Ordered my M18x with the 2630 qm..

Did i make a mistake by not going with the 2720 qm? /sigh

 

Not at all, games are gpu intensive, the cpu doesn't really matter. Only games like GTAIV which are badly ported require a very strong quad core cpu, a requirement you have since the 2630qm is a very strong cpu.

 

I guess I don't feel too too bad then... i did order the computer with dual 6990 CF cards... is the difference between the 2630 and 2720 that negligible?

 

That's not a mistake is smart because you can get a 2920XM from ebay for $300 and overclock to 4GHZ or you can wait until the 2960XM start showing up on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Intel-i7-29...GHz-/270786612376?pt=CPUs&hash=item3f0c23cc98

 

knowing my luck i'd mess something up replacing a cpu..

:O

 

how do you overclock the laptop, through the bios? if so i assume it is a simple setting? and, if you do overclock does the cpu fan run at full speed all the time?

i had a bad experience with an asus g72 laptop. it included an on-the-fly overclocking feature but when you used it it put the cpu fan full speed at all times and was annoying.

 

It's as simple as going into Advanced/Performance Options Menu/OC Feature Enabled/Level 1-3 OC Level 3 in bios.

 

you have the system. how is the fan profile when you do this?

 

The fans come on automatically but as I'm typing this right now my fans aren't even on. When you get into intense CAD and Gaming then the fans will kick into gear. Even after 5 minutes of furmark I was at 83° C on both gpus. Even with the 2920xm on OC level 3, it will still downclock down to 719mhz until you launch a game or program that requires extensive use of the cpu. That means that your m18x will be as cool as it would be without overclocking until you actually use it for cpu intensive tasks. Cooling is almost a non issue for the m18x. After 5 hours of intense gaming it might get a bit hot but the fans do their job well.

 

Hmm. Good price but it's an engineering sample? It's not a real 2920xm?

 

It's a real 2920 but ES chips are sent out by intel to OEM's/testers. Some have broken/buggy features, some have been treated badly by the user for testing and others can have unlocked or extra features.

I wouldn't touch touch an ES personally.

 

Question. How many m18x users are buying the laptop strictly for... say, dataset generation on MATLAB over playing Crysis 2/Battlefield 3/Skyrim at 1080p?

 

I think few only because at first no developer likes the glossy finish on the screen and if they want a workstation they just buy a precision m6600

 

For proper business use forget alienware. Latitudes and precisions or you get funny looks.

I do however use my nvidia m18x for work use (to be returned amd model before I got it), mainly becuase we have to provide our own machines. That said, it allows me to run a virtual server, 4 virtual clients on a virtual network for demo use. I can do a live presentation and demo, head to a coffee bar to catch up on the daily events for as long as I want and then switch over to the dgpu for some gaming if I'm in the mood once I get home.

Unbelievable. Before the m18x I had to compromise somewhere. Now, I really don't have to.

 

So for strictly gaming I wont see much difference with a 2720?

 

No, not really. I only bought the 2720QM cause I wanted to delay ripping the unit apart until just before my warranty expires. I want to put in a 2920XM eventually with a custom 4 pipe heatsink from Fortnax

 

You will see a difference if you play a game that causes you to hit the cpu speed bottleneck before you hit the gpu bottleneck. The faster your gpu's, the faster you hit the cpu bottleneck. The reason the 2720 is recommended is becuase the turbo bins it has are much higher, 8/8/10/11 vs the 6/6/8/9 of the 2630 + the increased stock clock.

In a cpu limited game that could make quite a difference. If you've hit your gpu processing limit, it won't make an ounce of change however. There is no defined answer.

 

Hmmm.. I suppose i can hire a competent installer to come and put in a 2920xm, and put arctic silver on the Gpus as well..

 

Hmmm.. I suppose i can hire a competent installer to come and put in a 2920xm, and put arctic silver on the Gpus as well..

 

Lol. Competent installer. Is that an oxy-moron?

 

Can you name me games that show this problem? I was planning on getting the 2720 myself but if 2630 saves me more cash then i'll go with it.