M11x Gaming Discussion Thread

Vorob, Battlefield BC2 looks great on low in DX10. Seriously. Watch the youtube videos. With the latest patch it plays really well. Good frame rates.
Strange that it only uses 35 to 40 percent of the video card in the M11x. (I have logged reports on usage). Not counting server lag, it goes from 25 to 45 fps and sometimes as high as 60 depending on map.

best wishes, StevenX

 

Well, think its like gta 4, more cpu dependent then gpu

 

Anyone got some recommendations for games for a non OCd M11x?

Currently got these installed:

Fallout 3
Crysis Warhead
Dead Space
Dirt 2
FEAR
HL2
Portal
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3
Shatter
TF2
Trackmania United
Unreal Tournament 3
CoD World at War

I'm holding out for the new BIOS for the BSOD fix as Alienware UK aren't too hot on fixing the BSOD issue. Was thinking about getting the new STALKER game...

 

Dragons Age, Stalker is pretty demanding, section 8, just cause 2, far cry 2,

Since you are not overclocked be sure to optimize.. optimize.. optimize!

Good Luck,

Steven X

 

Is Stalker really that demanding? The sys requirements for the new one on steam doesn't even ask for a Dual Core processor...

 

Stalker is quite demanding yes.

Does Lost Planet (1) play well on the M11x?
I've played it on the xbox360 and I reall like it so might buy the extreme conditions version for PC.

Thanks!

Btw: grid and Just Cause 2 will do fine on stock clocks, only Just Cause 2 stutters when you are in the city.

 

There is a Stalker Call of Pripyat benchmark you can download and install. Should give you an idea of how Stalker will run. Google search "Stalker benchmark".

 

There are also some Stalker benchmarks in the benchmarking thread.

 

There's a huge gulf between Stalker's min-rec system requirements. Steam, for some reason only quotes the requirements to run the game - to max it out you'll need a 2.8ghz dual core CPU and a 9800GTX. I'm pretty interested in how this'll perform on the M11x as I hugely enjoyed the original.

 

I've given it a try. Remember non OCd, but I'm running it on medium at 1280x720 with Object Dynamic lighting. It manages 30-40FPS in the open but on the big ship settlement it's as low as 15 but usually low 20s. I presume that's only in that area it gets so low. Seems reasonably playable though, obviously would be better if I could OC.

For a game that doesn't look that great it sure needs a powerful machine.

 

BSOD fix? There is no BSOD bug, only crap CPU that can't be OC'd. Replace your laptop.

 

I'm in the UK, Dell won't repalce laptops with the BSOD fault. The support reps continue to claim that a fix is on the way, however. Supposedly caused by dropped voltage and the CPU not liking it...

 

That sucks! I would complain to someone higher in the hierarchy and/or demand complete refund and return the laptop. Fixes have been "on the way" for the last couple of months... Oh and I call that bs.

You paid for 1.7 GHz CPU (according to the official manual it should work at that frequency), you got 1.3 GHz CPU - you have a defect in your product and should not tolerate it. They (Dell reps) will say anything to get you off their back. I have had one case with stupid reps in the US and have threatened them with a legal lawsuit for credit card fraud. I also had my bank rep ready to jump in should that not work and execute their bank procedure for a fraud case. It worked out at the end, but it left "very bitter taste". I would be perfectly fine if someone just called me, said "look sorry we have made a mistake, etc etc", but no...

In these cases, especially when I am paying $1k+ for a product, I have zero tolerance.

 

Aye. The support rep from Alienware who I've been in contact with confirmed that he would expect a fix 'soon', and the problem is being looked at. He even has a fortnightly reminder to update me...

 

I just downloaded the 1st Stalker for my Alienware through Steam, and I love it! It is quite demanding on the system. My dad has an SLI rig I built in '07 for him with dual 8800 GTX's, I wonder how that would compare to the M11X

 

I HIGHLY recommend grabbing the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete mod. It doesn't mess with the story or gameplay. It just updates the graphics and fixes a bunch of bugs. Google it, its Awesome.

 

Wish I had more time to play games but yeah. Stalker Complete Mod is giving a major graphical facelift to Stalker 1.

 

Guys,

I am loving my m11x and it plays so many more games than I was expecting.

That said, I get really poor performance if TF2! I have played with the settings enabled/disabled multi core optimised my systems but I still get really poor fps when there is a lot going on. I realise source games utilise CPU heavily but I see a lot of people saying TF2 plays well!

 

Actually Source engine games are weak cpu friendly. It's only the source games like L4D2 that have lots of enemies on screen at once that cause slowdowns.

Which driver are you currently using? Have you tried reinstalling the other driver Dell provides?

 

Hey i was wondering how Assassins Creed 2 runs on the M11X.

im not sure if Asssassins Creed 2 is GPU dependant or CPU dependant since its semi open world? any feedback would be great!

 

Thank you! I'll look that up when I get home from work today. I haven't gotten a chance to get into the story of Stalker yet, due to being at work all week. That, and important everyday life stuff, ie: Spend time with girlfriend, chasing my hyper rabid Corgi, cleaning up around the house, etc etc. I'll veg later on Saturday.

 

I'm lucky, my girlfriend likes video games almost as much as I do

 

I hope Crysis 2 will be less CPU intensive...

Playing HL2 again. Looks great ofcourse, but is there a mod to put HL2:EP2 graphics into HL2(dynamic shadows etc.)?

 

Has anyone tried to play Assassins Creed 2 on the M11X?

im hoping that i can play it at least at medium to high settings.

 

TF2 does play well, perhaps your settings are just too high. I'm getting a steady framerate which doesn't dip to unplayable even when theres 28 player mayhem happening right in front of me.

Try native resolution of 1366 x 768

Model Detail: High
Texture Detail: High
Shader Detail: High
Water Detail: Simple
Shadow Detail: Low
Colour Correction: Disabled
AA: None
AF: None
Motion Blur: None
Field of view: 75.00
and no bloom

I have noticed 2 of the newer maps running as slow as you say (one of them being koth_sawmill) even when nothing is happening, I don't understand it. Make sure that Alienware control centre is also disabled on startup.

 

will the m11x be able to run jade empire and split sceond

 

Someone try Metro 2033. I'm absolutely awe-stricken anytime I see a gameplay video of that game. Crysis 2 has some tough competition, which sadly I don't think it'll be able to beat seeing as it has been optimized for the consoles.

 

Jade Empire? are you kidding? of course it will work. Split Second should too but i don't know how well - M11x does tend to run racing games on mid/high

Metro 2033 is about as badly written for the PC as GTA IV is. I'd steer clear of it as a few forumites have had trouble with that game - M15x & M17x users included. I have Faith in Crytek to make an engine that'll run better on the PC than Cryengine 2.

 

I just tried APB beta with 197.57 drivers + unofficial INF file from laptopvideo2go (thanks StevenX). It didn't help that much. The performance is a little bit better, but there is still a lot of stuttering. Well... it's still beta though.

 

Split Second should too but i don't know how well - M11x does tend to run racing games on mid/high

Tried this one, demo version, runs smooth though i didn't find any settings screen. Btw, game suxx

I have Faith in Crytek to make an engine that'll run better on the PC than Cryengine 2.

Crysis is one of the honest game ever, it need powerful pc for a purpose, to handle its excellent graphic. But i agree that gta 4 and metro are badly optimized for pc...

 

Crysis 2 PC and console are almost two different developments altogether. Don't fret, Crytek is staying faithful to PC.

Has anyone tried any titles from the Battle for Middle-Earth series?

 

I am really happy about my M11x, especially in terms of gaming performance. I am trying to justify in my mind whether spending another $800 is worth it for the bump in CPU specs if all the games I throw on my current machine play flawless to me.

 

lol how about add 1k to the m11x price and get a sony-z with worse game performance? lololol jkkk

im glad that the system is as powerful as it is. if you have ac2 could you tell me how it runs?
i think iv asked a few times already.. but i guess no one is testing it

i saw ac1 running but im wondering ac2
i got ac2 but its choppy even on the lowest setting on my studio xps 13. >.< i hope i can play it with decent settings on my m11x when it comes.

 

I am still currently playing AC1 and it runs awesome, but that's not saying much coming from playing it on a MacBook Pro 13". I am truly impressed with the DX10 effects that I could not get on my MBP! I am waiting to get AC2 and ME2 once Steam has it on sale!

 

thats great news. my studio xps 13 has about the same specs as a macboook pro 13" so im guessing ill see the same performance boost as you.

thank god to no more low graphics settings for ac lol.

ac2 is an amazing game. played it a bit on my friends ps3. :]

 

Thanks Bendak, I will try your settings too and see what I get. I play a lot of 2fort and I am getting frames dropping down to mid teens whilst fighting over the middle bridge.

Also I disabled CCC and have nothing else running whilst gaming to get the most out of the CPU

 

Is it possible to let Audiosurft work with AlienFX? That would be awesome!

 

lol that'd be pretty cool although someone might get a seizure from all the keyboard lights and all the colors on the screen lol

i believe theres a mod for it to work with winamp so im sure it could work with audiosurf

 

All,

Bored last night and installed DDO (Dungeons and Dragons Online). High texture pack, plus updates. Ran the game at 32-50fps, through the into dungeon into the first town. No issues at all. High Textures, DX10, High settings, 2xaa, Everything enabled, high shadows, etc... If I overclock the gpu I can set the game to very high and it only goes down to 26fps in the city area. GPU oc seems to make a difference here...

So add another one to the games list for the M11x.. the little notebook that could..

StevenX

 

Split Second runs awesome. I've been playing it on my 40inch and it looks amazing

 

Actually Source engine is over six years old, and is more weak GPU friendly and caters to stronger CPU's. Later Source games have had added features that require an even stronger CPU. That was the appeal though, was that most notebooks had strong CPU's but weak GPU's. Either way most Source games run great on the M11x.

 

Tried on my desctop monitor (dell u2711) few games in 1920x1080:

TES: Oblivion
Fallout 3
Gta 4
Crysis (Medium)
HL2 - EP2
L4D2

All runs like in 1366x768. Or just drops from 60 to 30... No problem.

 

Alienware won't upgrade the gpu from Geforce 335M on m11x?

 

why? gpu part is ok.

 

They might? but isnt it a pretty good card already? if they put a more powerful gpu they would probably have to put a more powerful cpu so as to not bottle neck it even further.

 

if they put a more powerful gpu they would probably have to put a more powerful cpu so as to not bottle neck it even further.

Well, they are allready doing this with new line of "i" processors in m11x

 

A more powerful GPU isn't available, this GPU is simply the best for a high end GPU. No other GPU comes even near the GT335m in terms of performance per watt.

The "i" processors look good, but I think my next alienware will be the m15x(or next gen AW laptop).

 

theres always that new 2gb gpu. that just came out XD bahaha. but i dont think theres pricing XD but i agree with your statement about performance per watt

 

That GT480m isn't as good as CrossfireX 5870m .

 

lol still. the GTX 480m is pretty nasty. supposed to the the "fastest" mobile gpu but i'll get we'll see when it comes out in june huh.