got a lesser machine from someone else, and it was all just an optimus issue......

 

I can run it fine. It's definitely not the machines fault unless there's a malfunctioning part.

 

Sounds very much like using the integrated. LoL gets almost 30 fps on integrated

 

It wasn't two m14x's. It was a m11x. then a m14x. And yes, i whitelisted WoW.exe and it is running the nvidia GPU. havent sent back yet. but going to call tomorrow i believe. anyone reccomend a replacement brand/type?

 

What do you mean? I just don't feel good about the optimus technology. Both laptops havent worked as expected. Sketchy performance. WoW out of all games shouldnt be lagging. League of legends gets around 40 or so FPS. not bad. but not at all what i should be getting.

 

to be honest, I don't have much experience with optimus, but I know it can be finicky sometimes, you could check the WOW forums to see if anyone else is having the same issues as you are. Others here should be able to give you better guidance on this.

As far as other brands, I would personally stay away from Asus, as their laptops are either not in a form factor similar to what you are looking for, or in the case of the G53SX, a gimped version of the 560m GPU. Not to mention warranty, and post-warranty parts availability is meh at best.

 

What would you reccomend? I just don't want to deal with alienware or optimus. I want a laptop that has the specs to easily run wow and other games, and WILL.

 

I am pretty sure the driver installation is messed up and Optimus is broken. Are you sure you installed the 280.26 driver and not the newer one (which breaks Optimus)?

 

I installed 280.26. it made everything worse. So I rolled it back to a few days ago back with the original drivers it had on it.

 

If you are dead set on an Asus, and a 15 inch, look for a good G53SW (make sure it has the non-gimped 460m, IE 1.5gig video ram, or 3 gig video ram, anything with 1 gig or 2 gigs is the gimped version of the 460m from Asus). As far as I know, it doesn't have optimus, so you shouldn't have to worry about that.

If I were to recommend a brand to someone, I'd recommend Alienware, then either Clevo or MSI (but I have never had experience with either of em). Asus is loosing my faith in as a brand to be quite honest.

 

I'm not dead set on Asus at all. Any non dell/alienware below $1000 or so, without optimus. What do you mean by "gimped" and thats only 1&2gig?

 

gimped basically means ...the graphic card even though the same model as sold by others....they have 128bit (1gb or 2gb) instead of 192 bit(1.5gb or 3 gb) ....make sure you dont get the 128bit card....go for the 192 bit !!

 

This is spot on. O e of the reasons I am losing faith in Asus is because of this practice. Even the top end package G53SX w/ a 560m is continuing this trend. Essentially, the 560m in the SX is extremely starved for memory bandwidth, so much that it makes a huge difference in performance. They might as well have put a 555m in it, and a full-fledged 460m beats it hands down.

Poke around on the MSI or clevo forums if you want to look around and decide. I'd do it, but I'm not really interested in their models, and currently, my next gaming laptop, and work machine, is the M14x which should be on it's way.

 

The Asus N45SF has very similar specs to M14x:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Notebooks- ASUS N45SF

However, GPU is only DDR3 144SP/128bit and only available with 1366 x 768 screen... Size and weight wise it's more manageable than the M14x but price is so much cheaper!

 

Just remembered Acer has a 13" (1366 x 768) model: AS3830TG-2414G75nbb with 2GB GT540M. Not as powerful as M14x but much smaller/lighter.

IMO the M14x is much better looking & robust but the Acer is less than half the price of a M14x... However, don't expect your WOW to improve as the M14x performace is top of it's class...

 

Should be top of it's class. But wasn't. But thanks, i'll check these out!

 

I hope it plays fine on mine. If i get more than 40 fps, I'll be very happy.

 

I am getting 60-100 fps on mine in wow most times. Sounds like optimus to me.

 

That's good to know.

 

donno if the launcher and the game itself share the same .exe file... you need to make sure you whitelist the game, not the launcher. APB: Reloaded has that issue. Just got mine on Friday, havent really had a chance to play any games, too busy with work and playing single dad while the wife is in the sandbox...