Are these reasonable fps values?

OKey, so i have a recently purchased Alienware m17x R3 with the following specs:

I7 Q2670 2,2 ghz
8GB 1600 mhz
GTX560M
256 SSD

What can you expect from this system in battlefield 3?

In high settings it performs about 20-28 average fps
In Medium, 35-45 fps.
In Ultra, well its nearly not an option to play in this setting, but yeah.. about 15 fps in average.

Note that i've used the preset video settings Medium/High/ultra. Nothing is customized.

I got these FPS rating from the games inbuilt fps tool.
Render.drawfps 1.

 

that's about right for a 560m

Run 3dmark11 and lets see if you are in the ballpark

 

If so then iam happy with your reply.
Sound Blaster X-FI USB eh? That is what iam missing in my system a Creative sound blaster card

 

you could overclock your 560m to almost 570m performance. It will give you a nice boost in fps. I also assume you've installed the latest nvidia drivers?

the 5.1 x-fi pro usb is less than $50 now...very cheap, and definitely better than the default IDT audio. There's no point spending more on an external audio solution unless you are an audiophile and you have really highend headphones

 

When my laptop is docked here at home with my logitech Z speakers, 5.1 system there is no use for the sound blaster USB card, right?

Clock u said? Do I dare do that with my standard cooling system?
I would like higher FPS. MY friend got the AMD HD48xx card and says he gets around 50-70 fps in BF medium. Sure it used to be a high end GFX card but still.

And yes, i just installed them and tried out BF3, still same FsPS

 

well, if you're happy with the default sound, then just leave it. I just find that the positional audio on the x-fi is superior for gaming

The 560m runs cold and has serious potential. I would definitely dabble in OC

i think conservatively, you should be able to get:

Core: 880
Shader: 1760
Mem: 1400

I've seen much higher overclock numbers online ( much higher)

 

True true, i used to have an OC version of the GTX260 inside my desktop.
I'll definatelly OC my 560M! Unleash the true potential I must!

Now, with what do i best OC it?

regarding the sound blaster.
I just thought that it does the best, perhaps only good job for headphones.

 

I like MSI afterburner for nvidia cards or you can try nvidia inspector.

I think with afterburner, you have a 1350mhz vram max limit, but you can bypass that with a tweak to the MSIAfterburner.cfg file (if you have a desire to go higher)

 

Thanks alot mate.

 

I used nvidia inspector to overclock my 560m to 835/1884. The card never reached the 70c mark and I got 60fps in Skyrim on high settings.

 

Thats nice,
Iam using MSI afterburner right now. I will reply with compared results later this evening.

3dmark11 points 2207
With OC in 880/1760 and 1400 mem clock i reached 2540 points.

 

That's about right...you've overclocked by about 15% for a 15% improvement

 

Yes and now its slighty more.

P2628

core clock 900
Shader clock 1800
Mem clock 1430

I think i can push it a bit more, the temperatures hasnt passed 64 C

 

You're in good shape then. Your card is decent. I'd probably pull it back a little for everyday though.

I think if you unlink your shaders and GPU, you can up the shaders to 1900+

 

Pull back what in particular? And for everyday what?
I guess ure talking about not "over using" the card?

i'll try unlink and set shaders to 1900.

I gotta say, if i knew that gtx580m/HD6990 would perform more than twice the 560m i'd have prob got one of those.

Here is what i have reached. I think this is the max OC limit, that is about 25% OC.
As you can see, The temperature wasx low during the benchmark. I guess alienwares cooling kicks .



3dmark11 benchmark test score
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-2670QM Processor,Alienware M17xR3 score: P2722 3DMarks

I can play BF 3 now in 50% high and 50% medium settings with 2x MSAA and 16x satropic at 29-38 fps ! Fully playable and enjoyable.

 

pull back means to get your max stable overclock and make it less for everyday use. Then you have a margin for error and safety

The 580/6990 is significantly more powerful, but lucky for you, the vid card is changeable in the m17x ... just start saving for it now lol

That's a fabulous overclock. You have a great card

 

I'd start saving, but instead of a 580m, wait for the 600 series (given they still work). The amount of money you'd spend on a 580m now, I wouldn't be able to justify for the increase. But when the new ones come out...

 

I agree. question is where i would buy one of those and then to make it fit in along with proper cooling. replacing the 560 with a 580 does by fact require cooling replacement which is included when purchasing through dellupgrades.

Yes, it is indeed a OC friendly card.

Now about saving for a 580 or what so ever.

I still do have 15% off from dell when buying a 17x r3. But i bought my with 25% off!
13 days have passed since i got it delivered and i have one day left in my right of return.

Should i send my current one back and order a new one with GTX580 or should i not?
I payed $23 000 for it, ordering a new with 10% less discount will be a higher price to pay, nearly $29 000.
It does sound stupid to return it back and then pay 10% more on all the other parts inside it but buying a new discrete 580 isnt much cheaper.

But then, selling my 560M is not going to be a problem i think. Especially not this OC friendly one =)

I just discoreved that i also get 15% discount on the 580M That makes a purchase of the 580M discretely the best.

 

if you get a 580m through dell (that is if they even sell you one) is going to be very expensive. You'll have to look aftermarket like ebay or the nbr marketplace. So 15% off of a ridiculous price is still a ridiculous price

A 6990m will be a more economical choice. I saw them going for as low as $400us dollars...you can get one as along as your don't have the 120hz screen. If you have the 120hz screen, you have to stick with nvidia

 

Alright, it is indeed cheaper as you say.

The prices will go down and iam going to stick with my lovely m17x. So therefore an future upgrade is what awaits it. Do you know where i can find the bracket/screws? I see alot of cards in the aftermarket where they are solely for sale.
I know by speaking with dell today that the heatsink and mainly the cooler parts can be purchased, not screws/bracket/schield

 

This discussion is all over the board.

Here's a good thread to read and ask questions about BF3 performance: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/619962-m17x-battlefield-3-discussion-thread.html

For performance tweaks and benchmarks, please continue discussion here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...alienware-m17x-benchmark-thread-part-4-a.html

For random questions and advice about hardware upgrades, please continue the discussion here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ial-m17xr3-owners-lounge-thread-part-3-a.html

Sorry to have to close the thread, but the discussion is getting too random and disorganized.