My m17x r2 vs upgrading to m18x?

Hey guys.

I have a simple question for you! Too simple for Google !

How would an M18x compare performance wise to my current M17x r2 in newer games like Battlefield 3 and Skyrim?

I'm looking at an m18x which has:

Intel i7 2630qm
Nvidia 560 SLI
6gb DDR3
2x750gb HDD in raid

How would that system compare to my current setup in my sig?
I'm thinking that it can't be that much faster than mine?

Happened to run by a store that had an m18x standing.. Fell in love with it immediately.. It feels better than my m17x r2, but I didn't have a chance to try games on it.. I'm thinking about switching out, depending on how much of a difference there really is between the two.

Also thought about just keeping my m17x and throw in a intel 940xm, but I've read that it doesn't add much to games over my 720qm.. upgrading graphics is too expensive

Thanks in advance, and have a nice day!

 

A 920xm is only like 250-300 bucks and it has a huge impact on performance. + you can now have dual 6970's or 6990's in the R2.

 

Your R2 compared to that 18x would probably be a decent upgrade. My R2 to that 18x, not an upgrade

Don't know how the 560s compare to the 5870s. 18x is a sweet system.

 

Really? i just read somewhere that it only adds about 3-5 FPS in games with high details etc..? I have already checked ebay(laptop monkey..), but was quite disappointed when I read it wasn't that great in games compared to my current cpu.
And I know that we can have 6-series AMD cards now, but for the price of two 6970m's or 6990m's I can build a nice desktop and keep the m17x as a traveller.. sadly..

EDIT: I take it back.. I just saw the prices of the graphics cards on ebay.. That would be a low performance desktop for the price of either 2x 6970 or 6990....

Btw.! How does your system run in newer games? I haven't gamed for a while now, so I don't have any of the newly released titles!

I have seen various upgrades in our m17x r2's, but the thought of putting those, even more powerful, graphics cards in it sounds like a lot of heat!
Can your system cool itself with it's own fans? and does it get enough power from the power supply? Sounds like a massive draw from the PSU
Is it all stable?

 

upgrading to a 920/940xm is the easy part...but putting a couple of 6970/6990s is where you will see the largest impact in games like bf3 and skyrim

Now stock for stock the m18x listed will be faster than your R2.

A single stock gtx 560m is about 10-15% faster than a single stock 5870m so it isn't revolutionary like a par of 6990's would be

I think if you want to play Skyrim or BF3...crossfire 5870's that you have should play it smooth already so the most cost effective upgrade for you is to get a 920xm ES and overclock it to mid 3's ghz to eliminate any potential bottlenecks that the 720 might have had. This will free up a some fps. plus you can also overclock those 5870's (if you haven't already done so) to free up even more frames

I run bf3 fine on ultra...so your xfire 5870's should be adequate for now

 

Have you tried the bios mod to over-clock that 720 by 5%? Not sure why but it worked wonders for me and was the difference between being able to play Bf3 and not able to play it. (I believe I had throttling problems)

 

having had both I can tell you that the difference is pretty slim unless you go with a 2x 6970 or a 2x 6990 setup. the m17x r2 also seems build a bit better not by much though.

The only major failing of the m17x seems to be the temp sensor that is on the mobo. It make upgrading mxm cards a pain. other than that its a pretty solid system.

 

Temperature wise my R2 run much cooler now with 6970's than with 5870's.

both cards runs lovely @0.96V instead of 1.1V and the cpu is clocked @133x25 across the 4 cores with 85W tdp.. never been so silent and cool

 

Thanks very much for the replies guys, I really apreciate it!

So, if I upgrade to a 940xm and overclock that + my cards, I should have a good running system for a while?
Kinda wish that the r2 was just as easy to switch out parts as the r3 and m18x.. I'm not comfortable taking the machine apart like that - back and front of the machine(have looked a couple youtube dissasemble guides). Is it as hard as it looks?

 

As far as i know M18x it's a pita to take apart, at least the video cards. R3 yes, it is really accessible

 

What do you think about the R2? Is it easy enough changing parts?

 

Yea, it's all stable, just had to under volt the cards a little, but rock solid at stock clocks. Heat is better than ever. Heat is definitely no problem at all.

 

It is not that hard, hard drives/ssd/memory/cpu fan are really accessible. To get to the cards the keyboard must be removed, not a big deal really.

to get to the cpu the magnesium cover must be removed, wich take a little of time but it is not hard at all. I can repaste my cpu in about 30 min from opening the machine up to booting once again in windows.