M17x r3 Order Crisis

As you can see in my sig, I have already placed an order for my Alienware. From reading through the forum, someone mentioned that they spoke with a Dell rep and were told that the 580m won't be in stock until the 5th of March. That is my projected delivery date. He was also told his system will be shipped towards the middle of March. He placed his order a day before me, so I should be getting my system the same day he does, or shortly after. My problem is that I am moving to England and I fly out the 29th of March. I'm not sure if I'll still be in this house in the middle of March.

I wanted to hear from owners of both the 580m and the 6990m and what their impressions of the cards are. I've always had nVidia cards, but don't have anything against AMD. I will be calling Dell on Monday to speak with a rep and see what the deal is with the 580m. I may be canceling my order, or perhaps switching to the 6990m.

I don't want this to become a 580m vs 6990m flame war. I just want to hear some honest opinions from owners of each. I know of the heat and throttle issues with some of the 580m. I've read about the driver issues with the 6990m. Is it a real issue? Are there other issues with the 6990m?

 

I have actually used both cards, and personally I like the 580m better, even with the issues. Performance is roughly the same, but the 580m has Optimus and better drivers.

You should just call and see what they say, generally Dell estimates delivery dates pretty well, so if they say it will be delivered the 5th it probably will. Also, keep in mind that you can always call Fedex and get the package held at a Fedex or Kinkos location for pickup, so even if you are not at the same address you can still get the laptop.

Also, be sure to make a big deal about the time constraints, they can expedite orders or give you overnight shipping to get it to you fast enough.

 

If you're going to have to wait that long, I'd suggest cancelling and waiting for an R4 with Ivy Bridge and 6xxM or 7yyyM graphics.

Edit: to answer your question as to which GPU to choose, Optimus (more specifically the power consumption when not doing heavy GPU workloads) is important for me, as is CUDA for the technical apps I'm running now. If all you do is game, neither mean anything to you. I think we need to delineate GPU-specific issues from M17x-specific issues. From what I've read, the AMD seems to have somewhat more stable driver development. There are other M17x issues (probably contributed by other hardware and respective drivers), but these include thermal throttling and DPC latencies in certain cases. Personally, if I had the choice again, I probably wouldn't go with the Killer WiFi (don't crucify me); my internet bandwidth is nowhere near where I'd hit a limitation with just an Intel WiFi chipset without the drama. I just want to use a computer and go. Uptime, stability and reliability are more important for me now than being at the bleeding edge for every decimal point of gaming fps. Priorities and thresholds for frustration will be different in every case.

 

I highly doubt the next gen will be available in March/April time, and I also highly doubt that I would have gotten as good of a deal for the next gen as I would have for the R3. Hence the reason I purchased the R3. But if I do decide on canceling my order (which will probably happen if the 580m is delayed that long and they won't change my order to a 6990m) then I'll probably wait out and see what the prices are for the next gen.

 

Reports are that Ivy Bridge is delayed for volume until June. AMD mobility CGN are already available now for desktops and will likely come out much sooner than Nvidia Keplers. The system on your signature is much like mine (notably except I don't have a Blu-ray). Depends how impatient you are... since I don't replace my computers annually (last one was 4.5 years), a few months' wait to have the latest and greatest is chump change when put in perspective.

 

It wouldn't be a few months, it will be mid or late 2012 before GPUs that beat the 580m are released and available. The first next gen mobile cards will not be the top end cards, and will likely be slower or in the best case match the 580m. Plus, we are already hearing news of delays, and Nvidia can't even make enough 580m cards, which are on a stable and developed process, the new cards will have even worse shortages.

Waiting is a losing proposition. Even if you are willing to wait, and don't get a new computer for say 6+ months to get a 680m, you will likely get no more than a 30% performance boost for your trouble.

 

That's interesting as that's a direct contradiction from my post directly after... I don't claim to be an expert just what I've read here and elsewhere. I have not used both on the same base laptop so I'm in no position to confirm or refute.

Ya I do see your point. I know I couldn't wait as my old computer was already sold and shipped lol. I had to spend 2 agonizing weeks with no computer. No fun. But since SkylineLvr is still posting, evidently he does have some sort of computer...

 

Agreed, I ordered my laptop with my 580m when the card first came out. It took over a month to actually get my system. Something to keep in mind.. even when the new stuff comes out... it usually takes some more waiting to get it in your hands

 

Buy what you need with what you have. Don't keep on holding out, unless you can deal without a laptop or you know something is being released XX and you can wait.

 

Strange that the shortage of 580's seems to be in N America. I have recently purchased 3 alienware lappys in UK (4 x 580's and all were delivered in around 2 - 3 weeks on schedule). Maybe just a smaller market/larger stock but with Dell now getting involved with a few 'issues' (see threads on throttling) on the 580m based machines... dunno.

 

This worries me! Does killer wifi come with killer problems?

 

My previous laptop took a short trip down the stairs, not on purpose though. I've been without a laptop for about 6 months. Been using the wife's PC, but that was sent back to HP for some needed repairs. I've been posting on my iPhone and the wife's iPad for the past week.

 

The shortage in the US is directly correlated to Dell US dropping the price of the GTX 580m to be the same as the 6990m

It can...most of the issues come from the bigfoot software. however, many have bypassed the issues by installing the stock Atheros drivers. When you get your laptop, you know where to come and ask for help

 

I see thanks We'll I'll be reinstalling the OS - so which wifi drivers should I install (I'll have the Killer Wireless-N 1103):?

Sorry to hijack OP

 

You want to install these for the 1103:

Atheros wifi 9.2.1.470 WHQL

 

Thank you sir!

 

SlickDude, does this mean one could/should install the above Atheros wifi driver and don't bother with the Killer 6.1.0.xxx one? Interesting...

 

That is correct. IF the default Bigfoot software causes you trouble, go with these. The killer 1103 uses an Atheros chipset. Most people complain about the Bigfoot software so avoid that altogether with these

 

From a performance perspective, ie range, data rate etc, do you lose anything buy using the Atheros drivers vs the Bigfoot?

 

the bigfoot drivers are based off of Atheros so from that perspective you won't gain or lose much.

What bigfoot offers is its own Killer Network Manager application which sets application priority and manages QoS. So you can be gaming and downloading via bittorent and suffer no lag. However, it all really depends on your router. if you have a great router with good QoS, you don't have anything to worry about. if you have a crappy router, the Bigfoot Manager isn't going to save you

From what I've read, the Atheros drivers are much more stable. Who cares about all the neat features when your connection drops. So go with the bigfoot first, and if/when you have issues, install these (or whatever the latest version is)

 

The statement that nVidia cards has superior drivers was maybe true 10 years ago. Nowadays, drivers are kinda equal, both with their own set of small bugs here and there, but nothing major.

 

Little update on my situation. I called Dell today and spoke with a pretty nice rep. He wasn't able to tell me too much, but did give me the next day shipping at no extra charge which changed my delivery date from the 5th to the 1st. He also sent in a request to expedite my order and will get back to me in the next day or 2 with a status update about the 580m from the manufacturer. Pretty much the standard reply you'll get when you call about this type of issue. I've got all his contact info, so if I don't hear back I'll be calling him. I just hope to get a solid answer for myself on the 580m delay. I guess worst case scenario is getting the order in the middle of March. It'll be pushing it, but I think I'll still be at this address at that time. Now around the 20th will be a different story.

 

Cool, good luck with that. I'm rounding up all the drivers for a fresh installation not based on the factory image. I always allow to make mistakes and expect to re-image/reinstall a few times before I get to a configuration that I'm really happy with and that I (hopefully) won't have to touch for a very long time. These things are kinda fun but frustrating when they take up a whole day or more to get back to a state of where you want everything to be.

 

Found out today that the 580m is back ordered until March 15th. Still keeping my fingers crossed that some will come in sooner. Someone already posted that his order finally shipped today. He ordered his rig the 27th of January, so I still have some hope.

Out of curiosity, if I did change my order to the 6990m (only if they give me a good deal for all my troubles), what is the OC potential on the card? I've heard it's good at OCing, but I'm a total noob when it comes to this stuff. What kind of FPS gains would I see with a good OC (I know it depends on the card, let's say I got a fairly good OCed card) compared to a stock 6990m or even a stock 580m? My heart is still set on the 580m, but I may be willing to go with the 6990m if it would mean I would get my rig in time for my move.

 

Really depends on the luck of the draw. I mean, I overclock mine to 825/1100. Stock clocks being 715/900. But the 6990m does have the default Overdrive tool that AMD provides that moves the clocks up to 740/1000. which if notebookcheck is anything to go by, gives you around 7% more fps. With my overclock, i'm pretty much able to play anything out there, except metro 2033 maxed out. Crysis 2, maxed out with dx 11, and the high resolution package, is mostly playable. there are a few areas, that u do have to tone it down.

What are you expecting to play with your laptop?

 

I'm not too sure what I'll be playing, lol. More than likely gonna at some mmos, but would like to have the comfort to know I'll be able to play whatever at close to max settings, or at least keep the game looking good. I know with either choice I'll be more than satisfied. My last laptop had a gt 130m, so both are huge leaps above. I just want my laptop now :-( lol.