2670QM or 2760QM or 2860QM?

Which CPU do you think I should get for games like Skyrim, GTA V (Later this year), Mass effect 3, Battlefield 3.

I'll definitely get the 2gb 6990m no matter what.

Bearing in mind I'm from the UK so the prices jumps are as follows:

2670QM to 2760QM is $250
2670QM to 2860QM is $650

The price for 2860QM is extortionate! Is it actually worth it or will the 2670QM/2760QM be fine for these games? I want to run them on ultra settings.

Thank you!

 

Let me just say that the 2860QM is not worth it at all.

2760QM is a much better choice.

However the best choice is to get a 2670QM and then buy a 2920XM chip from eBay and sell the old CPU. You can OC the XM chip to 4.0Ghz across all 4 cores easily.

A 2670QM is more than enough for games, but you'd ideally want to OC the XM chip especially for poor consoles ports like Skyrim and GTA V (inevitable).

 

Ah ok. Is it safe to install the 2920XM and is it worth it?

Also, isn't it a better idea to just wait for the ivy bridge XM CPU?

 

It's safe and 101% worth it because you can utilise its overclocking features.

Regarding the second question, that's just the same as asking: Isn't it better waiting for the M17x R4?

Ivy bridge could be backwards compatible, but it'll cost loads on launch.

 

True. I'm guessing you had the 2670QM and switched it for the 2920XM?

What was the FPS increase in games when you switched them?

 

I had a 2630QM, a 2860QM and now beast with a 2920XM.

Like I said earlier a 2670QM is more than enough for most games, but you do get the poor console ports which are bottlenecked by CPUs like Skyrim and GTA, where a CPU overclock actually helps. The XM choice is also cheaper than the 2860QM.

Can't really tell you FPS numbers, but I know I'm not talking complete crap.
The XM CPU will help if you love recording your gameplay in FRAPs as well.

 

That's awesome, I'll be doing a lot of Frapping so that sounds like a good option.

I may just wait for the R4, since the 7990 and ivy bridge should be incredible.

 

I would add the counter viewpoint here. With the 2760QM you can raise the max watts and get it to run at 3.5 ghz the majority of the time. Thus, the difference between it and an XM processor is about 500 mhz, the XM is somewhere between $500-$1000, so you are paying at least an extra dollar per mhz. 500 mhz is hardly a noticeable increase for 95% of all computer tasks. There are a few more considerations, but if you are not doing something like rendering that requires hours of CPU time at 100% then the XM processor will never be worth the money. In terms of games you might not even get a 1 FPS boost, because most games are not CPU bound, the few that are should perform just fine on the 2760QM, even the 2760 is in like the top 20 fastest CPUs available right now.

As for waiting, it is your decision, but you should be aware that the 7990m will not be a launch GPU. The information we have so far is that lower end GPUs will launch first and the true high-end will come later. You could easily be looking at an 8 month wait for the 7990m and 680m GPUs (and when they first release they will cost a lot). Ivy Bridge is said to be a 5-10% performance improvement and is mostly a battery life upgrade. The performance from the desktop 28nm GPUs suggests a 5-30% improvement depending on game. Thus, you are looking at a 5-8 month wait from right now for a 5-10% faster CPU and a 5-30% faster GPU.

 

This.

There is really not much need to wait for IB, unless you are really aiming for less heat or HD 4000 graphics.

I'd say if you need a computer now, you should go for it. Unless you are into ultrabooks, there will not be too much of a difference in IB.

But yeah, these are all speculations as well.

 

The 2760QM will turbo at 3.2Ghz on 4 cores
The 2860QM will turbo at 3.3Ghz on 4 cores

You can slightly boost that by adjusting the BCLK on QMs but it's not guaranteed to work on some systems, on others you can achieve a maximum boost of 100Mhz. I have seen 104.3, but my system didn't like it past 100.4, probably because of the HyperX.

The 2920XM will turbo at 3.7Ghz on 4 cores if you choose to (mine for everyday tasks). That's an extra 500mhz per core than the 2760QM and it is a very substantial amount. For FRAPS it's just beast mode, and since you're gonna work with rendering and editing it, even better!

Anyhow, here's a screenshot of my CPU pushed a little bit more.



I got my baby for about £325 shipped from the US, arrived in 5 days to my UK address.

Like previously stated by others above, the biggest thing about Ivy Bridge is probably the HD 4000 graphics... Clearly we do not care about that, and I know for a fact the XM Sandy Bridge will beast all Ivy Bridge QMs (probably another thing to keep in mind). The XM IB will just run somewhat cooler, who knows.

 

It is all subjective, $430 for 500 extra mhz doesn't seem like a good buy to me, but for your uses, or for the topic creators uses maybe it makes sense.

Where did you get the info for the max turbo on 4 cores? I had heard (but not tested) that with the max TDP raised using XTU 2.1 that the 2760QM will run at 3.5 on 4 cores. I don't think I ever do anything that actually stresses all 4 cores at once, so I have never really tested or noticed.

 

I don't actually need the laptop until late Septemeber, which is when I go to university so I can wait until then so there's no rush.

How do you know that the XM SB will beast the QM IB? Do you reckon the XM IB will be available by september 2012?

After what Yodagonemad said, I'm not sure whether it's worth getting the XM or just sticking to the 2760QM...

As long as I can play all the latest games on Ultra settings and record them using Fraps without lag, I'm fine.

 

hate to threadjack, but does anyone know if ivy's hd4000 will support 120hz? that would be the only way i would upgrade my cpu.

 

That would be a mobo issue more than a GPU issue. If Dell/Nvidia can work out enough bandwidth on the mobo for a 120hz pipeline then they would love to have 3D models with Optimus, if not, then it will be the same design as now where you use a separate display port that is wired straight to the GPU and thus you can never use the Intel.

 

It's all in the multipliers

2760QM:

35 1 core
34 2 cores
32
32 4 cores

@javilionaire IB will defo be out for September, in fact it would have been out for months. Dell will not offer XM chips in the M17x, so you are required to do the job yourself. Also, surely you know how CPU intensive FRAPS is!? You need sheer power to record games as well as play them smoothly and the XM is for that...

 

Alright cheers. I think i'll definitely wait until September for the M17x r4, get the standard IB CPU from dell and wait for the Ivy Bridge XM to be released so I can install it myself.

 

Interesting, I didn't realize there was a rule for multipliers based on number of cores, I thought it was wattage based.

Just for the record I have had no trouble with Fraps on my 2760QM, it does not appear to effect game performance in any meaningful way. I really feel like an SSD is more important in terms of Fraps recording than anything else.

 

Really? I was planning on installing an SSD myself once I get the M17x R4 and then record gameplay via fraps to the old 750gb HDD.

Does an SSD actually improve fraps recording FPS?

 

Well if you have 2 HDDs it probably won't matter, the issue comes when using 1 regular HDD for both, a 1080P Fraps stream will be thrashing your HDD and then the game won't be able to get the data it needs, thus killing performance.

If you have the SSD with your game on it and record to the the HDD it shouldn't be a problem. Or like me using the SSD for both it isn't a problem, since the SSD can provide that kind of speed.

 

doubt it will work as its a mobo issue and I doubt an ivy bridge CPU will do anything to change that. Last I heard it looks like ivy bridge may not be comparable with the R3 until a modded bios is custom built in the very least.

 

Leaning towards the 2670 myself now for an order today/tomorrow as the extra £150 to go up .20 doesnt seem to be worth it really. Unless there is a benefit i am missing?