Under-performing M17x?

Hello, I had purchased an Alienware M17x R2 on December last year, and have been using it since.

I was initially interested in the performance of the machine and I was really surprised at the video game benchmarks, so I decided to purchase it.

However, after I had purchased it, it seemed the performance of the computer was much lower than advertised, and strangely low compared to user benchmarks.

For example, I see people running Crysis, Farcry 2, Elder Scrolls Oblivion, Fallout 3/New Vegas on maximum settings, however if I set video settings to maximum my machine will lag and the game almost becomes unplayable, running at extremely low FPS.

Should I send my machine back to Dell/Alienware for replacement, or is there something I could try and hopefully fix this performance issue?

PS: I have all the most recent drivers

 

What are your specs ?

 

Yeah this is going to require a bevy of more information. Plus, you need to check into if your video cards have the current Vbios etc...especially if you got an R2 from a private deal or off the Dell outlet.

But definately start out with the specs...

 

Alrighty then.

Running Windows 7:

Processor: Intel Core i7 Q840 (1.87GHz)
RAM: 8.00 GB
Video Cards: 2x ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800

Alright so I just looked around on my computer and I found that information.
Is there anything else I should post or is there some kind of hardware information I should copy and past here.

I purchased this off from the official DELL website, and I downloaded drivers from the M17x R2 drivers site on Dell Support, and I recently downloaded a ATI Catalyst update.

Now I know that people in this forum use those programs to benchmark, so I'll see if I can get some and compare performance more accurately.

 

You might have the "Stealth Mode" on.

Also, download this, then tell us what your specs are exactly. It's called CPUID and scans your system for every hardware.

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z/versions-history.html

 

Your machine should run all those games you mentioned on max.

One thing to look at: what are your temps like? It could be throttling because of heat. You can download GPUz and enable logging. Then play a game. When it drops in performance, try to correlate the time of the drop with the temps listed

Also download the free 3dmark Vantage and run a benchmark. I'm curious to see what your number is

 

Wow dude, if you had it in Stealth mode for a year sorry to hear that. One reason I never installed that software. I've never seen my system in stealth mode. What software controls stealth mode anyway? I have the AlienFX installed, but I think thats it. I change my system up way to much

 

OSD controls stealth mode, the far right two touch buttons, and the OSD pop ups. Rather garbage program IMO, way less issues without it. I never have the not charging issue, no sleep or brightness issues.

Here is the stealth mode indicator though. If the Alienhead is green you are in full power and if it is red you are in Stealth.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/463382-stealth-mode-indicator-9.html#post6589020

 

Ahh ok, thanks, I never install OSD. So thats probably why I never have issues never once have I seen stealth mode. hahaha. I'll still d/l and save the indicator though. Thanks.

 

lol no I don't have stealth mode on or I would have noticed it over an entire year.

Anyways, I looked at CPUID and it was the same as what I said earlier.

Also I tried to run 3dmark vantage, and on the first test I got a range of 10-60 FPS, but when it tried to run the second test my screen flickers like crazy and black lines start going up and down my screen and it never works...

Just for some more information, does anyone know how well the M17x does on Crysis at medium video settings preset? I can barely run Crysis on low. Same with Crysis 2. To make them playable I have to set them to low resolutions.

I get throttling quite a lot, but even before my FPS becomes extremely low, the performance is still very low compared to online benchmarks and what it looks like on Youtube Videos.
Also, source engine games like Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead are meant not need extremely powerful hardware, but if I run them on high settings I usually get about 30-60 FPS for a few seconds and then get extreme stuttering and throttling after about 10 seconds.

Well since it just seems my M17x has some problems I guess I'll try to get a replacement M17x :/