*OFFICIAL* M17xR3 Owner's Lounge Thread - Part 1

I see.
I'll try running for 30+mins then and see what happens.....right now!

btw, what's your default bclk? Mine's 99.67khz for some odd reason (shows 99.7 in software).

 

99.7 in most software, 99.8 in the bios and 1 program.

 

I am now 30+ mins into prime95, here's a screenshot
Not sure if I can reproduce what you described, Dane; I'll leave it running for another 30mins.

EDIT: Holy resized! I'll up that screenshot to imageshack and re-edit...
EDIT2:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

EDIT3:
[Feb 21 19:04] Torture Test completed 28 tests in 1 hours, 1 minutes - 0 errors, 0 warnings.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Turbo multiplier down 0.06x from the 30minute mark...and that's about all.

BTW, those 84/85C temps were from max duration of max turbo. Temps hovered around 72-74 for the rest of the tests.

 

Just realized that TS has no prime stress test... Just 1024 for 400 seconds.


Stereo. Using 8 cores on 32m. I got 12.8 seconds with TS.

EDIT:

Just ran again. 12.587. Got a 14.xxx in there too. Wonder why so variable?

 

12.674 here

edited the post in which I reply to DaneGRClose's query/request above - with further info.

EDIT: re-ran and got 12.504

 

not too shabby... not too shabby at all... anyone with a i7 2820qm? I wanna see what these new proc's are made out of

 

I'll provide numbers when I get my 6970
...because I'm adding at 2820QM to my order when the open tomorrow AM haha. Prices aren't bad: $550 Canadian - and I can probably work them down on that. I should have just went all out with the CPU build when I ordered from Dell.

 

Think you might see a better overall/noticeable pop with an SSD 256gb for that coin...

 

I already have an ssd. The frequency jump will help with cpu render times @ max 2011

Did my taxes today and realized that I'm getting ~$6000 back, so I don't mind blowing <10% on a new CPU.

 

your gpu won't affect the score at all... its a cpu based test.

 

You missed the point of the post.
now have: 2630
Getting: 2820

...on the same day that I am getting my 6970


EDIT: Sig added per request/suggestion

 

ohh didn't realize you were the same guy who pasted the score above! my bad bro...

You should create a signature so its easier for everyone to keep track of your specs

Anyways the 2820 + 6970 = BEAST ..Congratz!

 

I think I missed something Kunekaden, where are you getting your 6790 from?

 

What score did your rig get?

 

Sorry if this is off topic, but does the m17x r3 have an expresscard slot? I was considering getting one, but I would want to consider using a vidock with it whenever I'm at home. If the expresscard slot doesn't exist, is there any way to get a diy vidock to work? And would you even see a performance increase with the vidock?

 

Nope, no expresscard slot.

 

And also not much performance to be had via vidock as anything you modded to work would end up being weaker than the internal MXM card due to the PCIe x1 bandwidth bottleneck of the vidock solution

 

Well, i was going to post the screenshot of my last score, which was just over 7secs... untill i decided to give it one more go... and i managed to get this one just now and beat it

27x * 133mhz = 3.591 Ghz accross all 8 threads ... anything higher i bsod

 

Just a heads up.. dell is selling the new XPS laptops with sandy bridge processors currently.. I think we can expect our Alienwares back up for sale soon! I've been waiting since the day the processors got recalled.

 

Not too shabby.

 

I've been getting antsy waiting for the r3 to come back up for order, so i decided to buy an extra 8 gigs of ram for it to tide me over.
I noticed at least one person here is running 12 gigs, does having mismatched memory hurt your performance at all?

 

It will force you to run single channel memory instead of dual channel interleaved

 

I see. In that case I may just use the 8 gigs i ordered and ditch the original 4. Guess i'll find out when I can finally order the darn thing.

 

nope...scook, not many people know and are aware of this... but just recently, i think with the HM55 and PM55 and later mobo's ... let's say you have a 4gb stick and a 6gb stick... you will be running 8 gigs dual channel...and the remaining 2gb on the 6gb stick as a reserve "single channel"... i forgot what intel calls this again... i remember looking it up back in the day when i had 6gb ram (4gbx1 and 2gbx1) ... let me find it for you... cpu-z will show it as dual channel and so will the bios


EDIT: That's it it's called flex mode!

 

Hmmm, had not heard that before. Good for Intel if that is indeed what is going on

 

Desktop Boards &mdash; Single, dual, triple and flex memory modes

that list is for desktop boards though...

 

Try running a few appropriate benchmarks before and after you add the new RAM to see if there is any difference. I cannot imaging you would see any perceptible difference.

 

There's pretty much no perceivable difference other then when creating large, long renders between my RAM at;
1333mhz cas9 dual channel, 12gb 1333mhz cas9 flex,
1333mhz cas7 dual, 1333mhz cas7 flex,
1600mhz cas9 dual, and 1600mhz cas9 flex

 

i once read even the difference between single and dual channel is about MAX MAX 15% performance increase... and not double like one would imagine

 

Running benches with my 12gb(2x4gb+2x2gb) -vs- 8gb(2x4gb) there was no difference, I think the maximum pt difference I got in 3DMark06 was roughly 10-20 points which isn't anything I'm worried about as it may not even be the ram.

 

yea... ram latencies and timings and speed and channels and just ram in general... is so overrated

It's not like back in the day with P2's and P3's... where a 32mb ram stick vs a 128mb ram stick would boost performance so much lolllll...ahhh the good ol days when 1gb stick were only "enthusiast" level and super expensive and rare

 

Even the benchmark runs with the XMP 1600 only netted roughly a 100 point increase so I'm not too worried about it even in benches, let alone in daily normal usage.

 

Although this article tests desktop configs, the principle applies.
Exploring the impact of memory speed on Core i7 performance - The Tech Report - Page 1

I found ^ informative

 

What are some benchmarks that would be good to run to test memory performance? I'm totally new to this kind of stuff.
And i'm not planning on benchmarking constantly. It'll be more for games, so a tiny difference isn't too important to me.

 

Then stick with whatever is least expensivet. In my opinion, you won't see any difference in gaming.

 

If you're not going to be doing any heavy benching you won't benefit much from any more than a quality matched set of 1333 RAM.

 

Well, i'll just stick with a full 12 gigs when I order then.
70 dollars for 8 gigs of 1333mhz ram was just too good to pass up.

 

That's what I'm running, may go to the Hyper X but only due to a lot of benchmarking

 

I have a problem. Im not sure if it has to do with the new Intel IGP or something. Everytime I use youtube it freezes and I have to close my browser (google chrome). To fix this I have to use some other flash application and disable hardware acceleration.

This isn't really an issue, just an inconvenience. Is this a problem with the drivers or something? Or is it just my browser or flash?

 

I have the R3 with the 120hz screen. I have seen a couple people say we should have vertical sync enabled to benefit from the 120hz screen, making it more smooth etc. I was under the impression it was not needed with a 120hz screen (but im obviously unsure).

Should I be enabling Vertical sync and triple buffering in games?

Thanks in advance.

 

There is a very good explanation of Vsync and Triple buffering on Tomshardware.com. It may help you better understand things.

 

This may be changing the topic a little bit, but I've found an issue with the "rubberized finish" on the chassis of the M17x R3. After just a couple of weeks of light use, I've noticed that the finish has started flaking off the front strip of the computer as well as on the side near the back by the hinges. It's slight, but I'm worried the area will grow. I carry the laptop in a large satchel when traveling (it fits quite well, not tight at all), and always handle the laptop with care when carrying it.

 

Actually, I have the 6870 and the system runs completely normally without the GPU installed.

 

Some Asus G73 owners experienced the same problem. There's probably not much you can do about this apart from getting one of those Zagg type of protectors like they have for the M11x.

 

Since the r3 is now available for purchase again, I thought it time to check up on the 2 6970m contacts I have on the go.

One of them was just reading the email (aloud) saying it'll be in stock for them next Monday - retail, not ES - ...then continued on about getting 6990 engineering samples same day.

I wonder if that would run in an r3! haha

 

Just ordered this:

System Color Alienware M17x, Soft Touch Stealth Black
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 2820QM 2.3GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (4DIMMS)
A/C Adapter Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
Display Panel 17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
Video Card 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6970M
Hard Drive 320GB 7,200RPM HDD will replace it with my 256GB Vertex 2 until I get my hand on a Vertex 3.
Nameplate Personalized Plate (Joebarchuck)
Optical Drives Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Sound Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
Wireless Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology
Automatic Updates Automatic Updates: On
Service 3 Year Advanced Service Plan

 

I have said this many times. My Latitude Z which uses the same finish has flaked off within weeks of use. I warned the M11X users of this and most have experienced the flaking and of course it is happening on the M17X R3. It's no big deal in a way for me as that's part of the usage of a product just like your car get's fine scratches you see in the sun soon after its first car wash but I will miss the Aluminum build of the M17X R1 and R2.

 

The big question now is going to be: Who will get the first R3 with 6970M on this forum... LOL


Mine says "Delivery by March 27th"

 

There's already someone running an mxm-upgrade 6970M engineering sample

 

Doesn't count...