Alienware M17x R4 help

Hello everyone, I am a new owner of an alienware M17x r4. First alienware computer Ive ever owned, she is quite a beauty. Had a few issues I wanted to run by a few people because calling technical support SUCKS! My setup is the I7 3680QM, 16GB ram, 1TB in raid 0 and the 7970m card.

1. First off, I bought this machine to be a beast with games and handle anything out there now. My first game I installed was Starcraft 2. Ive been comparing the benchhmark results from this website to what I get and I get nowhere near the 100fps stated. I use the 2nd mission as my comparision point and I get only 60fps. Yesterday during Nexus wars it dropped to 10 during heavy combat. Is this normal? I was expecting much higher fps numbers from this PC..

2. Same thing with Arma2 DayZ mod. Cant even run it maxed out settings on 1080p, I get way too much fps lag.

3 I tried to use the fn+f7 method to switch from switchable graphics to using only the 7970m but the results are the same. How do I know which GPU is currently being used to know if Im doing this properly?

4. I also hear that clicking or ticking sound coming from the left side. Was that determined to be the HDD and therefore not a serious problem?


I guess this is a good start to my questions, but I have alot on my mind when it comes to this laptop. I paid 2K+ for it and therefore want it to be perfect. So right now, I want to know how to get the best performance out of it.


Thank you in advance.
And yes, I have been browsing the forums for answers but have finally resorted to opening a new thread.

 

#3 - After the reboot, after the FnF7, look in device manager and you should only see the 7970m. The HD4000 or whatever should disappear. Until drivers are released that are functional, that is how I intend to leave mine.
#4 - I do not have this, but HDs are fickle beasts, if you have that, I would run some drive test software and contact dell about a replacement if it is in fact the disk. Does the sound correspond to disk usage? ie do nothing, no click, run a disk speed test or something and then clicking starts?

 

Thanks for the info. So after checking my device manager I can only see the 7970m so I think thats working properly.

Also, just downloaded 3d mark 11 basic version to compare performance benchmark, I got a score of 5828 which seems on par. I was concerned because I was ranging from 20 to 30 fps the whole way and I thought it would be higher... One question about this test though, if I scrolled down, I could see that the test read my Core Clock @ 300 MHz and my Memory Clock @ 150 MHz. Anyone else getting these same readings? Why doesnt it display the correct readings of Core Speed @ 850 MHz and Memory Speed @ 1200 MHz.


Thanks for the help Jiaco, and anyone else for that matter, truly appreciate it.

PS, could someone with the same setup as me tell me how much fps they are getting in SC2 just to know as a comparison. Also, I made a mistake in my first message, Im running a 3610QM, sorry for the typo.

 

I have the same cpu (and dell 16gb ram too) and have run the free 3dm11 test as well, but do not recall those numbers, I will post tomorrow.

I do not have SC2 so no idea about fps for that game, but everything I have played has played really nice graphically. My gripe is that Civ5 still takes way too long to process at the end of each turn. I was hoping that would be improved over my old rig, which is old, maybe a dual core cpu.

Here's hoping that there is not a problem with the entry level ivy cpus...

 

Here ya go: same as you...

Graphics Card
AMD Radeon HD 7970M
VendorDell Computer Corporation
# of cards1SLI / CrossFire Off
Memory2048 MB
Core clock300 MHz
Memory clock150 MHz
Driver nameDriver version8.934.2.0
Driver statusNot FM Approved

Google found me these other results:
Core clock400 MHz
Memory clock1575 MHz
Driver nameDriver version8.980.0.0

Core clock300 MHz
Memory clock150 MHz
Driver nameDriver version8.951.6.0

Hopefully slickdude or someone will pitch in with some real info on what controls these readings...

 

weirdly i clean installed and as per dell driver download I only had to download 7970m drivers (which I assumed had intel HD400 with them) now when I Fn+F7 my res goes down as if I have no drivers...

my gpuz lists -1 core clock -1 mem clock....

Weirdly now it works... i did not do a thing.... FN +F7 gpuz lists the proper clocks for my card now...

 

The 7970M is down clocked when idle to save power so yes it is showing correct clocks at 300/150 and will shoot up to 850/1200 while gaming.

 

Thanks for the answer SkittlesXD.

 

Crap...I ordered my m17x with a single 750GB HDD. Just added the second one that I ordered elsewhere today. Now I hear this strange click sound. It is like a single click and not often, but I have heard it at least 10 times as I was busy trying to get things back in order in my linux/windows systems...

Adding the HD was idiot proof, there is no way this is a fan noise or a dvd sound or anything, it sounds like a HDD but never have I heard this sound on a healthy drive nor have I ever heard it click just once like this.

Since your 1TB raid setup is likely 2x500GB, I figure you also have 2 drives. If anyone can add some info about this, it would be great as to me, this sound does not bode well. @Holy_Peanuts: does what I describe sound similar? Or is your sound more than 1 at a time?

Additional info: new HDD is 750gb scorpio black WD and I am not running in raid (dreading the reinstall but will likely do it during vacations).

 

You can also take a look into this article, it will help you increase the gaming performance.

 

It is possible that you are only getting 60fps because you have Vsync enabled in the graphics settings of the game. Disable VSync and your fps will increase. However, disabling vsycn can sometimes cause artifacts or image tearing to occur. This will vary by game, and if it is annoying just reenable it.

 

Always wanted to know something: For a game running on a sub par hardware configuration with say, a 60Hz screen, if your system can push upto around 30FPS which is nowhere near 60FPS, does it make sense to turn on VSync then?

 

Sorry for being away from the thread I started. To answer, yes it sounds exactly like you describe. One faint click at a time, and not a constant ticking, random intervals. And you are correct about m raid setup, 2*500, which could also result in my hearing more "clicks" than you. I've owned several laptops and have not heard this kind of tick. Havent found any errors on my disks though, strange...

Performance wise, my fps fluctuates pretty heavily in SC2. In a 4v4 game online it will start out at 120fps right at the start but ingame, midway into the action it seems to average 30 - 40 fps even diping as low as 15. Wondering which figures these sites use for benchmarks. All the sites I read give a benchmark score of 100fps for SC2, but is that only taking into consideration the first minute of the game without any intense battling going on, ie when the charge on the system is at its lowest therefore yielding high fps scores??

Also, being playing some Max Payne3, which is an awesome game might I say. Dont knw the command to display how many FPS im getting so I cant give info on that but overall seems to run smoothly. One issue; got a to a level, it was outside with rain and fog, and the game starting chopping heavily. I assumed it was simply a very resource intensive level and thought nothing more of it. Has anyone else noticed this, I think it was in Chapter3??

Thank you all for the help. This is what the internet is for, dont support PIPA or SOPA!!

 

Nice plug, but calling the number to help setup the profile will end up costing you 129$...

 

I think I have the same HDD clicking sound, except I'm running a SSD with the hard drive being my data drive. It's similar to the sound a disk would make when you first turn on the computer, which leads me to believe that it's just spinning down when not in use. I doubt the sound is loud or frequent enough to indicate something's wrong with the drive...