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

I just checked with the guy again. He/She said not to worry they are 780m's. I agree they do seem to good to be true (also thank you for informing me about the CUDA cores fellas - I was worried for a little), but like Mr Fox said good deals can happen and they should be priced around that much anyway instead of pushing 1 grand. I've nabbed a few good deals on eBay recently just watching like a hawk and being patient.

I'm in Japan so it pays to ask about shipping. There are still 3 left BTW

 

Awesome find and pickup Bro!!! Welcome to the 780M Club oles!!! :thumbsup:

Cheers.

 

Yes, there are definitely deals out there. When I bought my OEM 3920XM is was about $300 below what everyone else on eBay was selling them for. It made me a little antsy, but it worked out to be a huge blessing with that kind of discount.

 

How can you get to work two GTX 780M with 122W TPD in a M18X-R2? A 330W PSU is enough for that?

 

Yup, absolutely. 330W is more than enough until you start over-volting the GPU and taking core clock beyond 1GHz and then you need a dual adapter 330W adapter mod like mine. For all of the gamers, 330W is all they need.

 

what people do is they order a bunch, say around 50-100g worth of cpu and got maybe 40-50% discount, and then selling them slowly, or in batch to other people on ebay.

 

kinda need a favor from someone who owns a new AW 18, just how is usb 3.0 compared to R2?

 

slc in raid 0 in R2 under server 2012
edit: 8k stripe block size

 

hey there Mr. Fox.

I just got my M18 and wondering if these numbers seems ok to you?

i7 4800mq and SLi GTX780m

Unigine Valley stock score :

FPS:
60.8
Score:
2546
Min FPS:
25.5
Max FPS:
114.6

and with 100mhz OC on both core and memory i get this score:

FPS:
64.3
Score:
2692
Min FPS:
27.4
Max FPS:
123.0

CPU is stock on both.

 

Howdy, MrValle! Congrats on the new beast. I would say that is pretty close to where it should be, but not sure what Valley preset you are using. I bet you're really liking that new machine.

Are you running a stock vBIOS or an svl7/johnksss mod?

Look here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...enchmark-thread-part-2-a-438.html#post9264311

Here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...enchmark-thread-part-2-a-476.html#post9318643

Here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...enchmark-thread-part-2-a-488.html#post9342027

Here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...enchmark-thread-part-2-a-489.html#post9342366

 

I am running svl7/johnksss vbios.

That 100mhz OC on both core and mem only gave so little extra score on valley. Im gonna try something else, is fire strike a good bench?

 

Yes, 3DMark11 and Fire Strike are both good.

Before you run something else, check your NVIDIA Control Panel and make sure Valley is set to use "Alternate frame rendering 2" as the SLI mode. If it is set to "NVIDIA Recommended" change it, click save and see if the score improves.

 

I got 2511 points now with those settings. It seems my cards croak if i OC more than 100mhz on both core and mem. Is this normal? (drivers crash)

I am very satisfied with the computer by the way. Only thing i dont like about it is that the chassis is made of cheap plastic, i thought it would be like my M18x R1 that is metal.

 

Nah, it only has a plastic exterior trim. I was also really disappointed when I saw that until I discovered that it is rock solid with an alloy chassis under that plastic fascia. Take off the bottom cover and have a look. It's totally impressive... built like a brick house.

Might be your drivers. I am using 331.40 beta on both of my SLI beasts and it is awesome. Might want to give that a try. You should be able to run between 975Mhz and 1GHz on core clock speed with stock voltage.

 

ah yeah, forgot about driver version. I am using latest beta driver.

Playing entropia universe i get up to about 83c degrees on GPU 1, GPU 2 is idle temps so its not used in that game. but is this temp acceptable? or should i buy some good paste and pads?

 

No, those temps are OK. Replacing paste and pads probably will not help. The Dell pads and TIM are excellent and I already tried that. The temps are a bit higher than they should be (not harmful) but that is because the BIOS needs to have the fan profiles fixed. The fans do not run at their capacity and they take way too long to kick in. My 780M cards run about 10-12°C cooler in the M18xR2 than they do in the 18 and it is all because of the fan profiles.

 

Just slapped two of the new Toshiba Q Pro 256gb SSD's in RAID 0 and reloaded. Here are the results after a fresh install. Looks pretty good.

 

Here's a Vantage run with a mild CPU and GPU overclock... fans only, single AC adapter, nothing too fancy

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3920XM Processor Extreme Edition,Alienware M18xR2

 

@pathfindercod why not turn on write back cache? in raid 0 u'll see your 4k random write sky rocket

 

New '11 personal best: 13,885. Yes it doesn't break any records but it was also attained with moderate voltage both CPU and GPU (1.025V, Flex Voltage: 10) what could be considered an everyday OC that doesn't require an air-conditioner for cooling. I was trying to gauge the performance in relation to the AW 18 i7-4930 + 780M SLI and could only find this article listing both GPU and overall scores for both '11 and Vantage:

Review Alienware 18 Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

AW 18 i7-4930 + 780M SLI
'11: 11,960 Overall
Vantage: 36k Overall

Granted, the AW 18's performance is hampered by CPU throttling, hope to see better if/when UEFI Secure Flash is ever cured.

Settings:

45,45,44,43 Flex VID: 10

+250 core/+500 memory @ 1.025V.

Nvidia Driver 327.23

Cooling: Elevated, Manual Fan Control: 4200 RPM, IC Diamond. Ambient temperature: ~60F, temp min/max: see attached image.

 

Here's an AW 18 3DMark11 you can use to measure against...

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4930MX,Alienware 01W2J2

 

Very nice! That has to be the highest bench I have seen and a considerable improvement over baseline, especially with UEFI Secure Flash.

Looking forward to some benches from your 780M SLI R2 with a dual PSU set-up!

 

I am curious as to how the desktop variants of 780 perform, both single and SLI, factory clocks and overclocked, can anyone furnish some data? Really looking forward to the next generation of Nvidia hardware.

 

I already posted some with the dual PSU. I have not done any extreme overclocking on AC with 780M yet. Look back a page or two and you will find some really awesome benchmarks without AC on the R2 with 780M SLI.

I am less enthusiastic about benching the new 18 until the BIOS and fan tables are fixed because it is under-performing (as evident in the above benchmark result... should be over 16K like the R2).

 

An overclocked GTX 780 should match and possibly beating the 780M in SLI, but it all depends on the overclocking, and the cooling. In terms of FPS in games, strictly GPU performance, the GTX 780 in SLI is far ahead in terms of performance, if tweaked properly it could potentially double the performance of the 780M SLI.

The 780M is GK104, and with 1536 CUDA cores, is basically binned version of what used to be GTX 680. The GTX 780 is the huge GK110, with 2304 CUDA cores (2688 in Titan). The 780M has 3.5 bil transistors, with a 294mm^2 die size, while the GTX Titan has 7.1 bil transistors, with a 551mm^2 die size. The GTX 780 has some CUDA cores and texture units disabled, so the total number of transistors that are actually in use is less than 7.1 bil, but I guess the transistors are still there, they just have the routing cut away.

All of the info could be found on the internet, I was just rephrasing them.

The immense performance and the ability to stay quiet is why I really want to build a watercooled desktop with GTX 780 SLI. Having a maximum load temp of less than 50C, compared to 85C on an Alienware, that's something. Some people even put up to 1.4V onto the GPU core, and reaching almost 1.4GHz on core clock. If Dell is still sucking along and not fix the BIOS (been almost 4 months since the launch in July), I will most likely go back to desktop.

As of now my AW is bricked due to some RAM issues, and sadly unlike the M18x R2, there's no simple way to reset the BIOS on the AW 18. Seems like the BIOS is stored in some non volatile flash. Taking the CMOS batt out doesn't work, shorting the CMOS jumper directly on the mobo doesn't work either. Again, I warn people to not mess with the RAM settings in the AW 18 until a proper BIOS fix is released. Not just with the CPU issue, we have the fan table issue, and now the RAM issue. That's 3 problems, all related to the BIOS.

 

Here are some new scores for the leader board... a couple of them might be new record setting runs...

Futuremark Benchmarks​

3DMark11: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M SLI card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3920XM Processor Extreme Edition,Alienware M18xR2 - P17029 3DMarks	Vantage: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3920XM Processor Extreme Edition,Alienware M18xR2 - P48159 3Marks
Fire Strike: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3920XM Processor Extreme Edition,Alienware M18xR2 - 10554 3Marks	Fire Strike Extreme: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3920XM Processor Extreme Edition,Alienware M18xR2 - 5572 3Marks

Unigine Benchmarks

Valley 1.0 Extreme HD Preset	Heaven 4.0 Extreme Preset

Miscellaneous Benchmarks

Final Fantasy XIV

Catzilla - 9874

 

Freaking insane... Wow. Breaking world records here? No more! You're making me regret my purchase!

Hungry, anyone?...

 

Good info, 50 C under load is very impressive. I am also looking forward to building a liquid cooled desktop but am waiting to get a better handle on what my finances will look like over the course of the next year, right now I am still unemployed so I can't get reckless. The good thing is that if things turn around within a year's time the next generation of Nvidia hardware will be out which will give me the option of going that route or possibly picking up a pre-owned desktop equipped as I'd like it with 780 SLI with significant savings. Even the cost of new 780 cards will go down once the next generation is out.

Many would say that 780+ SLI is overkill, and yes with 1920x1080 it is, but again if things improve I am also going 2560x1440 when that technology becomes more affordable.

Any desktop 780 GTX single and SLI benches overclocked?

Too bad the AW 18 has so many issues and isn't evolutionary in design (same resolution, no water cooling, significantly larger chassis but same screen dimensions, same PSU wattage, draconian cyber-nanny control, marginal increase in GPU and CPU performance).

 

I'm just finishing up a new desktop build with sli evga 780 classified cards. What kind of benches you want?

 

Run the same as what I just posted this evening. I would like to see how it compares to those benches.

 

Are the Classified watercooled? Or air cooled?

 

Damn that's pretty impressive, about 10k higher GPU Vantage than where I'm at. Too bad 780M is still so expensive, I think they are still going for $700 apiece on ebay? Going this route would ultimately be less expensive than doing a desktop build, especially when the price for 780M drops down to the $500 range. I already have a spare PSU, so I could probably figure out the dual PSU set-up. My main concern is heat, what voltage and what kinda heat for the benches? And would this be using the air-conditioner set-up for cooling? My main hesitation with going 780M, aside from the expense, is that I could only really expect a marginal improvement in performance with clocks and voltage that don't require an air-conditioner, say 50-52k GPU Vantage. Too me that's not that much of an improvement from where I am at now with a relatively pedestrian overclock, voltage and resultant heat without an air-conditioner cooling system: 47k GPU.

For these reasons, I will probably just spend another $2k or so and build a liquid cooled 780 GTX SLI or 880 GTX SLI desktop.

Nevertheless impressive for a laptop, congratulations, this has to be some kind of record. You beat Johnkss?

 

Someone posted a link on Ebay for the GTX 780M a few days ago. They were going for $500+ last I checked, but it seems that all of them has been sold.

 

Yes, Brother TBoneSan snagged 2 of the 5. Would have been a good opportunity for Brother vulcan, too. More deals should follow soon. I saw where someone grabbed an OEM Ivy Bridge XM the other day for like $500.

 

Bargains ahoy. I also snagged an used OEM 3920xm for $350 - will sell off my QS later. Yeah someone also snagged a brand new 3940xm OEM for $500.
Those 780m were difficult to find in the eBay listings, I expect that's why they didn't all sell. I offered $1100 for 2 with shipping and X-brackets included. It will be a pretty economical upgrade that won't hurt the bank balance too much once I sell off my 7970m's.

 

Wow! $350 is a great deal... better than paying $500 for a 3940XM. You really scored on that one. So, for about $1,500 you're going to have a machine than spanks the snot out of a $5,000 maxed out 18 and outperforms many (maybe even most) "high performance" gaming desktops with lesser CPU and GPU configurations. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the compliment. Only the 3DMark11 and Vantage runs are #1, but probably not for long. And, that's not my goal... Brother Johnksss is my sensei. I've got a long way to go before I know half of what he does. I snatched the pebble from his hand this time only because he blinked.

I am not sure of the ranking on Valley, Heaven and FFXIV. Those are mostly for fun... it's the Futuremark results that I care about the most.

 

They are air cooled acx right now. I wanted to test and use the system on air first and wanted to make sure I got cards with Samsung memory. I am ordering backplates as they are suppose to be in stock today and water blocks then calling frozen cpu to order the rest of my water stuff. It'll be a couple weeks atleast before I move it over to water. Ill bench them on air tonight when i get home. I need a baseline anyway.

 

How do these scores look? I liked the Toshibas enough I moved them to my 14 in raid 0. I added 3 x 256gb 840 Pro SSd's in the 18. Scores look pretty good. Ive moved the 2 512gb from my 18 with my other two 512's to bring my desktop up to 4 x 512gb raid 0.

 

That looks beastly. I'm curious, do you notice measurably faster boot times?

 

One could use the script in the below link to get a restart time, or one could dig deep into event viewer (not sure which one now) to find out the restart time. Or you could just use a stop watch, but in comparing SSD the internal timer might be more accurate. Also any external HDD that's connected to the system will slow down boot time slightly, so unplug them. Not sure about internal HDD.

Restart Time - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

Alienware 18 wPrime 32M @ 4.6GHz

 

Very nice, close to sub 5 seconds

 

According to the event viewer this is what it logged:

Just under 2 seconds. Thats about right. The very second i see the Windows 7 splash screen it goes away and Im at the desktop.

 

Got my system back from Dell today. New motherboard, video cards, heat sink. I must say all is well now. Wish they gave a more detailed explanation of the problems found but I'm running fine on the latest Beta drivers. Thanks for listening.

 

Alienware M18xR2 wPrime 32M and XTU Benchmark (3920XM XTU world record on HWBOT)

 

my eyes just melted out of their sockets like I just opened the ark.... what beautiful scores .... ::eyes turns into liquid marshmallows::

 

Brother Fox, do you know which is the most recent version of XTU that will play ball with Ivy XM ?

 

I am using the most current (4.2.0.8) with Ivy and Haswell.

 

Ahh cool thanks, I didn't realize the newer versions work fine with Ivy :thumbsup:

 

Here is a 968 XTU Benchmark with the 4930MX