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    What's a good upgrade for the 2630QM?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by TheSandman2236, Nov 7, 2011.

  1. TheSandman2236

    TheSandman2236 Notebook Consultant

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    I'm looking to 'future' proof things a bit -- I usually run 2 VM's for browser testing so I've got 12GB's of RAM and now I'm upgrading to a 6970m. What do you guys think would be a decent upgrade for under $350?
     
    TheSandman2236, Nov 7, 2011
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  2. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    The best you can do is get a 2920xm/2960xm and overcock...but that will cost more than $350

    There is a core i7 2760 in the nbr marketplace that is asking $300 i believe...that will provide a nice boost over the 2630

    There is also a 2820 for sale for $270
     
    SlickDude80, Nov 7, 2011
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  3. TheSandman2236

    TheSandman2236 Notebook Consultant

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    oh cool -- where'd you find the 2820?
     
    TheSandman2236, Nov 7, 2011
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  4. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    that would be mine lol...pm me if you're interested
     
    SlickDude80, Nov 7, 2011
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  5. TheSandman2236

    TheSandman2236 Notebook Consultant

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    har har! Will do :)
     
    TheSandman2236, Nov 7, 2011
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  6. MegaTherion

    MegaTherion Notebook Consultant

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    Any of the 8MB Smart Cache chips would be a nice upgrade. I opt'd for the 2860QM because I couldn't afford the premium attached with the XM chips. Now seeing that you can get ES versions of the chips out there for sale, I almost wish I would have went with minimum spec CPU and upgraded to one of those~
     
    MegaTherion, Nov 7, 2011
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  7. Morgor

    Morgor Notebook Geek

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    I'll take the 2760 if you can't find a 2820 or a 2860.
    If I'm not wrong the 2860 is supposed to be superior to the 2920xm at stock speed.
    I have actually a 2820 which work really really well, just want to upgrade to a 2920 or 2860 for benchies :p
     
    Morgor, Nov 8, 2011
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  8. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    you want at least the 2920xm if you're an overclocker...the difference between the 2820 and 2860 is very small.

    The 2860 is superior at stock speeds plus they stay in turbo better because of lower temps and tdp...but i can force my 2820 to stay up in turbo with XTU so that's something you can also do and get better benching numbers
     
    SlickDude80, Nov 8, 2011
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  9. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    ya...but how would you have known this??

    I was this close to buying the 2720qm with my laptop...but in the end, i went with the stock 2630qm because i wanted to keep my laptop expenses within a reasonable limit

    Then i discovered ES/QS chips...and my budget just went out the window lol
     
    SlickDude80, Nov 8, 2011
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  10. Kevin

    Kevin Egregious

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    Because ES chips have shown up with every single mobile CPU generation.
     
    Kevin, Nov 8, 2011
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  11. Morgor

    Morgor Notebook Geek

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    Yep of course I'll prefer an XM, I saw one at shirley's cpu (2920xm) but with a tdp of 45, is that normal (ES version). Must give a try to XTu, didn't try it.
    What's your TDP setting on XTU ?
     
    Morgor, Nov 9, 2011
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  12. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    i set max turbo tdp to 58. The cpu only uses about 52-53 and I get advertised turbo speeds that last indefinitely
     
    SlickDude80, Nov 9, 2011
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  13. JimboJet

    JimboJet Notebook Guru

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    No extra heat doing this?
     
    JimboJet, Nov 9, 2011
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  14. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    my temps went up 7-8c...but still under 80c so i'm fine with it
     
    SlickDude80, Nov 9, 2011
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