What's the performance like?

Hey guys,

I'm considering buying an M17x, these are the stats:
- 2820qm Processor
- ATI 6990m Graphics Card

After I get it, I will be uprading the base ram that comes with it, with the best quality 8GB of ram I can get my hands on. I will also be buying a 250gb Vertex 3 SSD to add to the beast.

I've been contemplating whether the price increase to an M18x is worth it or not. I want to be able to play the most demanding games at the highest settings with little to no lag. But the jump in price is steep. After fully customising the M17x after purchase, how well do you think it will perform, how well will it run games such as Crysis?

Cheers,
Josh

 

I can ran Crysis at max res and high settings with 4x AA and get a good 30-40 fps droppering vary rarely to 25fps.

If im honest, for future proofing purposes, a laptop with dual cards is always the way to go and i would def have the m18x over the r3.

Anyhow, this laptop is phenomenal. Lighting quick witha n SSD and can handle any current game i can throw at it with ease. I'd expect it to be able to do so for atleast the next year.

 

If you don't plan on majorly upgrading (adding a second GPU) then stick with the M17x. Sure there is "future proofing" but laptops aren't really future proof. And the sticker shock of certain GPU's for SLI/CF will give some people a heart attack. If you want to deal with upgrading your GPU later on, buy the M18x, otherwise stick with the M17x.

 

So true, but i cant help but look on at m18x owners with a slight hint of jealousy

 

The upgrade to a M18x would be worth it in my opinion. The performance is astounding. Granted, I have a M17x R2 with Dual 6970m's so it's not a "real" M18x, but performance is near identical.

A single 6990m will be 15% faster than a 6970m. A stock 6990m is probably equal to one of my OC'd 6970m's. Using only 1 of my cards, I was able to max everything at 1200p with full aa, except Metro, Crysis, Crysis 2, Dirt 2, and Dirt 3.

Metro ran at about 25-30fps.
Crysis ran at about 25-35fps.
Crysis 2 ran at 25fps dead.
Dirt 2 and 3 both ran at about 35-45fps.

Adding the second 6970m literally doubled all of those figures. Metro runs at 45-60fps, Crysis 2 runs at 45fps, Crysis runs at 50fps, Dirt 2 and 3 run well over 75fps.

If you can afford a M18x with dual 6990m's definitely go for it! The difference will be huge - especially for games coming out in the near future like Battlefield 3.

 

Thanks for the framerates, aarpcard.

Considering Alienware US has a 15% sale on the M17x, but not the M18x, ATM. The price increase is well over 1500 dollars for 20 or so frames.

Doesn't Alienware have pretty good resale value anyway?

I was considering buying the M17x, and then right before Ivy Bridge comes out, give it a sell on ebay. If I keep it in good condition, it should still have top of the market specs, plus that SSD and RAM upgrade. I think I could sell it for at least 1500.

 

You could probably get ~$1500 for it, but keep in mind, in all likelihood, ivybridge won't be released the same way as Sandybridge.

Sandybridge was a abnormality - with the laptop chips being released before the desktop chips. Chances are it will be more like the first generation i7 release with laptop chips lagging almost a year and a half behind the desktop chips in release date . . . so waiting is always a gamble.

 

The 6990m will run pretty much everything maxed - the only near future big title I think it could have trouble with is Battlefield 3. It will run that well, I predict...But I believe it will run anything currently out, plus Deus Ex, SWTOR, and Skyrim completely maxed.

When it starts to NOT run everything maxed, there are some good predictions for the next-gen GPUs and CPUs fitting. Oh, but the CPU, I think you're good to go for a LONNNNG time. These 2nd gen i-cores are phenomenal. You'll be very happy with a M17X - save the money you'd pay for the 18 for future upgrades!

 

I guess that 1000 - 1500 dollar saving could get me a pretty sweet soundsystem, and 250gb Vertex 3 SSD's in RAID 0 (If I'm insane).

aarpcard, what makes you think Ivy Bridge won't come out like Sandy Bridge? I guess if I'm too late with the sale, theres always the chance of that Alienware fanboy with too much money, who'll come and buy it

 

And the price difference is more like $800. It's still a lot of money and it's not just 20 frames - its a near doubling of your framerate. It's the difference between maxing a modern game like Crysis 2 or Metro or BF3 and having it playable or having to lower the settings.

You're planning on buying an SSD anyway. What I would suggest is not buy they SSD, and instead put that money toward an M18x with dual 6990's. Much better video cards will affect your gaming experience much more than an SSD which will only increase load times rather than actual game performance.

Just my opinion though - and if I wasn't strapped for too much cash that's what I would do. But don't think I'm downplaying the M17x R3, it's still a very comparable machine and will max mostly every game except for the ones I mentioned. The difference will be the future.

Back when the 4870m was king, a single card would have sufficed for maxing any game of it's day except for Crysis. However fast forward 1-2 years later and you're running most things on medium. With two 4870m's however, you could still max everything with a fair few exceptions even today (I had dual 4870's up until a week ago). An M18x will last you a lot heck longer because it essentially has twice the power of a M17x R3. Plus if you get lucky and the M18x can be upgraded like my M17x, you might extend the lifespan for a few years past the end of the modernity of the 6990's.

 

I'm just going off of history. Mobile P4's were released far after the release of the Desktop P4's. Same with the Core 2 Duo's (although the gap was smaller). Same with the Core 2 Quads (huge gap - nearly 3 years). Same with the first gen i7's (nearly a year and a half).

The only exception is the Sandybridge cpu's. If the next release (Ivybridge) follows the current trend, then the mobile parts will be delayed far after the deaktop launch, and you might be waiting for years.

But keep in mind it's all speculation, I can't tell you any hard facts about the Ivybridge release.

 

Crysis on the 6970m at 900p on high was a major let down for me.

Everyone said it runs great, but that is not true. It manages to pull a measly 45-30 fps...... definitely not enjoyable like that.