gtx 780m SLI in alienware 18 parallel to gtx Titan pc ?

sounds amazing/ weird at the same time... but I read on game debate forum that they compared the specs and driver potential
of the 780m SLI to a single GTX titan PC GPU ( as in both are on parallel performance). does this make sense to you ?
If so, that is one amazing ability laptops managed to achieve...

 

Yes its true, Alienware 18 owners with 780M SLI have basically a GTX Titan in their notebooks. :thumbsup:

Overkill for a notebook with only 1080p if you ask me. Pretty sure we will see higher res screen next time when the next architecture is here. If Dell is serious that is

 

For what you see in terms of game performance, they are very similar. It is quite amazing.

 

Yes. The next generation updates will no doubt have increased resolution as 1080p is, in ways, low resolution. If we think back 15 years, 1024x768 was very standard resolution for PC gaming and yet it was much higher than the average TV. 1080p is getting very common on HDTV and now phones are using that resolution as well! So, in ways, the 780m SLI is complete overkill on today's games! However, I think that they will be well served a few years down the road for the PS4/Xbox One ports that will need the extra juice to pump out 1080p. I think the horsepower will be needed. Either way, it's amazing at the power of these notebook cards in this form factor.

 

A few years ago, the resolution was actually higher than 1080p. Then they downgraded to HD (768p)... then back up to 1080p. What I can't understand is how crappletops (Macbooks) and other fancy ultrabooks have a much higher resolution than our beloved Alienwares... I was really hoping that this year would be the year Dell stepped up their game.

I own a Sony Xperia Z, and the display quality is nothing short of awesome. Pictures look that much crisper on my phone than on my AW - PPI is a bit under-rated sometimes imo. There are people who slag off retina displays and say PPI is nothing, but in the end... it does make a difference

 

Having owned both a iMac 27 and my current Alienware I have really noticed the paradox. The Mac's have super high res screens without enough GPU oomph to make use of it. Alienware's have the Oomph and well, the 1080p.
Anyway, overall I know which I prefer

 

Of course TBoneSan - there's no question of which all of us prefer, otherwise we wouldn't be here However, if there's room for improvement, why not ask for it! I'm sure Dell will hear us some day

 

Hook it into a korean 1440p monitor and overclock it to 120hz seems to be the obvious answer to me.

 

Eh, why should I use an external monitor when I paid huge money for such a system? I paid money to have the best. Can't understand how anyone can justify Dell for not giving us top-end components in our systems when other sellers have already done so for much less-powerful systems... Dell is just exploiting its monopoly in dual-GPU gaming laptops; Clevo, with their bland and absolutely boring-looking laptops, can't exactly be called real competition.

 

Not if you like to play at full eyecandy including high levels of SGSAA and/or other high quality Anti-Aliasing techniques at that resolution as they can still be quite taxing, even on two Titans in SLI.

Personally, I find the 1920x1080 resolution on the M18x-R2 screen ideal. Any higher resolution would make things too small, at least for my eyes (For example, 1920x1200 on my old M17x-R2 certainly was too high a resolution for my eyes).

That's personal preference, of course, and younger people may not have such a hard time with higher resolutions on smaller screens.

 

1080p on a 5-inch screen is perfectly fine for me - I can finally read some e-books on my phone which was not possible on 768p screens. Yes, 1080p on an 18" screen is adequate and honestly I love the in-game graphics and all that and I don't think I'd be able to settle for anything different now - but whenever I see a website being displayed on some friend's Retina display, I just say to myself - wow, that's almost like reading text on paper itself. It's that clear. As much as I hate to give Apple their due as I simply loathe that company - they do have their priorities in place when it comes to display quality.

 

I agree with this. I don't understand: if Alienware adds better screens, it will trounce its competitors in every way. Why not add a 1200p RGBLED matte screen option and be done with it? You can buy Dell's XPS and Precision models with good screens. Dell might not want Alienware to conflict with the sales of its other products, but if AW does not, Clevo and MSI will.

 

And this is exactly why dell hasn't implemented higher resolution screens yet. No laptop has the graphical power to support most games in resolutions that are close to apples retina display. Even if they did, the laptops would be outdated muchhhh sooner as games become more complex and fps drop on the higher resolution. We probably will not see alienware laptops with higher resolutions until midway through maxwells development. At this point graphics cards should be powerful enough to support it.

 

Nah, no way. There is no such thing as overkill when it comes to performance. Excess is precious and too much is never enough IMHO. The M18x/18 laptop family is most valuable for this very reason. For customers that want "good enough" there are less expensive alternatives available.

 

Two overclocked 780M should get close to a Titan. Even 680M SLI when OC'd to the max was reaching near Titan speeds.

 

From what i understood, u dont need to overclock the 780m sli to get similar gaming results as the gtx titan

 

Based on results that I am seeing posted in a number of places, stock 780M SLI doesn't feel like a meaningful performance upgrade over 680M SLI. I expect that to be a totally different story with appropriate vBIOS mods and overclocking so the GPU can be fully exploited. Stock, the Titan and 680M also do not deliver performance at a level anywhere close to what they are capable of, so that's not a reflection on 780M. It will be awesome once talented enthusiasts give it all of the tweaks it needs.

 

It seems like good progress is being made on it

 

Yes, indeed... shouldn't be much longer. Johnksss is definitely starting to make it a big dent in it with one GPU. Hopefully, it won't draw excessively more power with extreme overclocking or it might have more of a limitation with the 330W AC adapter than 680M SLI does. That could turn out to be a serious functional limitation, but I hope not.

 

I think we need to start differentiating raw performance achievements with enjoyable and stutter free gaming performance at highest settings (given that a game is well optimized that is). I like having a mobile platform that when it's modded and unleashed, through vbios and necessary tweaking, allows me to play most demanding games at ultra/very high settings smoothly. If matching Titan's (or other desktop GPUs) performance in benchmarks doesn't translate in actual smooth game experience, it is not, in my opinion, an actual improvements from former mobile GPUs generation.

 

Well, perhaps I am speaking only for myself, but I would have no use whatsoever for 780M SLI in that case because I already have enjoyable and stutter-free gaming experience with 680M SLI. Actually, I also have raw performance that shreds most "gaming desktop" systems as well with 680M SLI. The only reason I have any personal interest in 780M at this point is the hope for even more raw, overclockable, brute performance. Apart from that, I consider it an unnecessary GPU upgrade at this point in time.

 

I know where you're coming from with your views, Mr Fox. I know you chase big numbers. But if we're talking about stutter free experience at the highest settings in all demanding (and well optimized) games, I know that the 680m SLI, as well as other desktop cards, aren't able to provide a totally smooth experience at the highest settings with AA on. Of course, optimization plays a big part and we know it; however, there are games, such as the Metro series and Crysis first gen that--with AA on--are still able to cripple most powerful hardware. I know that some don't like playing with AA or motion blur. Yet, I personally like using a reasonable amount of them when the game allows it, which gives me a more enjoyable gaming experience. The 680m SLI allows enjoying most games at highest settings, but not with everything maxed out (AA and motion blur). Of course, I compromise, I tweak, I over-clock and I really have nothing to complain about my well-performing 680ms that I love. Still, I know there's still a gape between what the 680m SLI can do now and what I'd like to see, and expect, in a new GPU generation. For instance, optimization argument or not, Metro LL all maxed out plays quite well with my dual 680m. Yet, I cannot afford turning AA on, unless I want to play a laggy game. The GTX 690 can play it with AA on without a sweat. Of course we are talking about two different worlds. Nevertheless, I'd like to see more performance in that sense from a new mobile GPU generation, which for me doesn't translate only in raw power and greater results in synthetic benchmarks from the former generation.

 

Though according to benchmark tests that i saw, 780m has a 20% performance boost over the 680m. Does that not count as a raw boost of power?
And according to game-debate website, the 780m sli do have if not similar then very close performance to the gtx titan. Or r they wrong?

 

That 20% is extractable from the 680m. You need to unlock the 780m fully to go beyond it and thats happening just now. We are getting around 10k 3dmark11 scores for single card.

 

So if u do the same to the 780 that means it is still 20% more?
And 10k aint bad considering gtx titan is at 11k at stock. Not to mention the drivers for 780 are still brand new...


Edit:
You running tests with the new alienware system or custom ordered cards? 780 that is

U think that the 780m sli cant run metro LL with AA and motion blur turned on?

 

Conceptually, yes... what you are asking is true. If you do the same kind of tweaking to 780M it will be better than 680M. And, stock GPU vs stock GPU it is also better. But, a lot of folks don't care that much about stock versus stock and don't use their systems like that. In my case, I only care about what 780M SLI in its most outlandishly tweaked state can offer me over 680M SLI that has already been pushed all the way to the edge.

Once the vBIOS massaging and optimization is finished, a single heavily overclocked GTX 780M should soundly beat a 680M that has had all of the performance it can deliver extracted from it. I put almost no stock in the percentages I see tossed about on the internet by reviewers because they live in a different world and a great deal of what they put out there is simply not reliable. It is done in a rush, sometimes by people with limited skills and talent, and with stock hardware. And, that's OK for folks that are satisfied with the ordinary and don't plan to do any serious tweaking. For those looking for the extraordinary, the reviews don't offer a great deal of value.

We haven't seen any good examples of the potential of 780M SLI yet. Typically, an SLI setup is almost twice as potent and totally annihilates the performance of a single card. The question that remains to be seen is whether the same heavy tweaks that work OK in a single GPU will work well with two of them due to the power delivery limitations of the 330W AC adapter. If the additional power draw turns out to be substantial, it may not be possible to run 780M SLI "wide open" and 680M SLI might possibly have an advantage there. We may need to see an aftermarket dual AC adapter mod (which has already been accomplished for other Alienware systems) to give 780M SLI all the juice it needs. Time will tell for sure. It would be nice to be able to run 3DMark11, Vantage or Fire Strike from start to finish with the CPU clocked at 4.8GHz and both GPUs blasting away at their max overclock potential. I am skeptical that will be possible with the 330W AC adapter because it is already not possible with 680M SLI with like tweaks in place. There's simply not enough shared power to go around.

In the normal world of gaming (not heavy overclocking) a 780M SLI setup at stock clock speeds using a nice vBIOS with GPU boost disabled and some other tweaks should perform marvelously and not experience any hindrances or evidence of inadequacy using the 330W AC adapter.

 

The extra ram speed is enough to push those minimums on ultra 1080p quite a notch.

 

well , after this conversation im starting to have second thoughts regarding the machine... at first when I heard im getting GTX Titan performance in a laptop i was like "Wow , a laptop with a GTX titan, now thats a true DTR", thought alienware finally made a breakthrough regarding how much power you can put inside a laptop, but now , realising I am actualy getting two GT 660 TI in sli ( as if its a PC) sounds kinda lame to pay 4K $....
unless someone can fix my "twisted" point of view..

Edit:
so it seems that 1 GTX 780m is parallel to 1 GTX 660 ti. which 660 ti SLI is equal / a tad better in game performance than a GTX titan... according to game-debate and some youtube videos ive seen with crysis 3 running at ultra which one setup has dual 660 ti and another is a single GTX titan, and the dual GTX 660 ti seem to have better performance than the single GTX titan = 780m sli is just as good as a titan card ?

 

I think we are getting a bit away from reality here gents. It was not only 2 years ago in which people were going gaga over the 580m SLI compared to the 6970/6990 CF. 580m SLI is better than the 6990 and QUITE a bit more expensive, yet many games showed a 5-10% difference. Many people said it was worth it just for the drivers and the 5%. I think we got spoiled with the jump to 680m SLI. However a 20-30% increase is nothing to sneeze at; stock or not. It's got extra ram, more bandwidth and more shaders which will definitely help out in games in the future.

Whether or not this is a "titan" doesn't even matter at 1080p gaming. Go to any desktop forum and they would laugh if someone queried about a Titan to run on their 1080P TV. These cards are going to choke at 1080p until games come out that stress the cards enough to where running at 1080p makes sense. The real let down isn't the 780m as we ALL knew it was a kepler refresh. If anything, I think most should be pleasantly surprised that they are potentially delivering a 30% increase. The let down is Haswell

 

Finally some good news !!

 

If Haswell is a let down then I will look exactly like my avatar pic.

 

Theoretically yes. The question is that what the 780m will be actually able to deliver in a system that is power-limited (the 330W adapter, as Mr. Fox well explained). The 680m SLI is able to play most demanding games maxed out (aside from using high/very high AA) without noticeable fps drops in crowded scenes thanks to all the tweaking and modding they went through. However, reaching that goal also uses most of the power provided by the 330w adapter (those who chase numbers are in fact limited by that). In order to actually see the 780m SLI fully exploited and deliver performance in games with AA on similar to most powerful desktop cards like the Titan, and outperform 680m SLI as they are now, may require more power, which sadly is not available. Only time and future tweaks and modding will tell. I'm curious to see what will come out. As of now, I'm thoroughly enjoying my 680m SLI and the outstanding gaming performance they deliver.

I still want to distinguish performance in game and benchmark performance. Our 680m SLI with a slight overclock (+250 core +350 memory) along with a CPU overlclock is now able to play Crysis 3 at Ultra with MSAA 2X and even 4X without a sweat. The 780m SLI at stock (with boost) may be able to do that just as well and deliver great performance overall. But the question if it's as of now the cost it's worth the upgrade from a dual 680m SLI based on the notion (speculation) that 780m SLI may actually match Titan's performance in game. We have to wait and see.

 

At high resolution with AA Titan will outperform 780m sli due to having much more memory bandwidth (384 bit vs 256).

Sent from my GT-N7000

 

well the further I read random posts about people keep throwing comments on this or that, that is an "overkill", I come to realize either:

• folks cant get to utilize the full potential of the maxed out hardware due to lack of knowledge
  
• too much FPS and too much GHz has a potential in the folks health concerns, in other words - too much adrenaline
• they cant afford to max out their own system so they go bashing around how this or that is "overkill"
• folks are limited in their "brain circuit boards" with the understanding that 30-60fps is the max they can handle
• they own low spec system which drives them so well they cant imagine being the computing experience any better

Im not trying to bite there anyone, but you know how the world is - grandma's or grandpa's doesnt drive faster than 45mph on the highway just because its dangerous, its " overkill" like most folks on forum say , well when I drive - I do it like I feel I can handle the car on the road to the limits and have enjoyable ride while maintaining my own and others safety on the road ofc, and so enjoy the ride. Very same experience with powerful hardware - ain't such thing as too much, when you get some - You will always want more

 

I don't get the 'overkill' argument either. Just for gaming, I like to benchmark against the most demanding game on the market. Right now that's Crysis 3, the Metro series, and Skyrim ENB. If I have to done down AA @ 1080p to get 60fps... It ain't overkill.
Overkill might be Titan SLI powering a 1080p display.

 

Your post is overkill

 

that would be that kind of thing for 1080p screen to be the limiter of better gaming experience, but even then if you love 300FPS everywhere on 1080p, why not

had to let it out!

your avatar is alien-kill

 

Well yeah... I meant 1080p 60hz

 

is there any benchmarks of games to show that 780m sli is throttling and performing similar to 680m sli?

 

I think most people thinking the 780m is not going to be better than 680m are people with 680m. The 780m is no major jump like Maxwell will be. However it is a refresh of Kelper and it has more shaders, memory, bandwidth and is just plain faster. It's probably a slightly bigger jump from 6970 to 6990 (AMD) and that was a nice increase. I know there is a concern that people will be bottlenecked by the 330 watt psu. Let's wait and see until retail versions are put in the intended machines with quality drivers and enthusiasts who will provide the right settings, tools and fixes. It's that simple.
Will the 780m be faster than the 680m at stock? Absolutely.
Are the majority of people who own these systems enthusiasts that undervolt and bench all day? No.
Will these cards likely overclock just fine? Probably.

Most importantly, will games come out in 2013-2014 that just plain take advantage of the extra shaders and bandwidth of the 780m regardless of overclocked settings? Most likely.
Will driver updates have preference to the 780m? ABSOLUTELY. Why? Because that is what will get even enthusiasts to upgrade. When drivers are advertising "15% increase in BF4 on 700 series SLI" it does not guarantee 15% increase on 600m and 500m cards.

All early signs point to the fact that the 780m, while not revolutionary (Maxwell), are certainly an EVOLUTIONARY step forward. If you are in the market for a new system, you would benefit from buying the best technology that is out now as it is not only faster, but is likely more supported. Would you go wrong by saving a decent chunk of money and going on the AW website and ordering a "2012 notebook" as they advertise? Nope, that would be just fine as well since the 680m cards are quite capable.

 

Well thanks to Johnksss, we know that these cards overclock like absolute savage beasts. 10343 3D Marks with an Ivy Bridge XM from 1 card. G-Giddy

 

Well, I just tested Crysis 3 end game boss level and with everything maxed out including motion blur set to high and 16x AF msaa AA. average is about 32 fps for one card. If i use fxaa is't 40 to 50 fps.
Over clocked to 1070/3000 sitting on just cooler master cooling pad. Cpu at 2.1 ghz (User Error - haha)





1124/3000



Edit:
Well, I just tested Crysis 3 end game boss level and with everything maxed out including motion blur set to high and 16x AF msaa AA. average is about 42fps for one card. If i use fxaa it's 50 to 65 fps.
Over clocked to 1124/3000 sitting on just cooler master cooling pad. Cpu at 4.4 ghz. Add 15 fps to the run due to me recording. Will do a higher quality later.

 

Tbh I wouldn't be all that excited about Maxwell guys. Not even Nvidia has been. Whenever they start talking about huge performance gains it's always Volta this and Volta that.

If anything I suspect Maxwell will be a huge leap forward in efficiency. That's still a huge plus and will come with obvious performance advantages, but a dual 780 machine today will almost certainly run all games at ultra for at least the next 4-5 years until Volta is released and definitely run anything ported over from the X1 & PS4 at superior settings.

 

So this wasnt even in sli? Just 1 card running? That is very impressive!

 

well from what i see john is putting down 680 sli numbers with 1 780m.. or damn close.. so if this hold when in sli on the 780s then this should just wipe the floor with the 680s,,

 

omg whats the scores with 680m sli oced ??? gtx 780m can game stable at 1124/3000 Wow....waiting for your 780m sli oc bench johnksss....hope sli can oc to 1050 at least and game stable reps added

 

Very nice John. I guess my last post on the last page was pretty accurate. Cliffs notes: "Have faith I am sure the 780m will be a nice upgrade over the 680s...especially in future drivers and more games needing more bandwidth." I think I will be keeping my order and calling it a day

 

I think John and svl7 are as surprised about this as anyone. With a stock vBIOS, 780M performance hasn't looked very impressive based on what we have seen posted anywhere, including the "professional" reviews. At any rate, it's good to find out things will have a better outcome than anticipated. I'll take being wrong like this any day, LOL. I love being wrong when it turns out like this, ha ha! But, given we saw a similar pattern with 580M and 680M and Titan, we probably should expect this going forward. If something is going to get done right, it will be in the hands of overclockers and enthusiasts, not OEMs.

 

Two things though:

(1) Massive overclocked 780m consumes a LOT of power
(2) SLI doesn't overclock as well as a single card

SLI with 780m with a modest overclock of +100/+400 results in a 310W+ power draw. If you overvolt a bit and push the clocks you could easily exceed 400W.

 

That's actually off....
At stock with no gpu over clocking running at 850 gpu 2.0 boost will result in 300 watts, but this is on an M18x R2. About 310W with full screen brightness.