M17x r3 485m gpu

+1 rep for backing me up

 

You want a 120hz 3d screen with a 485m? You guys do realize a GTX 485m is about the same a desktop GTX460 graphics cards, which does not get 60fps constant in 99% of the new games out there, and sells for about $150 USD. From a gaming perspective, I can't see the need for the 485m over the 6970 at all. 485m will be hundreds more than a 6970 set up, will not support switchable graphics like the 6970 will...

So what the heck, isn't it obvious to go with the 6970? The R1 and R2 didn't support the 485m, so why do you think all of a sudden the R3 would? M18x if it does exist, might, but I'm guessing the M18x will support dual gtx460m/6970m, not dual GTX485m. Maybe back in the day when Alienware was more of a boutique style laptop, they would pull off something like this...but now that Dell owns Alienware, I don't see it happening.

 

I don't get why are you being so defensive about this matter? No one wins here.

 

the 3D option is the entire reason did not go with the 6970 card. you don't get the 120hz screen/3D. and yes no one is disputing that desktops are a much more fiscally sound choice... but we wanted a laptop not a desktop. Also consider the fact that 3D monitors, and 3D laptop screens ( for lets say if the 6970 does get 3d support) are RIDICULOUSLY expensive, at least for a half decent one. even if it never gets 485 support (which I doubt) I still think most of us made the right choice.

 

The 460m is more than adequate which would be my other argument. You did make the right choice if you want 3d. It's a great card and should satisfy pretty much everyone.

485m simply makes no sense...and I wouldn't be surprised if it's never supported. 485m just isn't mainstream...and what Dell is trying to do with Alienware is make it more mainstream, and cheap enough for everyone to afford. I think it's a good thing, but also might be a bad thing for enthusiasts.

I'm not trying to argue desktop versus laptop because laptop is always the better option IMO. Tablet is even better.

 

Hi,

Its a bit off-topic:

I just got my M17R3 with 460M, and instaled Assasins Creed Brotherhoods. The problem is that im getting 15-8 fps. Well is that normal ? becouse i though i would get more from new alienware. And im realy pissed when i spend more money than my friend and hes got like 20-30 fps

sorry for my english

 

Some will prefer the drivers and compute performance of the 485M over the 6970, even taking the stance that they are roughly equal in performance. Probably just defuel the discussion to "if they added a 485M some people would be happy" and leave it at that. Sager offers both GPU's. The Dell Precision also lets you choose top end from either maker. So I think it's just what's being expressed, a preference for choice is all.

I think it's a nice sign that people want a 485 in the R3, because it seems that the R3 gets a lot of attention (from potential buyers). It seems the design has hit a good note with it's intended market and that's good for the model and the market in general

 

Maybe Because people like me want to keep 3D on their system and having a little bit more performance and also maybe for some people buying this card don't affect their mind about the price...

 

"Some dell rep told me" or "Techs that I spoke to" sounds doubtful to me especially on the internet.

It's all speculation at this point...so unless it's proved possible, there is nothing to discuss. If anything expect that the 485m will not be supported. Certainly do not buy the 460m m17xr3 if you think it will some how be upgradeable to the 485m, because it is not supported.

 

Didn't someone say he was going to purchase one and test to see if it works in his R3? I'm still waiting for that

 

I kind of doubt 485 would be available with the r3, the 485s have been available for a while. Dell could have easily offer them for $500-600 over the 460. I think Dell would like to offer 3d and 485 on the m18 as the ultimate 3d gaming experience and to further distant m18 from the m17x. just my option of course.

 

We all are Tayer has one, and was planning to install it himself. Drop him a message to touch base.

And guys, seriously enough with the bickering. Some of us want the 485m (which surpasses the desktop 460 btw and is just a underclocked 560 Ti), because we want beastliness for when we are at home, and power for on the go. It's really a personal choice.

Each to his own, just let it go guys.

 

Valid reasoning for why Dell might not want to support the 485M in the current R3. I think they will offer it eventually, but only after the new flagship gets it. However I'm patiently waiting to see if there isn't already support for it.

 

and your point is ? and who is it aimed at - and why ?

it seriously is beyond my understanding, not being funny just asking for you to explain your position and why, for me it beggers belief why you even posted that.............up to u I guess but .....

 

I said all this because I don't like the speculation of the gtx485m being possible in the R3. Might give someone the wrong idea to purchase the gtx460m version thinking he could upgrade later on.

People also need to be informed that the GTX485m means no switchable graphics and very poor battery life...and only 1-10% negligible performance in games over the 6970m.

I'd rather people be informed and not misled, that is all. There has been a few posts where people have claimed it is likely that the r3 will eventually support the 485m. This is simply not true at all. Unless Dell sells one with a working heat sink, you can't just buy the video card by itself from ebay and think you can slap a 6970 heat sink on it...most likely, this just won't work.

 

It is only speculation really, not like we went around screaming buy the 3d bundle because the 485m is coming!

Yes its not much better than the 6970m. Like you stated, +/- 1%-10%ish of the 6970m. For those of us who want the power of the 6970m and 3d, it's our only option really. No need to troll about how 3d is a gimmick or the 485m is only the power of a desktop 460/560, some of us want to be able to move our computer around.

gtx 485m is not that bad on battery. True the 4-5hr mark will surpass us, but I think 2-3 is quite possible.

Power, Efficiency, And Battery Life : MALIBAL's Lotus P150HM: GeForce GTX 485M Gets Its Game On

It's more efficient than the 6970m... True it cannot touch the IGP, but it won't be dying in an hour unless you're trying to game on it without being plugged in.

No one knows for sure if dell will add support or not. There is some evidence pointing to it though. Yes, the word of reps and techs is not worth much at all. But there were a variety of dell pages with the 485m listed as an option. Of course that could have been a mistake/typo, but it was a very exact typo that occured on not just the us site, but also on the japan site,etc. Dell may add support or not, but we just want to see if it was already sneaked in there. There is a precursor, the m15x had support for the 5870 (which was never officially added as an option) and the 460m (which was added much later).

485m is not even available on ebay...

 

I think it would be great if Alienware added the 485M as an option to 460M, 6870M/6970M. It is probably people out there that want a Nvidia card because of their own references. What would benefit these people is that they would have the option to either have 3D enabled laptop with great performance (FPS) compared to GTX 460M or a laptop with a Nvidia GPU and Optimus.
6970M does not offer 3D with the laptop.

Stop arguing that this wish for 485M is bad or useless. People are different and we should all respect each others opinions

 

I think it would be great if the people that don't like to talk about the 485m on the R3 don't post on this thread. Simple.

Now let's get back to the guy trying to install a 485m on his R3.

 

When I started to shop for a new laptop to replace my P105-S921, the options came down to the Alienware M17x R3 and the Asus G73SW-A1. Some ofthe criteria was decent display, standard US keyboard and of course the specs on each are great. The deciding factor to buy the M17x was the GPU. Asus has baselined all their laptop to the 460M. It's is not a bad GPU but if you pay over 2K you want the best. The 460M and the 6970 are not on the same level. IN any case, given that Alienwares can accept newer GPUs (because of MXM) I will shop around in two years and see what's available.

 

well said

 

No it's not, the 6970M actually catches and beats it at 1920x1080 w/ AA in Anandtech's Sager review comparing the 6970M and 485M

 

Comparing the two cards is pointless. The 485m has a slight edge (1%-5%) overall in gaming. Honestly, it depends on the game, since the 6970 overtakes it in several games. I don't really care that much, since I would just like the power of the 6970 in 3d, which is the 485m

 

And there came the mandatory AMD vs Nvidia discussion.

 

Nope, it's not GF114. The GTX 580M will be though.

 

100% with you, lets just call the 2 cards equal and stop this constant "mine is better than yours" childish retoric, if you chose to go 2D then you're stuck with it - live with it even though the merits of that choice are starting to look thin, I find it really funny the lengths people are going too on here to convince themselves and unfortunately others that the 6970 was the best and only choice and having the option of 3D is a waste, I am 50 and travel a lot and my laptop is my travel mate, every movie that has been released in the last 6 years I've watched on my laptop, I have never seen a movie in 3D.........ever and I'm looking forward to it, if I don't like it I'll watch it in 2D but at least I have that choice

 

As long as no one insinuates that the 485m is going to be compatible with the R3, then I don't have an issue. People shouldn't buy the 3d R3 with the expectation of the 485m being a possibility...that was my only beef in this thread.

 

At least 2 things to consider when asking for the 485M to appear in the M17XR3:

1) Power consumption and heat. Preliminary tests on notebookcheck and anandtech show that the 6970M requires 20-25W less at max load. We'll need more info to confirm it though.

2) Price (the major factor). With little to no performance gain, how many of you would pay almost x2 for the 485M?

 

right now it is only speculation and anyone reading this thread will be fully aware of that, until someone actually fits one and proves it either way, personally I would find it odd that during developement of the R3 that it wasn't fitted and tested in some lab somewhere, Nvidia and Dell have been joined at the hip for quite a few years now, the 485m is quite a new card and there may be some risks for early adopters, the 460m is tried and tested and was a safe route for now.


and again I have say that the comparison is not with the 6970 it is with the 460m, for those that chose not to get the 3D capable machine the choice was obvious, for that chose 3D they didn't have a choice.

power consumption doesn't come into the equasion, the 240w power brick is more than capable of running an R3 with 485m installed, price is up to each individual and what sort of deal Dell negotiates wit Nvidia, price may have been a factor in Dells choice not to use it...........marketing

 

They offer the 6870M and 6970M. Why only the 460M Nvidia offering is beyond me. So you can have one hell of a beastly card with the 6970M, or you can have 3D and a 460M. I don't get it.

 

Especially considering 3d cuts the fps in half... literally.

If alienware wants to maintain their top notch gaming status, they should match sager/clevo's offerings.

 

The 485M appeared a few months ahead of the 6970M. Of course it was tested. The question is why didn't it find its way to the M17XR3.
Total power consumption of the system may not be bothered by extra 20W but it could put an extra stress on the cooling. There was some info regarding overheating when equipped with the 6970M (during hands-on before the actual release of the R3). BTW, the absence of the 2920XM as on option is another hint towards the cooling system limits.
Price is a very important point here, IMHO. You can get a 6970M CF for a price of a single 485M.

 

It does look odd as to why the better Nvidia 485m was not released. They would not have gambled with a lesser card jut because they want to make some money later by offering it as upgrade or a newer version of R3 itself. From the way R3 was released it seems there was a bit of a rush in order to beat the asus product. It would have taken Dell a much longer period to design something akin to R2.

I can tell you one thing though, even if Dell just changed the motherboard for sandybridge in R2 and some newer GPUs, R2 would have been picked up like hot cakes immediately. There wouldnt be any fence sitters.

I really dont understand why they gave up something that was already legendary irrespective of m18x etc. I dont think Dell will profit as much as it did in selling R2 when it comes to R3.

If Dell was already facing heat issues when designing R3 either on the GPU or CPU front, why did they not just fall back on what has been proven to be such a heat stable system as R2. Doesnt make sense.Usually a company takes the successful features of a previous generation as much as forward to the next. In this case you have regressive designing and QC

 

The 485m is about equal, and sometimes the 6970m is actually ahead of the 485m.

I would of liked to see 485m sli in the R3...oh wait...can't be done.

M18x is going to be the king it looks like.

 

The 6970m is about equal, and sometimes the 485m is actually ahead of the 6970m.

I would of liked to see 6970m sli in the R3...oh wait...can't be done.

M18x is going to be the king it looks like.

 

it is 6970 CROSSFIRE btw.

No need to poke fun at each other. Let's stop bickering like 5 year olds and actually get back to the premise of this thread.

 

heat issues again are extreme speculation, personally I very much doubt there are any heat issues with an R3 considering it has one less GPU than an R2 and the SB cpu's are more efficient, I really don't know where some of you guys get it from, most of it is nonsense and jibber jabber.

This thread is about the possible release of the 485m for R3 and if it may even be compatible (bios wise) now, unless you have firm evidence to support the heat/power issues then it would be better left alone, going on technical specs for both SB and 485m and R3 there is no issue.

 

What? The GTX 485M costs $750.

 

Geoffxx, do you have your r3 already? Also did you buy it from ebay or a vendor, or did you order from HID evolution?

 

Yea... I would also like to know if anyone knows what the GTX 485m goes for? anyone know of resellers that offer them, or someone on NBR that is selling one?

 

RJtech is selling the 485M for 750$. Dell sells 6970M for 410-415$. This pretty close to 2x if you ask me.

 

$410-415 is addition to what you are buying the 485M by itself is a bit more, yes.

EDIT:

Just bought the 485M, didn't know a seller actually had it by itself. Woot.

 

who or where did you buy your 485m and how much was it?

 

HID evolution, not got it yet

 

hope it works without any sort of updates, most here believe it will as do I work right out of the box, no updates required lol

 

Believe it will work without an update, or will not work without an update? lol...

 

Make sure to run some benches when you get it! Planning to do some OC'ing?

 

can you not understand plain engerlish lol

 

=/

You just made a payment of$766.63 !!

/me waits for 485M

 

RJTech $750

Read post above.

 

Best of luck. Definitely keep us in the loop.
Whens it set to arrive?

Edit: Nevermind. Tuesday isn't far off Got something to look forward to this week