Alienware i5 real world CPU bottlenecking?

Clearly the i5 ULV is not a great CPU but in real world how bad is it really? I plan on playing wow on ultra, Civ 5, icewind dale, running visual studio, sql server, and netflix. Am I going to have problems with the i5 doing any of that? I figured the ULV would at least give me a quiet fan. I can get the 1080p with 256gb SSD for 1300, which doesn't seem to bad. Similar prices get me about the same graphics but with a better processor. (Asus, Sager, etc) Thoughts?

 

It is funny how people assume this low voltage dual-core i5 is going to bottle neck...everyone is saying the or asking the same thing..need to do *research* or wait and see that is will not be a problem in any case. You WILL get what it seems to be not true. I am planning to get the 13 cant wait...will be the both of best world model and extreme easy power for any setting and screens(single 4k unlike refresh)

 

Will it bottleneck the new 13" AW laptop?
In most cases probably not. It may with 13 inch QHD (2560 x 1440) IPS-Panel if you try to game on high/ultra settings.
Will it bottleneck the docking station with a desktop GPU?
Oh yeah.
I get that it will compatible with all future AW models but the way they are marketing it and releasing it as sort of an accessory for this model is just a waste of money.

 

waithing For Black Friday to order!

 

There's no discount for it on Black Friday, according to the leak pages of Dell's Black Friday.
Maybe Cyber Monday?

 

Depending on the game, it may not bottleneck the 860M, but it will bottleneck any desktop GPU they offer with the Amplifier.

 

Yeah I have no interest in the graphics adapter. I think its a cool idea, but I have a gaming desktop already. I have it narrowed down to the alienware 13 or the new Sager NP8651. Just have to figure out which one is quieter and will meet my needs.

 

You shouldn't worry about those apps and games. They'll not be bottlenecked by the processor.

 

Maybe worry about WoW, MMOs are very CPU intensive in raids/PvP

 

Anyone in the market for a 13" notebook should not be expecting to play games at settings that a 17" or 18" notebook can. Therefore, any "bottleneck" with the ULV processors should be of no concern. If you purchase this notebook expecting to render videos, play games on the highest settings, or have an EyeFinity setup*, you're either uninformed or have unrealistic expectations. A person expecting to do those things should be purchasing an Alienware 17 with a 970M/980M or Alienware 18 with 970M/980M SLI.

*The eGPU "Graphics Amplifier" may allow you to play on higher settings, but the dual-core ULV processor will definitely bottleneck any desktop GPU they offer. It may also put extreme stress on your CPU causing it to overheat, as it will be trying to keep up with the GPU, ultimately leading to throttling which is essentially another bottleneck. An i3/i5/i7 dual-core ULV processor is not designed for hardcore gamers.

 

For me, the AW 13 in its current state seems really good for light mobile gaming with the 860M or light usage (video, web, mail), but it looks like a very bad compromise for any other usage that depends on actual processing power.
Putting a powerful GPU (like a GTX 970) in the graphics amplifier doesn't make sense with such a CPU. Well, considering its price, the graphics amplifier doesn't make much sense at all and is really an overpriced docking station.

Also, what annoys me is there ARE 13 inch laptops that are more powerful CPU-wise, thinner, and with same or better battery life for the same price.
I wish we could have more control/flexibility over power consumption in notebooks, for example, limiting CPU frequency/active cores when using the GPU or on battery, and get full CPU performance otherwise. This is what modern ARM SoC do in the most powerful smartphones and tablets, CPU and GPU can never be used at full power at the same time because it would cause heat/battery issues.

Latests MMOs made with modern 3d engines use 4 full logical cores of my 4Ghz desktop i7 using a GTX 970

 

I'm willing to bet that the AW 13 will be much quieter and cool much better than any other 13" notebook on the market pushing the same performance. That's what this design was focused around. Gigabytes and ASUS's may have more power, but they all sound like a leaf blower.

 

We will see :thumbsup:

 

I have to agree with J.Dre there... and let's not ignore the fact that as more games take full advantage of quad core cpu's this leaves the dual cores in a worse state. Does it means games are unplayable? No, but it does mean you will have less fps and smoothness overall. I think many of the folks now who think it won't matter are basing this on the past where it truly wasn't as big a concern, and are not aware this is changing. I know I wasn't until this whole question came up how much of a difference it will make going forward.

This to me is the one saving grace of the ULV CPU in the setup... that a fairly quiet system will result making up somewhat for the lower performance over time.

 

Alienware obviously wanted a very specific TDP for these machines, for the reasons mentioned by J.Dre (and also so the whole machine wouldn't be useless from hardware failure in 1-2 years *looks at MSI/ASUS*). The power/TDP ratio was going to be met by Broadwell. Intel delayed broadwell. Relatively crappy i5 ULV had to be used instead. Broadwell comes out January - which whould be a good time to buy the 13. Hopefully there'll be a gtx 960m or similar ready to rock by then, also... 860 is kinda :\

If it runs cool and the battery life is 6+ hours under reasonable use (not wifi off, minimal brightness settings...) it's still a fine compromise IMO.

 

You can find 4210u CPUs in 400 dollar laptops

 

We will see how well Broadwell does, so far it's not so promising.

 

Let's hope they at least got one thing right: thermals. Haswell would be nice if that wasn't such an issue.