Considering attempting to make my r2 into an R3:

I have done a bit of research on the topic, starting with this post, which gave me a bit of hope.

according to it, I need:

• the system board
• an R3 daughterboard
• a new base (if I don't want to modify my current one)
• a new palmrest (to go with the new base)

Now I am looking for part numbers: a I want the i7 board, I believe the part number I want is Y98C0, which I am having a hard time finding in stock anywhere (for a reasonable price). I am looking for whichever board has the best cpu
For the daughterboard, I am running into a bit of trouble finding one, as the only one I have found is this one. can anybody confirm if this is the correct part?
For the base, this appears to be the correct part.
I have not really found much for a new palmrest, can anybody point me in the right direction?

Another idea is to buy the red base and a red display cover and convert my r2 to red while I am at it

Any advice? Should I try to source the parts through dell?

 

well i5 and i7 aren't worth the price difference unless its few bucks, thats why i bought the i5. i3 is a waste of time on it tho.

if you're handy i'd think you wouldn't have too many issues relocating/drilling screw holes for the new motherboard, obviously if you got the equipment that is.

 

As the game I play mainly is WoT, I need every bit of single-threaded performance I can get, so I am wondering which one has the best CPU, and if it is the 2617, 2637, etc.

The guide doesn't say anything about drilling new holes for the mobo, but if I need to do a lot, I might just order an R3 base, (found one for $50 in the OP).

 

world of tanks? im sure that needs more GPU/RAM than CPU... MMOs have close to none AI/Physics calculating and nowadays with physx most of that is done by GPU...

unless you play real time strategy or do a lot of video editing encoding etc. its not much use.getting I7 over I5 unless again, price is real close.

I got an R3 so i haven't really looked into getting older rev. upgraded into R3 so im not sure about screw holes and mount points etc. but i would think just the screw holes are different as generally changes are minimal between revisions of same platform.

also I sure am glad i bought an R3 with prices now hitting over 1.1k £ for a new one, probably the only PC that has its price going up after release

also if you get parts for cheap surely its worth it over buying a used R3 as prices are quite mad.

 

WOT is EXTREMELY cpu limited. when I had a broken charger, the CPU would run at 600 mhz, and I would get 1 FPS. when I disabled turbo for 1.4 ghz speed (from OC), I get ~14 FPS. when it runs at turbo speed of ~2.5 ghz, I get ~24 fps. It also only uses 1 core, so single-threaded performance matters.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/656286-world-tanks-m11x.html

i got a feeling you're baking it on intel graphics. upgrading ram to 8gb and just using nvidia graphics, OC maybe, and you'll get fair amount of fps surely... no way m11x gets that few FPS on that... i run pretty much all games (again except TDU2 that sh*t wont gimme more than 30fps and still looks like crap) without any issues at worst 20-25fps on at least medium setting... in a few years it will probably change due to next gen consoles and ports will need better hardware to play, but still, no way 14fps on m11x in WoT.

 

It's definitely running on the Nvidia chip (afterburner shows load and the nvidia icon turns green). They also recently updated their render system, so those settings are out of date.

The 14 FPS is from when the CPU does not turbo, running at 1.4 GHZ. it runs ~25-30 when it clocks up to 2.5 ghz, but still dips at times, making it hard to play any tank that moves quickly. I have similar performance to those in the thread you linked. WoT is badly optimized.

 

well if cpu is really the bottle neck, you'd get around 40% improvement with an 2617m according to benchmarks... with an I5 it would be hardly noticeable over the I7 you got now... i would think it isn't worth the time and the money to upgrade for a game which is only running poorly because it isn't optimized at all... and the new I7 would hardly be a worthwhile improvement considering you would still be in the low 20's fps wise, at best...

and considering you want to get palm-rest + motherboard + daughter board + base... would cost less and be less hassle to sell you R2 and buy a used R3, plus a used R3 would be easier to resell and be worth more than a moded R2, as well as tidier.

 

My current FPS is around 25-30. playable, but it dips into the 10's occasionally. Also looking at alternative laptops, like the Clevo 110ER / Asus G46, but I like the look of the m11x and am not hearing good things about the m14x.

 

well due to the stability issues you will have dips either way, its not really worth the upgrade then cause those dips will stay either way as that wont be enough to influence that by much... poor optimization wont be fixed by a minor upgrade, plus it will persist even on fairly better hardware... I'd give some examples but none come to mind, but I'm sure i had these issues with my old desktop, top of the line in the day... simply had to wait for updates on certain games if i didn't want to suffer through the FPS dips.

I'm sure you wouldn't notice the dips on a mid range desktop, but on a what essentially is netbook, don't look for miracles ^_^

 

It currently just uses a lot of CPU, and only one core at that. The dips are usually when a lot of moving particles/effects appear. The 540m is a slight GPU upgrade also. The original problem is that WG (company who makes WoT) used a 3rd party engine. Now that WG owns the company that wrote the engine, they are trying to get performance optimizations.

 

You can get all parts you need by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. We have pretty much all components available. I would suggest selling this one on eBay or so and then getting the R3 though.