Safe to go with 7970m?

hi,

I'm planning to purchase a m17x r4 and I'm considering what gpu should I choose.

Is the 7970m stable? I have read on the sager forum that the 7970m and np9170 dont really fit well together (many games fail to utilize the gpu fully resulting in low fps). However on the alienware forum I don't really see much complains. In fact I find people with good fps when playing bf3 on high settings.

Does this mean that the 7970m has less issues / more compatible with the alienware m17x?

Looking forward to all your help. Thanks!

 

I believe AMD will be addressing the GPU utilizing in the next driver update. I use the card in my R3.

 

I currently own an R3 with a 6990m and an M18x-R2 with dual 7970's. I would strongly recommend the 680m if you can afford it. Hassle free performance, driver updates and overall ease of use make it well worthwhile. AMD is notorious for sub-par driver implementation and, at times, problematic driver update procedures.

 

Yes it is completely safe and worth the buy. As long as it is the 7970M GPU alone. If it's crossfire, well, then that's another story..

 

I cannot afford the 680m. Is a few hundred more. So definitely out of my budget.

So in other words I wouldn't be experiencing those problems that sager uses are going through?

Is this due the the fact that the alienware requires you to restart each time you switch your gpu?

 

With enough patience you can get the AMD cards to perform well, it's the hassle and lack of company concern that prevents me from recommending them to anyone. I don't know what issues the SAGER users are experiencing so I can't help you there, sorry.

 

You can completely turn off the HD4000. So the laptop will be solely running on the 7970M. Because the Clevo system do not have this, they have to suffer from poor Enduro execution .

 

I'm with Slim. I could afford a 7970m right now, but there are too many compatibility bugs for me to ignore. I'm just gonna keep saving for the 680m. This from a man who swore off Nvidia several years ago...

 

So the main source of complain is due to the inability to properly switch gpu. In that case the 7970m should have no problems on the alienware. Am I right to say so?

But its a few hundred more for only a few % more in performance (based on benchmark score). I can't justify the extra dollars needed for the 680m.

 

I wouldn't look at it from a pure performance standpoint but rather from a time investment standpoint. It may take you much longer to get that 7970 up to the level where the performance is only a couple of % points below the 680m..........and the first time you have to pull the card and clear your CMOS because an AMD driver update failed, or when you get multiple BSOD's because an AMD driver update failed, you'll probably start thinking the extra $$$ was money well spent.

 

Well put. For me, its more about stability than performance. Like I've preached to others before. The 680m is touted to be as solid (stable) as a rock. May not get you the best performance, but it is far less likely to fail you than other cards. The 7970m is more like a drag racer. When it works, it's unbeatable. When it fails, it fails spectacularly (if you've ever seen a funny car blow up, you'll know what I mean). That distinction is what I look at. Yeah, the Nvidia card is way more pricey and not as great with the benchmarks. But knowing it is going to work when I install it without having to install modded drivers, modify BIOS settings, or perform ancient Indian rain dances just to get it to boot is well worth the increase in price. I also don't want to have to sacrifice HDMI/DP functionality AND fan control just to get a higher benchmark score. But that's just me

 

In my experience, it works perfectly fine. Even overclocking it to 950MHz core and 1550Mhz memory my temperatures are below 70. I recommend it, but like what everyone else has said; the drivers can be an issue (though I have not experienced any myself)

You also need to be aware that you will tend to see threads/posts about issues rather than how good something is. There's likely to be a higher proportion of satisfied to unsatisfied users; it's just the satisfied ones discuss less about it.

 

I am happy with my 7970 choice. I admit, I was worried when I ordered it about horror stories with utilization issues. So far, I haven't had any of them - I run with Enduro off at all times, though. With the latest driver I have been running Enduro on, with no issues. If a game is running slow, it's because the drivers haven't selected the correct GPU to use, which is an easy fix. Once you choose to use the discrete over the integrated it's no longer an issue. I've only ran into this once with War of the Roses, which just came out Tuesday for preorders.

There is an issue in Borderlands 2, but that isn't exclusive to the 7970m.

 

Yes sir you are right.

 

Thanks for the feedbacks in telling me this works. Hardly anyone ever praise the 7970m. Seeing it works for some I think I going towards this option.

Also thanks to those who recommended the 680m. For now the price is the major block. So I will have to give it a miss since I plan to buy it soon.

 

Just to add my 2 cents, I haven't had any issues at all with my 7970 other than the enduro problems where the gpu seems to get throttled down or choked on bandwidth. With the function F7 though that problem goes away. From what I understand, the m17x has hardware mux that allows it to communicate directly with the 7970m when you switch it like that.

With that said, there's no way I would spend the extra money so far, but other people are much more aware of possible problems than I am.

 

Haha the reason I went with 7970M because I got a deal on it. So it was no brain for me to go with 680M. Besides, if you just leave your AW on the table, then disable the integrated graphics card and you won't have to worry about the Enduro issue. The reason why Enduro exists is to conserve power after all.

 

I got the 7970m and I am very pleased with it. Games run very well with Enduro disabled (discrete only) and even with Enduro on they still run acceptable. The beta driver is the first of many unified driver sets where AMD is finally decoupling the Intel drivers from the AMD drivers and making it so you can update them independently. It is also the first driver where they finally support Enduro directly. I tested the download off the website and it installed fine with Enduro on where as on 12.8 it refused until I disabled Enduro or got the full offline from another post on this forum (at which point it was installable with Enduro on). Diablo 3 showed an FPS dip in gameplay (same spot tested) with Enduro on vs off however benchmarks showed nearly identical readings. Utilization wasn't an issue per the overlay from MSI Afterburner as it was running at 95%+ either way so I'm not sure why the dip but it may be due to the way Enduro handles things at the moment. There are supposed to be performance optimizations come in Oct or Dec depending. The 12.9 CAP 1 lists having Enduro profiles which also solifies their official support finally. Stability has never been an issue for me. The only game giving me performance issues of any kind is Borderlands 2 and that's because I opted to enable the CPU bound PhysX option.

Basically what I can do now once 12.9 comes out completely (I rolled back the beta) is run with Enduro on most of the time but if I am at an event or at a friends house I can disable Enduro and go full throttle with it which is nice. Windows indicated the laptop should be able to run over 3 and a half hours on battery with Enduro enabled.

P.S. - I hope when 12.9 comes out Dell updates the drivers on their website too...

 

Why do you need to on Enduro when you can choose which gpu you wanna use by fn+f7 and restart the com?

 

That's true but Enduro being active may allow me to run on battery longer. That's yet to be seen but I want to see them improve it for others so having it active will allow me to test it properly. I'm just waiting on more proper drivers.

P.S. - Initial estimates provided in windows is 3 hr 40 min with Enduro active vs 3 hr with Enduro inactive. The effect may be more or less severe depending.

P.S.S. - With my SSD that I got now it does make the reboot time minimal but I don't want to have to reboot if I have a bunch of applications open.

 

I went with the 680M because I wanted 3D. Simple choice, since there are no alternatives.

But, if I didn't, I would have likely gone with the 7970M for the cost savings.

 

I've had both and I would say the following:

7970 - Drivers initially a little confusing (graphic switching, and which order to instal AMD vs onboard) ...once setup though, the card worked like a charm; fast, and solid performance (amazing "bang for your buck"). While this is true now, who knows what the future driver support will be like.

680m - Flawless driver installation; runs a little cooler; Great screen compatibility (including 120hz 3D).

 

Actually, I prefer running with Enduro on now. I don't have to set up different profiles in Afterburner with Enduro on. It automatically switches to the IGP.

 

Wait...3 hours !!! I could get a heavily optimized pro-battery saver profile on the r3 with the 6990M, ssd and hdd and get 5 hours plus.....

 

Well that was a Windows estimate (battery icon). Actual time may vary. It might be longer or shorter but I've never tried.

 

Something else to take into consideration is game developers and how well (or poorly) they work with AMD and NVIDIA.

Take The Secret World MMO for example, throughout beta it had issues with AMD Crossfire and the issues and performance with AMD cards in general were worse than NVIDIA cards. This might have had something to do with the "NVIDIA: The way it's mean to be played" tag that splashes across the game's opening sequence which infers that the developers worked more closely with them rather than equally.

There's not much point in having the best hardware if drivers are rubbish or developers don't actively work with the manufacturers - which means your gaming experience suffers. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on game and specific graphics card.

I have an M17X R2 with AMD 5870 in crossfire. It has served me relatively well and at some point I'll probably upgrade it to a single 7970 - however my next Alienware revision down the track I'll more than likely look to NVIDIA cards. At the end of the day, I don't think there is a "best" solution -

 

Dang you just reminded me of how I have to play Borderlands 2 with PhysX low because PhysX only supported on Nvidia cards. But it is just similar to how AMD cards have Eyefinity, although Eyefinity is not particularly supported in certain games.

But still, for people who want to get the best bangs for bucks, I think 7970M is still a better choice. 680M right now is just too expensive for such small improvements. Unless you strictly need Nvidia due to certain programs' requirement. Otherwise, I would suggest to go with 7970M.

 

I agree that the Nvidia cards are way too pricey. If the 7970m cards didn't have the HDMI/DP audio issues with the R2, I would buy it tomorrow.

PS: I wonder if the higher priced Nvidia cards are inflated because they are 3D certified?

 

7970 owner here- and I have to say I am loving this card. I also run with enduro off almost all the time- it does run a little shorter on battery but mostly I have it plugged in.

If I had a 3d screen (external) I would prefer the 680, but as it is, no major complaints on the 7970.

 

I play BL2 with high PhysX and have no issues. You have something else going on.

 

Did you edit the WillowEngine.ini? Because by default, my PhysX is gray out. I heard people need to edit the .ini file to enable PhysX on AMD cards.

 

You shouldn't need to. Just install the nVidia PhysX system software and it should just work.

 

Yeah. I can change PhysX to High now. Thanks a lot !!!