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    M17X R4 7970M poor perf

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Catzoo, Jun 2, 2012.

  1. Catzoo

    Catzoo Notebook Evangelist

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    Hello !

    Just got my new M17XR4 , first thing i did was a clean W7 install.

    After installing drivers from dell for my 7970, i really think the perf sucks.

    How does that switchable graphics works ? Ppl said you can have more FPS by disabling it , what i did , now i'm running on my 7970 ( only this one is my GPU tab ) , but the perf suck.

    Especially on BF3 , where even high settings i can be over 60 FPS inside, but outside , in planes or everytime i can watch far away, it drops to 45 or under , even with AA Disabled.

    I know it's far from precise , but even WEI gives me 5.5 for AERO and 6.7 for 3D gaming ! This card should lock all GPU settings to 7.9 imo ...

    So , is that because of the poor first drivers version ?
     
    Catzoo, Jun 2, 2012
    #1
  2. Tapakidney

    Tapakidney Notebook Evangelist

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    Not normal. You either installed something wrong, or there is something wrong with the machine. Did you follow the proper install guide on this forum? Install Directx? Are you plugged in, high performance power profile?
     
    Tapakidney, Jun 2, 2012
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  3. Robdd1

    Robdd1 Notebook Enthusiast

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    something not right, I installed drivers from dell site as not loaded on mine from new. My windows score is 7.9
     
    Robdd1, Jun 2, 2012
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  4. Heihachi88

    Heihachi88 Notebook Deity

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    Indeed, its probably a problem with a drivers....
    PS rockman ftw!
     
    Heihachi88, Jun 2, 2012
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  5. Arai

    Arai Notebook Evangelist

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    Catzoo go into Catalyst and enable PowerPlay [High Performance].
    Make sure the card that's listed in Device Manager / Display Adapter by right clicking on the desktop says 7970m.

    That should let you enjoy the real 7970m...
     
    Arai, Jun 2, 2012
    #5
  6. Catzoo

    Catzoo Notebook Evangelist

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    Sure i already checked i'm on High perf on battery , in CCC , there's only 7970 in device manager, and yes i'm plugged sure.

    What's seems wrong is that i was already sure i was on 7970 , the HD4000 cannot perform 40 FPS on High on BF anyway so i'm on the right card, but i thought that card would eat up BF being always over 60 FPS on High ( not ultra ) , even when watching far away.

    do i have to check anything in bios ? I let Overclock disabled as factory, but that do not change anything GPU related no ? It's only RAM and CPU OC right ?
     
    Catzoo, Jun 2, 2012
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  7. Arai

    Arai Notebook Evangelist

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    These are the results Notebookcheck.net got running Battlefield 3.
    34.7 FPS / 1080p / Ultra / 4x MSAA / x16 AF

    Try the same settings and see what FPS you get, though I thought someone got around 55 FPS with a overclocked 7970m.

    You could try the 12.5 Beta drivers, they are slightly better than the stock ones.
     
    Arai, Jun 2, 2012
    #7
  8. Catzoo

    Catzoo Notebook Evangelist

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    thx ! I just re-installed drivers ( from dell , not beta ones , i just see your message now ) and it seems to work way better , i'm around 60-100 on medium settings , wich is beautifull enough for me and be 60 fps rock solid ;)

    Maybe i'll grab a few FPS for higher settings when i'll OC my card , but this laptop seems far from my previous Asus , it's already hot while playing , got to install afterburner to check the temps

    BTW , how can ATI release a card without even releasing drivers for it on their website ? -_-
     
    Catzoo, Jun 2, 2012
    #8
  9. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    i just got my new m17xr4 in the mail yesterday, i have the intel i7 ivy bridge 3820qm 2.7ghz the full hd display and the 7970m, i havent overclocked the system yet, but in bf3 i found that running the game in medium settings and no AA gives me over 60 fps, to me anything less then 60 fps and i get my handed to me on large maps with 60+ players. anyone know if there is a guide to overclocking the cpu and gpu on the R4 yet ? i really want to get a little more power out of my system but i want to be safe about it, maybe there is a modded bios in the works for this model ?
     
    lilkuz2005, Jun 2, 2012
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  10. Arai

    Arai Notebook Evangelist

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    CPU OC

    GPU OC
     
    Arai, Jun 2, 2012
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  11. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    thanks Arai, im going to give it a shot now, ill let you know how it goes, and it seems that its worth giving the 7970m an overclock, so ill look into that as well, thanks again
     
    lilkuz2005, Jun 3, 2012
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  12. Arai

    Arai Notebook Evangelist

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    I'm OCing my 7970 right now actually 1010/1560 so far.
    Stable and max temp was 71c :D
    I need more benchmarks though to see if there's any artifacts, Furmark isn't enough.
     
    Arai, Jun 3, 2012
    #12
  13. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    thats awesome, for some reason when i apply my overclock settings and f10 save and exit the laptop goes back to the stock clock settings and turns off the non turbo flex and extreme edition settings, im not sure how to get my settings to save ?
     
    lilkuz2005, Jun 3, 2012
    #13
  14. Tapakidney

    Tapakidney Notebook Evangelist

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    Arai, are you at stock voltage with that OC?
     
    Tapakidney, Jun 3, 2012
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  15. Arai

    Arai Notebook Evangelist

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    Yeah I am but it wasn't stable after all.
    I've been testing out all sorts of games to see how they perform and whether they crash.

    970/1530 at the moment and 0 crashes, stock voltage.
     
    Arai, Jun 3, 2012
    #15
  16. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    whats the temps at idle and full load with that clock setting?
     
    lilkuz2005, Jun 3, 2012
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  17. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    i tried the 970/1530 with the stock driver and it BSOD'ed in GTA4, right now i have my clocks set to 900/1300, not much of an overclock, but its stable, 3 hours of gta 4 very high settings
     
    lilkuz2005, Jun 3, 2012
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  18. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    lilkuz2005, Jun 3, 2012
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  19. Arai

    Arai Notebook Evangelist

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    I left it on all night with a mmorg open and downloads.
    Didn't crash, temp was 63c when I woke up and this is on a table cloth.
     
    Arai, Jun 3, 2012
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  20. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    can you tell me if you are using the stock drivers that came installed with your laptop, also did you flash the bios of the card ? i dont understand how yours is running fine with those settings and mine crashes very quickly, maybe gta 4 just pushed the card a little to hard ?
     
    lilkuz2005, Jun 4, 2012
    #20
  21. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    An excellent score. The 860MHz core clock reading is apparently a 3dMark11 board glitch. You see it on several reports where the scores clearly indicate higher core clocks. You may need a bit more voltage to support substantially higher clocks under heavy or extreme load. The fact that another card can use higher clocks at stock voltage means nothing. Cards vary, but more importantly there are too many variables to draw any conclusions from clock settings alone; it's only useful if they are doing the same thing under more or less comparable conditions. That's one of the reasons that benchmark programs like 3dMark11 and 3dMarkVantage are developed and used widely.
     
    The Revelator, Jun 4, 2012
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  22. Arai

    Arai Notebook Evangelist

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    I'm using these drivers: 12.5 BETA

    Didn't flash anything or raise the voltage, nor will I.
    I just tried Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition and that game blew me away.
    More so than Battlefield 3, over 50+ FPS with everything on high/ultra...except Ubersampling (disabled).

    Now I am truly amazed by the power that the 7970m is.
    Keep in mind every card clocks differently, some you can push more than others.
    Though they are all 7970m's, my OC isn't that high really, I was hoping for 1000/1500.
     
    Arai, Jun 4, 2012
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  23. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    this is my highest score so far, also i flashed the vbios with Dell7970m-900-1300-ov1075v.ROM, the extra voltage is what i needed to get the clocks higher then 900/1300, right now i have my clocks set to 1000/1500 and its stable, AMD Radeon HD 7970M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3820QM Processor,Alienware M17xR4 score: P6807 3DMarks
     
    lilkuz2005, Jun 6, 2012
    #23
  24. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    Glad you got it working the way you wanted. :)
     
    The Revelator, Jun 6, 2012
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  25. israellesg

    israellesg Notebook Enthusiast

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    Would you suggest to install the current Dell website drivers or maybe going for the beta ones.

    Also, i couldn't manage to find an unlocked bios version for R4. On the GPU OC guide is the R3. Does that one work?
     
    israellesg, Jun 7, 2012
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  26. Arai

    Arai Notebook Evangelist

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    12.5 beta gives slightly better performance and it works well.
     
    Arai, Jun 7, 2012
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  27. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    anyone know if the r4 supports ram faster then 1600mhz ? im looking to buy more memory but i would really like to get faster memory if the laptop can handle it
     
    lilkuz2005, Jun 7, 2012
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  28. Arai

    Arai Notebook Evangelist

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    What good would it do?
    The processor supports max 1600Mhz, so you would be wasting money.

    Intel
     
    Arai, Jun 7, 2012
    #28
  29. StZu

    StZu Notebook Evangelist

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    Would it really not support 1866mhz? Personally i decided not to go for it due to the added heat from the ram possibly hindering my oc ability.

    Does Anyone know if XMP works with the stock 1600mhz ram on the r4?
     
    StZu, Jun 7, 2012
    #29
  30. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    your right, i should have read up on what the 3820qm supports before i asked, im not sure how much memory im going to buy, 6gb is running pretty good right now, but im about to get a SSD and i want to get rid of the page file in windows so i was thinking 16gb, could do it with 8gb but i wanted to have a little head room, do you think its to much ?
     
    lilkuz2005, Jun 7, 2012
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  31. Arai

    Arai Notebook Evangelist

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    Well if you're not going to use it for 3d editing and stuff and just for gaming 8gb is fine.
    I don't have any expertise on this subject, as I'm a mere gamer.
    Just passing along what I've read on these forums :)
     
    Arai, Jun 7, 2012
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  32. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    lilkuz2005, Jun 11, 2012
    #32
  33. dimotion

    dimotion Notebook Guru

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    dimotion, Jul 1, 2012
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  34. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    lilkuz2005, Jul 1, 2012
    #34
  35. dimotion

    dimotion Notebook Guru

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    dimotion, Jul 1, 2012
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  36. jenko2005

    jenko2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    my results with 3dMark 11

    Score
    P5904 3DMarks with AMD Radeon HD 7970M(1x) and Intel Core i7-3820QM Processor
    Score
    P5904 3DMarks

    Graphics Score
    5551

    Physics Score
    9066

    Combined Score
    5652
     
    jenko2005, Jul 1, 2012
    #36
  37. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    lilkuz2005, Jul 1, 2012
    #37
  38. jacorbeffect

    jacorbeffect Newbie

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    jacorbeffect, Jul 4, 2012
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  39. SkylineLvr

    SkylineLvr Notebook Deity

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    SkylineLvr, Jul 4, 2012
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  40. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    we are using 3dmark 11 basic edition, that site is using pcmark, the scores are way different because the tests are different,
    also you would need to overclock your cpu and gpu to get scores like mine, your running the gpu at stock 850/1200, when i benched mine i was running 1000/1500, and to reach that i had to add more voltage to get mine stable, im using the dell vbois 1.075v, here is my cinebench score http://i.imgur.com/FDrfz.jpg 81.16fps opengl and 7.79 points on the cpu
     
    lilkuz2005, Jul 4, 2012
    #40
  41. Catzoo

    Catzoo Notebook Evangelist

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    Catzoo, Jul 4, 2012
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  42. lilkuz2005

    lilkuz2005 Notebook Enthusiast

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    i told you that i have overclocked my 7970m from 850/1200 to 1000/1500, thats how i scored higher than yours, i also overclocked the cpu to 3.9ghz
     
    lilkuz2005, Jul 4, 2012
    #42
  43. Catzoo

    Catzoo Notebook Evangelist

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    Oh ok.

    But that doesn't explain why 3Dmark fail on scanning my freq, i couldn't be at 300 mhrtz for sure.
     
    Catzoo, Jul 4, 2012
    #43