Buying an Alienware M17x, need help with GPU.

Hey,
I'm buying an Alienware M17x and I can't choose a GPU. Should I go with the 680m or the Radeon 7970 HD? Please post your suggestions below.

-DarkWarrior454

 

680m if you have the cash for it, otherwise the HD7970m is the one to go for. Depends on your budget I suppose. Otherwise the driver issues etc have been pretty ironed out lately so both should be fine.

 

I'd go with the 7970 because performance wise there isn't likely to be a noticeable difference and AMD/ATi have always been far more honest and ethical to consumers than Intel/nVidia so if one isn't the obvious choice then just go with the better company.

 

I see. So the problems with HD 7970m have been fixed? If thats the case then I will get the 7970m even though I could still get the 680m

 

I wouldn't say that they are "fixed." Optimus is better than Enduro, the 680m is much stabler and more power-efficient, and the 680m overclocks much better than the 7970m. You can bypass most of the 7970m's problems by turning off the HD 4000, but that tends to lessen battery life.

 

The 680m is a fantastic GPU, if you can afford it go for it.

 

680 is 10% better than 7970m and expansive than 7970m.
Depends on your budget.
NVIDIA driver is much more easier to configure than 7970m.

 

I see, so go for the 680m if you have the budget but go for 7970m if you don't... Thanks for the info.

 

It's like buying a Ferrari stock model (7970m) or a Ferrari fully loaded (680m) And really it all boils doing to personal opinion. Just like a guy saying " I'm a Ford man" or "I'm a Chevy man"

It doesn't really matter, there both going to have ups and downs to them. It's all personal preference. My 2 cents..... 680M

 

One of the biggest reasons I'd go for the 680m is for PhysX - makes games more enjoyable in my opinion. Quoting my good self here

 

I'm wondering if this true any more with AMD not seeing these features

I see that AMD cards use the CPU for physics (not physX(tm)) and 3DMark forces CPU physics to stop the on-board physX skewing the results, so they must display something - just what and how much??

 

double post!

 

I am also looking at pulling the plug on the m17x or maybe even an m18x. I amsurprised to see that the nvidia 675m is an upgrade ($50) from the 7970. I am guessing that its because nvidia chips are more expensive? Is performance even close between the 675m and the 7970?

Thanks.

 

Hi, I think it's just 'premium' pricing. The NV cards are getting a better rep ATM for drivers. I find the 675 to be way good enough for my gaming needs (with a little compromise in the latest titles and some OC) but the 7970 will give you more power - maybe somewhere between the 675 and 680? - although it even outperforms the 680 I read in some games so it is still the best purchase for pure power.

NV is more consumer orientated these days leaving the hard core enthusiast market more for AMD.

Good luck with your choice

 

Like he said

I would add with AMD come driver issues, however in my limited gaming experience (and not going for the benchmarks) i am quite content with Dell's native drivers

 

I don't think the 7970 outperforms the 680m anymore in certain games with the newest drivers I know that they were able to boost performance in some games like BF3 by a significant margin, plus you can get the 3d/120hz monitor with the 680m which I would highly recommend