Not satisfied with GTX 660M

I wouldn't be satisfied either, especially coming from a GTX 580M.

 

I can't even do any proper 3D gaming. At least your GTX 580M on some games it can render 3D smoothly. I can't get any smooth frame rates in DoTA 2. wth.

 

If u went from 580 to 660 u clearly did not do youre homework before buying
Hit yourself on the head and learn the lesson!

 

lol. this is my first AW. i got a 660m for it(assuming it was enough for DoTA 2 to be maxed) and unfortunately super dissapointed. it would take a miracle to reach 40 fps. always below 35. So my question now is, since i just this laptop yesterday, is there a hope that dell would allow me to upgrade to a GTX 675M?

 

Only way is send it back and reorder with better card.

 

I would think the 660m can handle dota2 maxed. Isn't that a rather non-graphics intensive game? Maybe it's poorly optimized, or there's one setting in particular that the 660m just can't handle.

Run a 3dmark to double check that your system is running as it should. My 650m can run Diablo3 maxed like it's nothing, so I have a feeling something's up with your machine or some setings at least.

And not to be mean, but I really don't understand why people buy these machines and don't have the foresight to just get the upgraded video. Isn't the 7970m a lot cheaper than the 675m?

 

Yes its cheaper and faster..

 

For new/demanding games the 650M/660M are not really sufficient for 1080p gaming...

 

Dota 2's requirements are pretty low, it's modified Source engine. You'd be more CPU bound I think than hitting a GPU bottleneck.

 

haha. thanks for all the replies. I have no choice but to stick with nvidia since I want the 120hz screen. It may be the dumbest decision for some people but I really like the smoothness and the 3D is amazing (if the graphics were smooth :/). I didn't get the GTX 675M because it was Fermi.(assuming it would be enough to max DoTA2). And I had no idea it would suck that bad. I'm not expecting games like Metro or Skyrim to be in ultra. I just want to play DoTA 2 maxed. If GTX 560M can, why can't GTX 660M.

is 3820QM not enough? haha. btw, how hot can a GPU get at most? Mine can't go more than 63C.

 

Oh wait, 660M should max it if a 560M can :/ Something isn't right D:

 

Whitelisted the game? Not running it on the onboard gpu?

 

i know right. sigh.. so dissapointed. i feel like demanding an upgrade to GTX 675M.

 

can you do a 3d mark vantage or 11 run or something to make sure your system is running as it should? My 460m played that game at over 60fps stock(If I remember right), so im sure the 660m shouldn't have any issues with it, even in 3d.

 

Yes, please actually take our advice and do the things we say instead of ignoring it. I really think there's just something wrong such as a setting or driver update. Run 3dMark and get back to us with your score.

 

yeah.. will do. how much difference is it anyway in performance between a GTX 560M and a GTX 660M, if I may ask?

 

umm as I have just read, the 660m is faster, So I think there is a problem and its not the card itself that is just under-powered.


Edit: If you can run 3dmark vantage I have found an asus g75 benchmark run with the 660m. Look at the graphics score and see how it compares to yours.

Asus vantage g75 run Graphics score = 10032

 

maybe the card itself is just not up to my expectation. Anyway, here's the link Generic VGA video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3820QM Processor,Alienware M17xR4 score: P10449 3DMarks. and here's a link for the GTX 560M http://3dmark.com/3dmv/4094505;jsessionid=fd48i4u5a7n21g281pvlkcjop

 

Well, seems the card runs as it should. I suspect the problem is that dota is running on the intel GPU.

 

since he has the 3d screen I don't think that's the issue. What drivers are you running? Maybe thats part of the problem.

 

The drivers haven't matured if everyone hasn't seen that yet.


On NotebookCheck.net, they show the GTX 570M having a 3DMark Vantage GPU score of 9,900. Whereas, nowadays, it gets arond 11,200 and matches a 6970M in most scenarios.

The problem lies with the immature drivers that are running the GPU. Trust me. The 660M will draw close to the 580M once drivers mature more. But in all honesty, this anger is ENTIRELY user-induced. You didn't do your homework and you based off your thoughts just because "you figured it would be faster". No one to blame but yourself for that one I'm afraid.

I'd just send it back in if you can. Also, if you had the 580M, why did you try to upgrade? That thing is crazy fast as is. A 580M is like having a GTX 460 in your laptop and plenty for most 1080p games. My 6970M rocks this 1200p screen like it's nothing and YOU had problems with a more powerful GPU? looolwuuuuuuut?

 

Even though a card can run a game at max in 2d doesn't mean it's going to max it out in 3d.
I would not count on the 660m ever matching the 580m (675m) either. It's just not going to happen.

If I were you, I would return the machine and get the 675m (ouch on price/performance) or wait for the 680m.

 

Um. Ok. Who ordered it with low specs? Making a demand on what basis? User error is not covered under the warranty.

 

I cant agree with this and other similar posts more. It takes 30 seconds to go to Google and type: "nvidia 660m notebookcheck". Then another 60 seconds of reading to learn all you need to know about it. Heck, you could even just do a simple quick scan of the list on the right side of the page and see the 30+ cards that are better then the 660m without even reading anything about the card itself.

If its in the return period, send it back...if its not...beg for a return. But I wouldnt have high hopes if I was you...

 

@Megatony73 - From your post, it appears you actually do agree, but I was not connecting the dots because I missed the word "more" at the end of your first sentence. I was puzzled why you would disagree based on the comments that followed. I agree that more research would have been appropriate. Begging for mercy for a bad purchase decision or returning the machine within the eligible return period are way different than demanding that Alienware pay for your mistakes. So, I'm glad we're in agreement on those points, LOL.

Outside of the return period, there is no right to anything whatsoever. It was an honest purchasing mistake, but that creates no obligation for Dell/Alienware to act or respond, except for honoring a timely request to return the product. There is no right of recourse for a purchase made in ignorance. The buyer received exactly what was ordered. I would encourage communication to see if they will help. Once they hear why a return is requested, they are probably going to offer to help even if they don't have to. They can exchange the GPU for less money than they will lose on a system return. If asked nicely, they might do it. It's better for the buyer also, to avoid having to pay restocking fees for a return based on nothing more than buyer's remorse.

 

Just so everyone knows, I didn't start this thread. I was just replying to the title.

I was just stating that if I were to switch to the 660m, I would have been disappointed because I would have came from a 580m.

 

yeah. perhaps i should wait for the gtx 680m and spend an enormous amount of money to get it lol

 

Lol, I have the 660m and every game I play it max's 60FPS. I play LoL(very high), Dota 2(all settings on to the max), WoW(ultra), D3(high), DiRT3(max), Skyrim(play on Ultra), Mw3(max), Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood(max). Never have had any problems yet. My FPS rarely dips and usually stays above 100 with VSync off. I did have an issue with FPS when I first got the laptop but I reformatted and has been perfect thus far.

 

so if a GTX 560M can run DoTA 2 at a smooth fps, why cant a gtx 660M? I'm not even interested about high demand games like metro or skyrim to be in ultra. i just want to play DoTA 2

What FPS do you get on DoTA2?

nono.. i'm not asking them to pay for my mistakes. I wanna ask if they would let me upgrade.

can you be so kind to do a 3DMark vantage benchmark and post the results? haha your post gave me hope. :S

 

Have you tried re-installing your graphics card drivers?

 

i've just tried Skyrim again with settings in High except shadow details in Medium. i'm getting 22-28 fps ONLY?! fffffffffffffff

yes. i'm on version 296.39. i reformatted and having still same problem. there are no drivers currently on nvidia's website and dell's website. The funny thing is after exiting a game, the laptop will stutter. You can actually see the lag in the windows animation while minimizing and maximizing.

 

OK, I just took your "demand an upgrade" comment too seriously I suppose. I know your situation has to be very frustrating. All these number schemes and naming conventions can be misleading without adequate research. One might assume the GTX 660M and 675M are both a lot better than GTX 580M based on the name alone. Unfortunately, that's not the case with the former being less and the latter being the equivalent.

AMD 7970M owners are having driver problems as well, especially so on the M18x with CrossFire.

 

Is the 660m a good value for price/performance? Or is the 650m better?

 

notebookckeck says gtx 660m is only 10% faster than gt 650m

 

Dam. I just bought an asus g75 w/ the 660m. Any updates from the OP on performance?

 

i don't think asus will have problems with the gtx 660m since yours can overclock. Mine cannot even overclock hoping it's a driver fault and can be fixed with an update

 

Silly question here, but those that aren't able to OC, are you running off of battery power? I know I was having issues OCing my 580m, but then realized I had my system unplugged.

 

Cmon people.. university western ontario, network engineer here. I was checking up 660m benchmarks to see where my card rated and was interested in the fellows problem. Go to bios and disable intel gpu, problem SOLVED. Nvidia does not have any drivers for 660m. I had to update my drivers via ASUS website. I have asus g75. I max starcraft 2 1080p and never dip below 55 FPS EVER, not while fighting intense battles either and I am in diamond league so I get the screen clustered quickly. I only really play sc2 but I did a few hours of skyrim, high res text, ultra settings in 1080p resolution I NEVER dip below 50 FPS, EVER. +135mhz gpu clock. I also ran bf3 multiplayer in 1080p all medium settings, dx11 of course. I never dip below 50 again. The 660m is good if you have chose wisely and bought a good cooling laptop like the g75. Why would you need anymore power? I also have a desktop with a 560 ti, I don't use it much now because I'm always using my asus for programming and hauling off to friends and to work. 660m is a wise choice. The benchmarks of 680m are hardly worth the $500 increase or for that matter the 7970m. If you want to game INTENSE then purchase a desktop dude. a 680m or 7970 wont max 3d 1080p high end games like metro or crysis 2 any how. If you think otherwise you are misinformed and lack knowledge of hardware. But, by all means, if you don't mind wasting money on a 8 fps increase, 15 max for a 680m or 7970m by all means, do so. hope this helps some, I probably will never post here again as I don't post frequently on any forums. Good luck to OP, it is a simple fix your problem and I can't believe no one has mentioned to just go into bios and turn off intel gpu. This is what bios was made for.

 

since you have an asus, you wouldnt know how an alienware with 3d is setup. its already been said once, but ill say it again. the 120hz 3d screen on an alienware uses a different connector on the motherboard to completely bypass the intel gpu. it can only run off the descreet card. running off integrated is simply not possible and that is not what the problem is.

 

Um, my 7970M maxes Crysis 2 no problem. No OC needed either. It's very much worth spending the extra $150-$250 (don't remember what it is) to upgrade to a 7970M. Maybe not worth upgrading to the 680M, but if someone wants it, that's their choice. A 660M might be ok right now, but give it a few months, then you'll really start to feel your GPU lacking. My 7970M will last me a good while, probably the next 2 years, before I choose to upgrade.

 

First of all I did not say a 7970m could not max crysis 2 now did I. I said it could not max crysis 2 in 1080p with 3D with high res text and dx 11. I work for google, I have friends with 7970m, hell dual 680m's. I'm not some high schooler or college level jackass. 2nd of all; he is getting unplayable fps in games when he shouldn't be while NOT using 3D. 3rd of all, you can completely shut down the i7's integrated hd 4000 via bios, hence, problem solved.

Bye bye. Hope this helps OP, bios can be frustrating so read up on your bios vers via alienware website and play around in it without saving. It really would not be difficult, if i had the laptop I could do it in a second. On a 4th note, I hardly game, I play sc2 and I program. If i wanted to game hardcore I would buy a geforce 680 and get triple monitor set ups going. I clear over 4700 every 2 weeks after taxes. Jokes, I don't dwell on games and waste my life. I was not bashing any one. I gave this guy a perfect solution to help him, you can not even read my paragraph and comprehend it fully, no way shape or form did i talk about 3d and neither did OP. /end

 

Not sure why it isn't more popular, but futuremark has by far the best GPU comparison list out there.

Best Graphics Cards August - 2012

With it you can see a stock 660m is a LOT slower than a stock 675m, an overclocked 675m is going to be about twice as fast as a stock 660m (OCed 675m is roughly 4400 graphics). A stock 680m is going to be maybe around 3 times faster than a 660m, and a overclocked 680m might end up something like 4 times faster (8000 gpu score 680m versus 2000 660m).

To do 3D well at all you need the fastest card possible. 3D cuts the frame rate in half, you have to run at 120 fps normal to get 60 fps 3D, 60 fps normal is about the minimum to have playable 3D. Even with a 675m there are plenty of games that I play that sometimes drop below 60 into the 45 fps range. In 3D mode that would be in the 20's.

 

Don't you guys just love when someone gets all butt hurt and has to go on a tirade to make himself/herself feel good about themselves. Honestly, what does your income have to do with anything about this discussion?

I misread what you wrote. I don't have 3D, but I still max out Crysis 2 with high res text, DX11, and @ 1080p. Just saying.

On a side note, since you work for Google, once I get out of the Air Force, can I use you as a reference?

 

Woah guys Google employee here. Please tell us just how good your web search skills are to educate yourself before posting here....oh wait...

 

No time to "waste your life" on games.

Arguing on the internet? Best use of time ever!

 

Ha ha, let him go, guys.

 

Alright kat bit of what us Brits call banter. Anyways the GTX 660m is not by any means slow but it just isn't the high end card. I reckon people chose it over the GTX 675m was because it was a genuine Kepler and not a rebrand of old tech.

 

I just replaced my M17r3 system (GTX 560m) to an R4 (GTX 675m). I was all set to buy a 680m system but it seems Dell has a recent shortage and was only offering the 675m; to say the least I was disappointed I couldn't get a 680m. I've been hearing the 675m has been handling 3D gaming over 680m for whatever reason that is (at least that's what Dell tech says).

Can anyone enlighten me as to why the 675m would be a better 3D option over a 680m? If the 675m doesn't meet my exceptions with 3D in 1080, are their any safe options for overclocking, or should i just wait for newer drivers.