*OFFICIAL* Alienware M18xR1/R2/18 Benchmark Thread - Part 3

Here is a new AS SSD - 13th place on HWBOT.org so not too shabby.



Wouldn't you know it, but just the other day OCZ released updated firmware for the Agility 3. Although they are nowhere even remotely close to the same performance as the Neutrons, after flashing the new firmware and doing a secure erase they work perfectly again, LOL.

Here is how both of them benched out connected to the eSATA (3.0GB/s) port. So, yeah... these will be good hand-me-down upgrades for another one of my machines still shackled with spinning platters.

 

Idea Storm

 

Nice figures, Bro. Regarding the FW for the Agility's - sod's law isn't it?.......it's like waiting for a bus....none arrive, an then suddenly, two or three turn up all at once.....

At least they will be utilised in another platform and should perform very nicely for you, too. Gotta be happy with that outcome!!

 

Hello,
so after nvidia officially release the driver for 780M, i thought now would be a good time to start benchmark for Alienware 18.

Here is my spec:
i7 4800qm
SLI 780m
Bluray reader Combo
32GB DDR3 1600MHz
Plextor M5M PX-128M5M 128GB mSATA III SSD
2x1TB HDD RAID 0
Killer WiFi
And all other goodies

I am not a pro, so all the hardware is in normal mode no overclocking. for now only i did 3D Mark 2013 benchmark. if anyone have any question please ask. And also if anyone wants to see other benchmarks and overclocking benchmark, then ill try my best to do that.:thumbsup:

 

Very nice indeed! Best of luck with your new 18 What did you spill some ink on your lid? Just kidding

 

That's a beast of a machine, looks so great! However, it seems that there those scores could be better. There is an ocean of untapped potential sitting on your desk. I'm sure with some ample overlclocking of the GPUs, you should be able to hit 8.5 ~ 9K in Firestrike no problem.

 

/cough

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...e-m18xr1-r2-18-benchmark-thread-part-3-a.html

 

I guess this thread could be merged with the benchmark one we already have, as Hybrys remind us. However, I just think he was very excited to share about is new beast he didn't think he created a redundant thread. It's an easy fix for any moderator.

@trikolpona: nice rig man. I hope you only set the notebook on your bed for picture purposes? Because it's sitting right on the blanket. That's an easy way to choke the fans and fry your GPUs.

 

Always good to see another AW 18 owner.

 

Thanks guys. I really appreciate your comments.
@rafix that was the only time i put the laptop to my bed.:thumbsup:
I am going to open the hole thing today and repaste it with ICDiamond or Arctic Silver 5. Personally i am fan of Arctic silver 5, i saw in long term it perform better. but not sure if i should use ICDiamond this time. Any idea? I got both
And also i need help with overclocking the beast, Any guide will be appreciated.

By the way i think i opened this as new article, how come it ended up with this one!! I am new here so feel free to make any fun of me!

 

Trikolpona, welcome.
I've found IC Diamond to work measurably better than AS5. They are both about as durable as the other. I found that the AS5 200 hour cure time is a load of Bull too - temps certainly didn't get better for me. So my vote is for IC Diamond.

Oh and don't worry about being new. We are a friendly bunch

 

THANKS. i just finished repasting the GPUs and CPU with IC Diamond. And also run a full 3d Mark 2013 Benchmark to see if it makes any difference.
Here are the results:
I put both of them, in case anyone wants to compare.

NOW its time for overclocking!! :thumbsup:
If anyone have any suggestions please let me know. I am not very good with overclocking.

 

the best one is noctua NT-H1

 

anyone tried the new 1.35v 1866mhz sodimm ram yet? able to oc them high providing higher voltage? 32gb at 1866 ain't bat with cl10, wouldnt mind at all going for 2133 at cl11 or 12 at 1.5v lol

 

First Firestrike run since its release. I think ill try and become familiar with benching with this now.

Anyway 8469 points off the bat.


Let's see if I can squeeze some more

 

Nice run TBone! What were your Cpu&Gpu clocks?

 

Cheers! GPU was at 940/1375 and CPU only at 4.1
I'm having trouble with Firestrike quiting out during the physics using more than 4.1Ghz

Just did an extreme run of 4437 at the same settings

 

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3940XM,Alienware M18xR2 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3940XM,Alienware M18xR2

 

I purchased the new 3DMark Advanced edition. I am not sure how to run the fire strike test. Do I go to the "test" tab and choose "demo" and the "extreme" check box's? Should I go to the custom tab and run the "default" or "extreme" test? I tried the fire strike "custom" tab "extreme" test but the monitor resolution is set to 2560X1440. I changed it to my M18 native resolution of 1920X1080. After the test it wouldn't give an overall score because I had changed one of the parameters. Am I supposed to leave the resolution at 2560X1440 even though this does not match my resolution?

 

If you change any defaults it will invalidate the score. Just go to the "Tests" tab, uncheck "include demo" (waste of time) then click on the orange "Run Fire Strike" button. Since your display is only 1920x1080 it will scale down on its own without invalidating the result. The "Extreme" option is a separate benchmark test, so you will get a different score from each. You can run the regular test and the extreme version.

 

Thanks Mr. Fox. I will perform both Fire Strike tests, Extreme and regular. I don't know a lot about how to tweak my new M18 but I will run the tests and report my scores in a bit. I did run a test with the Future Mark 3D11 set to Extreme level. My M18 scored 4927 out of the box.

Which version do you personally prefer? The new 3DMark Advanced with the fire strike test, or the 3DMark 11?

 

I like both and use both.

 

Fire Strike in Extreme mode, scored 3804. Its a start.

 

14905 in FFXIV - Trying to break 15000 is a proving to be a challenge with team red

 

7.9's across the board and 4.9Ghz....not too shabby there, Bro....

 

Here is a 680M SLI run of FFXIV at stock GPU clock speeds and 2133 memory @ CAS 11...



...with 680M SLI overclocked to 1045 Core / 1150 Memory and 2133 @ CAS 11 OC



...and 1072 / 1150 with system memory at 2133 @ stock CAS 12 timings



... and, last but not least, a FFXIV benchmark at 1170 Core / 1150 memory and 2133 @ CAS 11



It seems the tighter memory timings make a very small improvement in the benchmark results, but really nothing to get too excited about.

 

how and when did games turned into benchmark software lol what happened to playing the game i dont see anyone using lemmings to bench on their alienware.

anyway nice one Mr. Fox 7.9 score at 4.9ghz thats pretty crazy. i couldnt even run at 4.7ghz under load very long it'll just throttle and downclock even with cooling pad. i even modded my heatsink and made copper thicker and it only helped a tiny bit, how do you keep yours cool at 4.9?

edit: also to run at 4.9ghz you really need 2133mhz memory right? from what i know high clocked CPU will somehow adjust memory themselves to run accordingly at the speed they need it.

 

A cooling pad is not going to be of any significant benefit for overclocking. All a cooling pad really does is push a little bit of extra air at the bottom cover of the laptop. That air is basically the same temperature as what the internal fans are drawing in without any help. You can accomplish essentially the same thing, or maybe even a little more, by elevating the back of the laptop and forcing the internal fans to run full blast. A cooling pad is fine as a passive cooling aid and helps a little bit under normal to moderate use scenarios by improving air circulation and pushing some of the warmed up air under the laptop out of the way. For that kind of crazy overclocking you need very cold AC cooling or you will experience overheating and thermal throttling. I do have 2133 memory, but I don't know why that would be necessary.

 

That's insane. I have a feeling I'm limited by the QS part of my XM chip. I can only (lol) really manage 4.4ghz. I've been pondering getting a OEM but it's not like I need it although they are quite cheap now.
What I'm wondering is if Dell are going to come good on the new AW bios. If they aren't I think the Ivy XM's may be keepers, even if a 59xx MX comes out. I'm due for an upgrade next year but I'm not liking the idea of moving into a locked down AW so the R2 may live on.

 

im already waiting on broadwell and next gen gpu lol. die shrink on both gpu/cpu will yield better oc due to lower temp and gpu will just have more config cores.

@mr fox, have you tried OC any of the 1866 mhz ram to 2133? or is it not possible to oc ram on AW machines?

 

AMD Radeon HD 7970M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor,Alienware M18xR2

Only an increase of 50 but still my best score yet

 

I flashed my 1866 RAM to 2133 with Thaiphoon Burner. I never tried it by simply using the BIOS but if I remember correctly Zero989 had done this. I am using the BIOS to change the timings on my modded 2133 RAM.

Yes, having a QS could definitely be a limitation. A QS XM CPU is still better than any non-XM CPU, but they often perform slightly below the OEM processors. I think the M18xR2 is definitely going to be a keeper. The only trouble about the M18x long-term for me is I have extended my warranty as far out into the future as possible and that ends in August 2014. Without any possibility of extending the warranty on my M18x it will be tougher to justify fixing it if something major goes wrong.

I have faith Alienware is going to be coming through with fixes for the new 18. But let's face it, based on the direction things are moving with the UEFI roadmap, it's potentially only a matter of time before extreme performance laptops become a thing of the past. While I am confident that they will fix the 18, what about the next generation? I suspect it will be more severely locked down and crippled than anything we have ever seen in our lives. Microsoft is hell bent on destroying computer world and laptops are the products most affected by their idiocy. As long as big companies like Dell, HP and Acer care about "partnership" and having "Microsoft Certification" they will allow Microsoft to dictate what they need to do.

If the off-brands like Clevo go against the flow and refuse to bend to Microsoft's will, they will become the only option for us, and we will certainly be grateful for their resistance. Chance of that are slim because too many stupid consumers have swallowed hook, line and sinker that new is better even when it is not. If the little guys like Clevo buckle and take the path of least resistance like the big guys, then everything available for sale will be a crippled pile of manure. Of course, there is always the possibility and the inspiration of hope that hacks will be developed that are successful to circumvent UEFI Secure Boot and Secure Flash controls. Awesomeness may not involve the use of a Microsoft OS because it certainly looks like they are not really interested in being awesome any more. Apart from that, the future may be pretty grim for high performance laptops.

With die shrinks will come more compromises. We will hear all the marketing hype and hoopla... this talk about "more efficient" blah, blah, blah... but how much of it will be a bunch of smoke and mirrors? A CPU or GPU that won't overclock as well and has trouble with overheating because it is too small to effectively manage the heat has a pretty good chance of being less than awesome. Being more efficient at a lower clock speed is all fine and dandy, and being faster clock-for-clock is fancy... but I say, show me the overclock limit and lets see how hot it gets. Then let's define what it means to be awesome... it means stronger, faster, more powerful... not necessarily "efficient" unless that is tossed in as a free bonus. Unfortunately, consumers are making this way too easy. Far too many people are satisfied with thin and light feces as long as it runs a long time on the battery, allows them to play footsies in real-time with their sissy little Facebook friends, has a slimy touch screen and plays java-based browser adware games at 30 FPS. Anyone up for an Angry Birds deathmatch?

 

Gentlemen, please forgive me for straying a little from the absolute intent of the thread. My complete and total experience/knowledge of benchmarking is....well, I can turn the laptop on.....to me, the knowledge here is enthralling and engaging....but some of the terms and processes are so...so, Alien.....and the visions that are created in my mind (warped as it is).....well, maybe I have watched too many sci-fi movies.....

flashing my ram........

 

Thaiphoon Burner provides powerful capabilities for reading, modifying, updating and reprogramming SPD firmware of SPD EEPROM devices.

"Flashing RAM"... When I think about it, it still sounds intimidating and it still causes me to shrink up in places where shrinkage is undesirable. In reality, it's all perception and intimidating only due to my lack of experience. Technically, it's no different than modding a vBIOS or sBIOS in practical application. But, it's still not something that should be done in a haphazard manner and it carries some degree of risk for screwing up your memory modules. On the bright side, they are easy to replace and not that expensive if they get ruined by experimenting. As far as I know, there is no risk of messing up other components.

 

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Genuine Intel(R) CPU 0 @ 2.40GHz,Alienware M18xR1

Not a shabby driver this latest Nvidia BF4 beta driver.

Cheers.

 

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3940XM,Alienware M18xR2

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7244929

I should keep this BEAST huh?

 

Man amazing bench scores once again. Yeh its sure going to be sad to see it go.

Cheers.

 

Here is a rather modest 4.3GHz CPU overclock run of wPrime 32M and 1024M for new 18 owners to shoot for. This is with stock cooling, stock 3-pipe CPU heat sink with stock TIM. Note the temps. This is with the fans running at 100%, but otherwise nothing fancy... just sitting on my U3.

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For comparison, here is a wPrime 32M run at 4.7GHz

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And, for the sake of comparison on the Alienware 18, a wPrime 32M run at 4.6GHz... nice score, but look at the Haswell temps in comparison.

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Disclosure: the 4.7GHz and 4.6GHz runs on the M18xR2 and 18, respectively, are with AC cooling. You won't see temps like that on air at those clock speeds.

 

Nice runs there, fella. That Haswell does get toasty, doesn't it?.......does the 4930mx crap out if you push it further than 4.6Ghz?

 

Other than the stock BIOS not allowing proper power settings to be established, Haswell runs hotter than Sandy or Ivy and that is a challenge. The warmer operating temperature is compounded by the fact that we cannot use HWiNFO64 as a temporary workaround while we are waiting for the fan tables to be fixed. If you can give it the right amount of power and if you can keep it cool, a good 4930MX will overclock nicely. Everything revolves around an "if" scenario. It's just a bigger "if" scenario with Haswell.

 

View attachment 102687
when I have 4 of this in my alienware thats when i win. 1tb of ram, just enough

 

If you try to use HWiNFO64 to overcome the issues with the stock fan profile, it shuts off the GPU fans almost instantly and they start overheating, even without any GPU load. Here is a comparison to help put things into perspective. This example also shows what happens with the CPU fan forced to 100% using HWiNFO64 (note that GPU fans are basically "dead" because of it). This benchmark comparison is run at only 4.3GHz, so it is by no means an extreme scenario.

Alienware M18xR2 "Avenger" - 3920XM - wPrime 32M click to enlarge in new window​

Alienware 18 "Viking" - 4930XM - wPrime 32M click to enlarge in new window​

We can rely on the fact that our friends at Alienware saw the new review on the 18 by Notebookcheck. We know they want their customers to be happy and definitely want their products to work correctly... sort of a no-brainer they would want these things. Any business would want that. After seeing that Notebookcheck review on the heels of a similar review by Anandtech, I am more confident than ever that they are going to fix this so the 18 can remain a wildly successful product. I just hope they send out new review units to Notebookcheck and Anandtech after they fix the fans and BIOS settings so they can amend their reviews to report on the fantastic success. If they do so, I believe the 18 will stand out as a stellar performer surrounded by mediocre machines, and I would then expect the demand for a new 18 with 4930MX and 780M SLI will increase beyond anything we have seen since the launch. Otherwise, those negative reviews stand to put a real kink in the works.

 

by the time a fix comes, it'll likely be end of the year, may as well go for broadwell. i may as well go for that, with good bios and lowered temp, i can expect a 4.5ghz without even a bit of throttling.

 

When you are using HWinFo, is there 1 particular CPU temp sensor to watch for?....I see a multitude of CPU temps, and I understand about the current, average and max temps......I am not certain of the most important to watch.....core max, core pkg, ACPI, Compal....

thanx in advance...

 

The only ones I pay attention to are individual core temps, core max and package. Those are from the CPU DTS sensor. The others I view as unnecessary. I enabled the extra sensors in the screen shots to reflect the fan behavior. Those are usually disabled and hidden so they don't waste space in my HWiNFO64 sensor table.

 

Haha, and I thought I was happy with a GPU score of 6700! Looks like I need to upgrade a little if I want close to 20,000 GPU score!

Yes, that's an insane result, better than 97% of all tested results in 3dMark11 it says!

 

RAM disk FTW!!

 

Thanx, Mr. Fox. HWinFO64 has got as many sensors going as my wyfe does when I come home late....

 

Ok folks, as I type this I'm feeding my m18x mothership some bios/vbios art-work's and will see what I can dice out there along the leader boards some time soon here