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    M17x-R2 is running awful slow

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Scoa92, May 31, 2010.

  1. Scoa92

    Scoa92 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Okay, so I purchased received my M17x about 2 weeks ago, and I expected it to be able to easily run most games, but I haven't seen much of an improvement over my old HP HDX16t. I only get about 30 fps in WoW with high settings at 1280 x 720 res. I get about 20 fps in Crysis with high settings on a low resolution. I know the computer is not in stealth mode, so that isn't the issue, it must be something else. Computer specs below.

    Intel® Core™ i7 820QM 1.73GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
    Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
    Dual 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 4870 in CrossfireX™
    17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)
    6GB DDR3 at 1066MHz
    500GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD

    I'd appreciate any help you guys could give me.
     
  2. cleverpseudonym

    cleverpseudonym PG RATED

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    i have the same set up as you, except the cpu ( i have a i5-540m) i get avg fps on wow of 45 at native res with high settings. crysis is about the same though i get right around 25-35. check your drivers, and make sure x-fire is enabled.
     
  3. Scoa92

    Scoa92 Notebook Enthusiast

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    How do I check if crossfire is enabled?
     
  4. cleverpseudonym

    cleverpseudonym PG RATED

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    if you have gpu-z ( free download) you can tell easily also hwinfo32 will tell u,
    [​IMG]
     
  5. Scoa92

    Scoa92 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Alright, it says crossfire is enabled, and the drivers are up to date. This is quite frustrating, I spent 3k on a computer for a 5 fps upgrade over a 512mb graphics card and a 2.4ghz core 2 duo.

    Thanks for your help btw
     
  6. cleverpseudonym

    cleverpseudonym PG RATED

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    no prob, theres likely something wrong imo. crysis doesnt play well on anything so dont expect much there, but wow should be fine. have you run any bench marks? they can tell you where your at, if somethings wrong well be able to see from that
     
  7. Scoa92

    Scoa92 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm downloading 3dmark06 right now, so I should be able to tell you soon. But I disabled crossfire just to see what would happened and I gained about 20 fps. This makes no sense
     
  8. cleverpseudonym

    cleverpseudonym PG RATED

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    i would call dell something is wrong with the other card imo, but post the results. it would be better to run vantage since 06 is heavily dependent on cpu
     
  9. Scoa92

    Scoa92 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Here is the benchmark I ran. (Sorry for the bad quality pic)

    [​IMG]
     
  10. cleverpseudonym

    cleverpseudonym PG RATED

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    hmm seems about rigth actually, fyi Wow is not a great game to compare with others, it may not support x-fire & the quad cpu. someone with more knowledge about wow may chime in but there is a thread on the fourm detailing that Wow is very very very CPU dependent & doesn't translate well to dual core procs & quads. it likes cpu speed, and at stock the 820 is running @ 1.73. it may be why mine plays it ok. but your system seems fine. i wouldn't be too discouraged, your m17x is probably one of the most power laptops on the market, i would pin your experience on WOW, and well crysis, which still doesn't really run all that great on anything.
     
  11. Scoa92

    Scoa92 Notebook Enthusiast

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    And..... here is the other one you asked for:

    [​IMG]
     
  12. Scoa92

    Scoa92 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Alright then.

    Again, I appreciate all of your help
     
  13. cleverpseudonym

    cleverpseudonym PG RATED

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    actually that score seems a little low, what drivers are you using?
     
  14. .breath

    .breath Notebook Consultant

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    Are you out of stealth mode?
     
  15. cleverpseudonym

    cleverpseudonym PG RATED

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  16. .breath

    .breath Notebook Consultant

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    Then did u try without crossfire? WoW act strangely with dual gpus.
    Check the anti-aliasing and anisotropic filer too.
    Go to the Techpower GPU's sensor tab to see if the clock rise to the max while playing.
    Post a picture of WoW settings, that may helps too.

    If you are in single card, with max clock, at that resolution and you keep having those performance either you are in stealth mode or you gpu isn't working correctly.
     
  17. thetruth1983

    thetruth1983 Notebook Evangelist

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    Make sure powerplay is enabled in ATI settings too and triple check that you are not in stealth mode.
     
  18. oogamar

    oogamar Notebook Evangelist

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    When referring to crysis getting 20 frames on high details low res i think something is wrong there because on my r1 with t9600 and 260m sli i get 20-30 fps on avg with everything maxed out and native res. If i lower the res things speed up quite a bit so something isn't performing correctly as his machine is more powerful than mine.

    EDIT: Also my top 3dmark 06 score was 15332 (around there) so surely his system should be getting at least 16k if not more
     
  19. dirtydan

    dirtydan Notebook Guru

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    wow only runs on a single core and also it does not support sli or crossfirex. that being said you should still get better fps than what your getting. you may want to return your laptop if your still within then first 21 days and have them ship you a new unit, and upgrade to the 5870 cards.
     
  20. Scoa92

    Scoa92 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I said in one of my earlier posts that disabling crossfire gave me a boost in FPS. After doing a bit more testing, it doesn't give me 20 more FPS, but more like 10.

    Where do I go to check anti-aliasing and anisotropic filer and what should I be checking about them?

    Here are some screenshots of the techpower gpu sensors. I find these a bit interesting due to the fact that the second card isn't doing much.

    First One:
    [​IMG]

    Second One:
    [​IMG]

    WoW Settings:
    [​IMG]
     
  21. cleverpseudonym

    cleverpseudonym PG RATED

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    3dmark06 is highly cpu dependent, the true measure of the gpu power is vantage. the 3d06 score is irrelevant really. i got my m17 into the 17ks, but i can tell the difference between that machine and this in real time gaming, because of the gpu upgrade, this system should be getting in the high 15s wih no tweaks.
     
  22. JTOverath

    JTOverath Notebook Evangelist

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    I'll double check when I get home, but seems to me I was getting around 60fps in WoW from my rig which is essentially the same specs.
     
  23. Scoa92

    Scoa92 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Any other suggestions?
     
  24. kenichols29

    kenichols29 Notebook Evangelist

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    With my quad core processor and my single gpu I got an average of 60 fps in WoW and it only dropped to 57 once. Though I only played it once since I got this laptop due to the fact I can no longer afford to play it. LOL
     
  25. adrian890

    adrian890 Notebook Evangelist

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    i got issues with my new r2 which i got today... 9k pc marks and 14k 3d marks, duno whats wrong with it =/ is that normal?
     
  26. claxdog

    claxdog Notebook Evangelist

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    Is that 14k in 06 or vantage?make sure crossfire is enabled.Make sure you have everything set to high performance.
     
  27. adrian890

    adrian890 Notebook Evangelist

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    3dmarks vantage, ye it was on sli for sure, but i think it was set to balance.=/ any way to redo vantage and see results? i tried making new account but wont let me
     
  28. Dwarf King

    Dwarf King Notebook Evangelist

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    I get 11 - 20 frps in ashenvale wow and I really do not what cause it. I am used to get like 58-64 frps. Any clues?
     
  29. Scoa92

    Scoa92 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Another thing that I noticed, I am not quite sure if this matters or not, but when I do a "Canyourunit" test, it says that I am using the ATI display adapter (0x945A) as my video card. Any idea why that is?