M17x r3 485m gpu

The 485 only draws less power at Idle.

GTX485M - 37 watts idle - 170 watts full load
GTX480M - 50 watts idle - 150 watts full load
6970M - 48 watts idle - 148 watts full load

485M - 6970 source

480m source

They kinda shoot themselves in the foot comparing to the x7200 since it destroys the Racer in most their tests. Would have been good to see extreme vs extreme/apples to apples.
Mobile Sandy Bridge: Why you dont need a desktop???

 

Hey if the 6970m was available with the 120hz screen, I would jump on it. Without an RGBLED option, a 120hz option would be nice. Since the 6970m is a gpu, why not give it the 120hz screen where it can actually throw up all 120fps? I mean stronger gpu=more fps, makes no sense to give the 460m 120hz WLED and the 6970m 60hz WLED

 

That is causing me to pause as well

 

Now I'm confused in those tests the 485 battery life was longer in idle, heavy surfing, 720p playback, and the comp they used the 485 in was a 17 incher and had an extra SSD. Seems like it lasted longer across the board.

 

I can think about one reason why 3D should not be available with 6970M yet, and that is because Alienware want the laptop to be used as a laptop. Meaning that if you include a 120 Hz screen you would not be able to use IGP of the Sandy Bridge which again would lead to less battery time and more heat...

That being said, i do agree that the 6970M would be ideal to get high frame rate in demanding games where the GTX 460M struggle.

 

Not exactly contradicting ya, but I meant the option listed in the m17x r3 handbook, for 120hz without 3d. It would still probably cancel out the IGP, but 120hz does help bridge the gap in screen quality.

 

I will do the same in a heart beat.

 

I would too. With the 485m and a lil bios magic from thewiz to unlock the 2820qm, we would have a viable maxed out r2 competitor.

One can dream

 

Sorry to sound annoying or buggy, but any results? I know a variety of people planned on testing it, and some were hardcore about really trying to get it to work.

 

the point is that those with 3D are not upgrading or replacing the option of a 6970, they are replacing the 460m, it would be a considerable improvement in gpu performance and for me would provide the perfect system, those that have already commited to the 6970 are going to have issue with this because ultimately it makes the 3D system the better choice of the 2 versions and would require considerably more to change over to 3D

as for power requirements and heat, the R3 is more than capable of handling this card and all the critics here know it, everyone on this thread that has made a negative comment here have the 6970....go figure lol

 

are you saying you thought you saw it as an option on the Dell system config during the first launch, you could be right and it may already be supported in the BIOS

 

He somehow got it from a seller, not Dell. It's quite possible Dell already added bios support for it, but it is truly unknown at this time. Lots of people have pledged to test it and many are very interested in the result.

 

I'm not sure about how reliable AW/DELL's tech groups are but i've talked to i'd say round 15 to 20 techs (Canada and US) and all of 'em are saying that the r3's GPU "can be upgraded" to the 485m with no issues with the BIOS.

____________________
--Currently waiting--

M17xR3: ST Black - i7-2820qm - 16GB DualCh DDR3 - 1.5gb GTX460m - 120hz 1920x1080 Nvidia 3D - RAID 0 1.5 TB - Intel 6300 Wifi - Blu-ray+DVD+/-RW

 

this is awsome i am on it as soon as it is avalible

 

OK ... SO. I talked to a dell tech the other day, after reading the Eric posts on Posterous about the m18x. I pushed a little, letting him know I was a repeat customer etc, refer people to Dell all the time.

My point: I was/am pissed that Dell has held back on the 485M when so many other system are offering it. And aside from preference, other systems with the same specs as the r3 are cheaper... much.

SO... my question to him was about the upgrades for the r3... to a 470M or a 485M. I explained that there were other systems I could buy (sager) that even if I add a 3D external, would probably be cheaper then an alienware, but that I WANT alienware, i just need to know if they will be upgraded and if it will be in the near future ...

He assured me, the r3 is in fact upgradable and upgrades are coming ... and when I said, well listen, if its a month I will wait, even if I knew how long I had to wait, i would wait.

His response "just wait for my email"...

read into this what you will.

 

very interesting, as a side note having never upgraded with Dell before, do they offer upgrades to everyone and if they offer say a 485m do you pay the same price for it as you would during system config when buying or do they just sell you the card and you keep the old 460m ?

 

I'll be amazed if the tech guy ever really gets back to Shaden with a real offer or hard proof . The r3 needs to offer the 485m to stay competitive with asus and sager/clevo.

They would probably sell the card, which is definitely more expensive. I believe that is what some people are doing with the 6970m, because they want the 120hz system but with the 6970m.

Has anybody tested their r3 with the 485m yet? Or am I still barking up the wrong tree?

 

Really comparing the price between 485 vs 6970 and the performance between them , really i do not find it a good deal.

Price point of view:

485- for Sager is 495$
6970 - for Alienware is 250 $

Performance point of view 3DMark Vantage :

485 vs 6970

485 is about 5% better than 6970 according to this review

Performance point of view 3DMark 06 :

485 is about 11% better than 6970 according to this review

Windows 7 Experience Index - Gaming graphics

6970 is 1% better than 485 according to this review

3DMark 11 - Performance GPU 1280x720

6970 is 4% better than 485 according to this review


So I would considering thinking twice before choosing 485 over 6970, given the fact that the price is an important matter

Soo for me, 3D is just fancy thing! ...

 

see your point but many people don't share your sentiment regarding 3D, I guess it up to each individual whether they consider the 485m worth the cost on a 3D system, for most it's an eagerly awaited upgrade and brings the 3D system to equal or better spec than the none 3D 6970 option currently on offer, 485m for me makes the perfect all round system with endless choices.

 

And don't forget that with the 485m you can take advantage of the 120hz screen, if you get the 6970 with the 60hz screen you're stuck at 60 fps, so smoothness won't be the same, that and the 3d, the nvidia drivers and the other extras you get.
So people should think it all the way through and not stop half way, because the extra cost if you got the cash can be justifiable.

 

I don't think so. I was one of the first who had accessed the config site before they have placed it on the homepage of alienware.

 

? The 485M was listed on the specs page, NOT the config page.

 

That's what I thought.

 

The funny thing is everyone in the sager forum is screaming because they can't have the 6970. If money is no object or you really want it for 3d I can see why you would want the 485 otherwise the upgrade is minimul.

 

People on the Sager forum don't have the option of a 120hz screen which would make games run a lot smoother at 120 instead of 60 fps, so as I said think it all the way through before advocating any of the two cards

 

how many games do you honestly think you are going to play at 60+ fps and for how long?

6970 actually performed as well or better at 1080p which is what I'll be playing at. Are you saying you want to drop down to lower res/setting to get the higher fps?

 

Did you check the framerates the 485m gets in all games? Put metro aside which is a game only for benchmarks not for actual play and Crysis at ultra, all other games get over 60 fps.
And 6970 perfoms as well or worse than 485m, not or better.

 

Not sure what reviews you are looking at but I don't see many over 60 and I doubt your eyes would be good enough to pick up on the difference between 60 and 75. I also don't think you will be playing many games at higher than 60 a year from now. I just don't see the 120hz screen as a reason for the better card. For 3d sure but not for regular gaming.

From the Anandtech review.

1920*1080 high


Battlefield bad company

485=44.2
6970=42.9

Dirt 2

485=63.7
6970=55.8

Left 4 Dead 2

485=80.1
6970=83

Mafia II

485=38.8
6970=37.9

Mass Effect 2

485=71.9
6970=72.6

Metro 2033

485=18.7
6970=18.4

Stalker

485=25.8
6970=24

Starcraft II

485=36
6970=39.6

 

I don't know what sort of games you'll be playing but the 485m will be good enough for gaming on ultra at least for a couple of years, as for the fps you see those are with everything maxed out, remove the AA which doesn't do any difference what so ever to the image quality at 1080p on a 17" laptop screen and all the frame rates go well over 100 fps in most games.
In sports games for example like Fifa, nba, PES you get fps over 150 on ultra, which is also the case in 99% of the games.
You can argue all you want that 60 fps is enough, but unless you experience the smoothness of a 120hz screen, and unless you experience games in 3d don't say they are not worth the extra cost

 

Your misqouting me. I said that it's use would be for 3d. Not for me but I'm not dissing it.

From what I read from someone that had had both the 60 and 120 they didn't see a difference.

In a year or two you'll be playing on high/ultra but your fooling yourself if you think you will be playing at 100 fps plus.

 

He didn't say it would be performing at 100+fps, hes just saying in general you cannot say that a 60hz screen can compare unless you have experienced both. have you ever seen the difference.... I have and its astounding in video games, sports, and other high movement entertainment.

 

comparing 6970 to 485 is not really the point here, people that want the 485 have mostly got the 3D bundle so they will upgrade from the 460, 485m will handle 3D games much better than the 460m and in my opinion for that reason it is worth it, those that have the 6970 do not have the option and have made a choice for 2D only now and in months/years to come.


on the screen issue, it will not be noticed on a laptop to any great extent but when I buy TV's etc I have always chosen 100hz scan because anything less on a large digital screen becomes jerky, I remember years ago when we all had CRT computer screens I saved more headaches in my work by updating the refresh rates on peoples desktops, the difference was astonishing, flicker free and solid.

 

exactly
Point is, people have the right to make their own choice based on actual facts, so saying 485m has no advantages over 6970 is not correct, each will have his own preferences, so up to him to decide

 

Ok guys, enough with the arguing, would hate for the thread to get shut down

485m is what some of us want, because we want 3d and a 6970m-level gpu.
Each to his own.

Anyways, I thought tayer was going to lend his 485m to somebody to test it out. Did anybody yet test it? Having already ordered my r3, I'm very interested in the result.

 

After a 6-7months of enjoying the MX11, I decided to buy a MX17 R3.

In this thread I see some people mention that if one buys a MX17 R3 now that Dell will make the 485 available as an upgrade to 460 users.

So has it been confirmed or more important will it ever happen...

 

Hey tayer lend it to me, I'll do some rocking benchmarks lol. As well as test to see if we can get the 485 working with the 3D

EDIT: @ F900EX, no hasn't been confirmed yet, but its only a matter of time. I am sure it will happen, but for now you will have to buy and switch it out yourself, or wait.... unfortunately I didn't have the option of waiting

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I will stick with the current order I have, the 460 will be more then enough for now, I just wanted to make sure down the road it would be possible to upgrade the MX17 R3 GPU.

 

It isn't confirmed yet, however there is a lot of speculation on it. Several options for it have popped up in dell spec sheets, and a couple of engineers and reps have confirmed it (however their word is not that trustworthy...)

Bios support for it might even already be in there, like how the m15x had support for the 460m and 5870 long before they were offered out of the blue (the 460m)

Only time will tell, sadly.

 

THIS " but the 485m will be good enough for gaming on ultra at least for a couple of years"

At this moment, there is not couple of years, is a year max, or something like that. Every month something appears, they raise the barrier and you will watch how your 485 will not be as good as it is right now. You will be able to play at high maybe, but depends .
As you seen already , new game usually triggers a new video card release date... soo

 

Just a point to make: Everyone here knows that a 485M equates roughly to a desktop 460, right? That's not going to be running many things on ultra for very long.

As for all the 3D comments, I guess I'm one of those people that, if I get the M17x R3 will be getting a 485M and no 3D option.

 

look guys, it matters not what you think of 3D or 460 or 6970 or whether theres life on Mars, or the future usage of this that or the other, we all know that technology improves through time, if Joe blogs wants to buy a 485m well that's up to him, we all have our reasons for doing things, to sit behind a keyboard and criticise someone for making a choice is simply not on, you can share with everyone why you made choices and just leave it at that

enjoy your machines and be happy

ps, the 485m is way better than the 6970 lol...........................just kidding

 

in case you didn't know you can turn 3D off at any time

 

The only thing I was saying is that I thought it was ironic that everyone on the sager boards is screaming for access to the 6970 and everyone here wants the 485.

I actually had the comp in my sig ordered but canceled and got the R3 because I didn't like the keyboard on the clevo and the 90% gamut LCDs had become hard to find. I stressed over giving up the 485 but in the end decided that the performance of the 6970 was close enough.

I do think it's crazy that Dell would come out with the 3d packages and not offer the best card for 3d. There is definitely something going on with exclusive deals on these cards.

You guys should order R3s with the 6970 and the 120hz screen and then offer the 6970 and $300 to the sager guys with the 485s who want the 6970s. Then everyone is happy and gets what they want.

 

that would be a fine idea if Dell shiped the 3D bundle with the 6970 but they don't

 

yea, Nvidia bought the strict rights to early access on 3D systems from alienware.... its going to be quite a while before ATI offers a 3D solution from Alienware.

 

Ur speaking as if this is a fact. Do u know that this is a fact, or r u just assuming?

 

Dell rep I talked to when I traded up said as much, maybe hes wrong, but it seems correct. I cannot say with all certainty this is true, but it would explain why the 6970 isn't offered as a 3d solution.

 

It's not possible...stop bumping this thread and making people believe it's possible when it is not. The fact that it is not officially supported means no bios updates from alienware, and that you would have to rely on some private party releasing bios updates which can result into damaging your r3. Stop the nonsense and speculation. If you wanted a 485m gpu, you should just go with Sager or Clevo.

 

LOL excuse you, I give alienware 2 months before they release the M17x with 485m, IT IS going to happen I have no doubts. Save your hate for another thread

 

well aren't you the expert telling us all lol, I'll bet right now the 485m is fully supported in the R3 but we shall find out soon enough, and BTW you forget the fact that these laptops are bought and paid for by their owners, they are not rented or leased same as any desktop would be, people buy and install stuff in their desktops as the notion takes them, laptops are no different

keep the feet for dancing mate