M11x Gaming Discussion Thread

My config is in my signature.

I got native res, everything set to medium-high, draw distance set to max, and got about 25fps. I was not overclocking my CPU. You could probably get to 30fps pretty easily by overclocking, turning draw distance down to medium, and turning shadows down to low.

I would say, very playable.

 

Have you guys seen these two requirements links...

This says the "FF14 community" System Requirements - Final Fantasy XIV Core Wiki - FFXIV Fansite

This is from the official site.. FINAL FANTASY XIV Recommended System Requirements

Man... if the bare minimum is 2.0 core 2 duo... R1 guys like myself.. "uh oh"...


BW,

StevenX

 

ahem time to upgrade to m15x or m17x

 

Anyone play FEAR? I get 25fps with high or low settings.

 

Is it worth it to pay $200 to upgrade an i5 to an i7...realisticly how much different does it actually make for most games.

 

There is a performance difference between the Core i5 and Core i7. However, you will really only be able to take advantage of that difference if you are doing something that is heavily CPU-dependent, like video transcoding.

In general, a marginally faster CPU has very little to zero impact on gaming. So no, the extra $200 is not worth it if you're looking for improved performance in games.

 

ok so what about in a year or so with games like CoD Blackops and SW:The Old Republic?

 

Same deal. Games these days are highly dependent on the GPU, and will often bottleneck on the GPU long before it bottlenecks on the CPU. I can say that there will most likely never be a game that makes the $200 difference between Core i5 and Core i7 worth it on the Alienware M11x

 

k thanx...one of my friend got the upgrade to an i7 for $50, but if that's not possible than i'll just go for the i5.

 

@aftermath - Others here will disagree with my delivery.. But... The I7 is 500 mhz faster in terms of just numbers. If you purchased the I5 with a max 2.3 speed then a game comes out with a minimum requirement of 2.8 then you might be bummed that you didnt get the I7. I always advise others like I would spend my own money. If you can, get the I7. Even if it takes an extra 2 weeks to save up. I have a R1... although I dont care for optimus I do like the I series processors. Good luck on your choice.

BW, StevenX

 

I got mine today!

Anyway, some source game benchies just from the last few hours of play:

My specs:
i7 640 UM, 4 gigs ram, win 7 ultimate, CPU overclocked to 156mhz core, GPU stock, nvidia 258.96 drivers with modded inf (thanks btw...totally awesome of you guys to hook us up with that!)

I haven't used fraps since these are all source games--I just used the internal net_graph 1 thing that shows FPS on your screen all the time...

Portal - native res, 16x af, 2x aa, all detail max, multicore rendering enabled (hugely important - i've seen drops of 25% with that off, even though it tends to stay off by default for this comp), never dropped below 70fps, was consistently above 100. I maxed AA and went out of my way to stress it out (infinite portals, etc), and got no less than 45.

Team Fortress 2 - max detail, 16x af, 2x AA, native res, 28 man server on badwater: lowest was around 25 fps when I got into a huge crowd of spamming demomen and soldiers, but it was usually pretty consistent at 40-ish--was always extremely playable.

Alien Swarm - max detail, 16x af, 2x aa, native res, almost always 40, but would hit around 25-30 in huge swarms (many of which I deliberately attracted).

Heat: idle 45C GPU and CPU, 72C max GPU and CPU. That's with 2.5 hours of gameplay with not very much of a break (10 minutes or so). It's HOT here - no AC in my apartment, 85F outside, 25-50% humidity. Bleargh!


Anywho, hope that modest contribution helps...I'll post more later, I'm sure.

 

CPU speed, in terms of Mhz / Ghz, mean nothing across CPU generations. A Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz is going to absolutely smoke a Pentium 4 3.2Ghz, despite the Core 2 Duo CPU being 800Mhz "slower" than the Pentium 4. The C2D has a lower clock frequency, but it does more work per clock cycle.

Similarly, when you see a game that has a minimum requirement of a Pentium 4 2.8Ghz, then you will be absolutely fine with a Core 2 generation chip, and a Core i3/i5/i7 chip of any speed. They do so much more "work" per clock cycle that the Mhz/Ghz clock speed becomes incomparable across CPU generations.

 

MOH Beta
All settings at High except Shadow to Low. 4xMSAA 16xAni. HSAO enabled. Some minor tweak in settings.ini. FPS maintain around 30ish - 40ish. even in heavy orgy situation never drop below 25

BFBC2 Single Player
All settings at High except Shadow to Low. 4xMSAA 16xAni. FPS range between 30-70ish depending on scenario and area. On avg mostly 30-40ish. Hardly drop below 30 in most condition.

FPS numbers taken from FRAPS. Video driver used is 258.96 w/ modded inf

 

@Kent - I am not talking across generations. A lot of games now show a dual core processor as REQUIREMENT. I am trying to help someone make an informed choice for the long run...

FACT - games like singularity require duo core processor. I believe the box says 3.0ghz.

Specs for Singularity...

Singularity
System Requirements*
Intel Processor - Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz Login to compare your CPU
AMD Processor - Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+
Nvidia Graphics Card - Geforce 8800 GT 256MB Login to compare your GFX Card
ATI Graphics Card - Radeon HD 3850
RAM Memory - 2 GB
Hard Disk Space - 8 GB
Direct X - 9
* System requirements displayed are based on recommended system requirements and should be used as a guide only.

@Kopicha - congrats on bfbc2. That rocks! Those extra mhz really help this game. The R1 is just below the minimum specs. We can play it, I can prove that but you (R2) guys really get to make it shine. (_Napoleon Dynomite Voice__LUCKY!) What do you think about MOH? I have mixed feelings about it. The graphics are good. I can run at medium now and stay in the mid 30s-40s. (Driver 258,96 helped a lot). Hope all is well..

BW, StevenX

 

I would still take that information with a grain of salt. I have been playing computer games for 26 years, and I almost never pay attention to system recommendations / requirements anymore. There are no standards or consistancy between what is defined as "required" or "recommended" across the different game vendors, so that information is useless to me.

Game performance is going to stay relatively consistant across games that run on the same game engine. Want to know how your rig will do in Team Fortress 2 or Left 4 Dead? Just see how it does in Counterstrike Source (they all use the Source engine). Want to know how well your rig runs Fallout 3? Just look at how it did in Oblivion (Havoc engine). Similarly, Crysis, Crysis 2, and Far Cry 2 all share the Crytek engine, and perform relatively the same. And Singularity uses Unreal Engine 3... same as the Call of Duty Modern Warfare games, Wolfenstein, Bioshock 1/2, Borderlands, Mass Effect 1/2. My Alienware runs Unreal Engine 3 games at about 40fps, give or take, so I know how Singularity will run just fine on an M11x, without ever looking at their "system requirements"

 

Sniper Ghost Warrior - Gameplay so far is pretty fun. It is a lot of slow moving and camping. I think the graphics are GREAT with post processing on normal.
I play @ Native Rez, Settings mix of low and medium, PP at normal.
gpu oc @ 550/1320/875. (fps range 20-46)

Still can't get the game to run above below normal priority but I am sure it will get sorted. Love these jungle setting games. (like crysis warhead in jungle)

BW, StevenX

 

@Kent - Regardless of what engine is used in a game, implementation may be different. Ask all the folks who have owned the m11x for months compare ME 1 to ME 2. The performance is very different. Far Cry 2 plays much different than Crysis or Crysis Warhead. The R1 folks have to really watch the requirements as we dont have as much horsepower as the R2. Again.. back to the ORIGINAL response to what the potential customer should buy.. I would choose to go with the I7. It will have a bit longer usable life in reference to games. And this is coming from someone who works for a Fortune 50, in the DFW area, in IT, that has also been into PC games since the early 80s...

BW,

StevenX

 

Far Cry 2 uses the Dunia engine, I reckon it performs better on my m11x than Crysis.

 

Thanks Steve

MOH me too have some mix feeling about it. Same comment GFX that its good. Dunno if its just me but I personally feel it look slightly better than BFBC2. But gameplay wise I would say theres good and bad. Yet I cant really express why I have such feeling. Thats why i am still considering over the purchase/pre-order. But its only still a beta after all. A lot of things can change over these period of time before they get on the shelves. So i would say still worth a look at it for now.

 

Hey I just wanted to mention this game Shatter, for when you get tired of playing your usual FPS and RPGs etc etc. It's great fun and has a wicked soundtrack, so get those headphones on. If you liked Rez then you'll probably love this one.

Shatter on Steam

 

I been gaming about 26yrs too. but I can only semi agree with you. For me I will still look at the specs requirement. You maybe right that there is no standard in the way they determine the requirements. But at times they still apply. I personally dont have Singularity. but just one example base on this game. I read that ppl can run this game on low setting with decent fps. if base on what you said using COD as example. but on the same machine ppl could run COD at higher gfx setting while maintaining the same fps. so there is already a difference here. it all comes down to the developer also. since same engine use there could be different customization and optimization. So I dont agree that you can assume things that way. it may work sometimes but definitely not to all the games. one example that a game which run really awful would be Splinter Cell Conviction.

 

@Kopicha - I am still trying to get whether it's the hit detection or the weapon damage that is my beef with MOH. It takes 4 shots from the m21 to kill someone. Definitely not HC that is for sure. The m16 takes almost an entire clip The initial Kabul map has lots of neat spots for cover and I like the stuff blowing across the map. The map seems really small to me. I have played it some more today. Still mixed feelings... I prefer BFBC2 way over CODMW2. I like the destructable environments. BW, StevenX

 

agree i like BFBC2 over CODMW2 too. I think the first MW is much better than the 2nd. Thats for sure. For MOH, one thing i feel is the perks in game seems a little unbalance at this point of time. You tend to get own by ppl that is of much higher level due to that they have weapon advantage? I dont know. I remember back in CODMW days this wont be the case. Perks helps but not to such extend

 

I played the MoH beta on the PS3 and the game is not good. Its like a cross between BC2 and MW2 but it just doesn't do it for me (the guns are too weak). MW2 and BC2 are much better games.

 

That seems pretty low, I get around 35-40 average (R1) on the original FEAR with everything maxed out (including AA, shadows etc) at 1920x1080 on an external monitor. It rarely drops below that and often goes much higher.

 

Can the i7 run Crysis on high with playable fps (25-30)?...Ordering mine tomorrow

 

No, crysis runs on mostly medium around the 30 fps mark in my experience.

 

not bad...just found this vid , and it looks quite good.

 

Ooops I checked my settings, and I was being a bit pessimistic before. Objects, shadows, physics, shaders are medium. Motion blur off. Everything else on high

 

Can someone post me their settings for starcraft 2 on m11x R2? I get about 20fps in campaign mode with medium setting...

 

is there any way to make mass effect 2 faster on the m11x r1??

any settings you would recommend or configurations???

 

R1 has problem with it? Just curious since my R2 run with everything max out just fine

 

@Got - I have a R1 and ME2 smokes on it. Full rez and high on everything. The one issue that is a challenge for EVERY game with our Nvidia 335m GT is post processing. Usually this has to be set to low or normal. Any higher and it really impacts frame rates or gameplay. The 335mGt is a mid tier video card with 1gb video ram for textures. It really does an amazing job in such a small form factor (m11x) but it is not a true power house card. Post processing (adds post effects like blur) and it take a bit more horsepower to enable these items on High.

So to sum up, you should be able to run on high or medium for certain, lower or disable any post processing features. Feel free to post specific game settings and your m11x specs if you need further help. Someone will always step up to lend a hand.

Best wishes,

StevenX

 

I actually play me2 fine with everything on the highest settings, overclocked su7300..

 

true enough... it just take a little more effort than playing off some high powered gaming laptop or desktop. but the end result is usually beautiful and some times really amazing too. just need to fine tune thats the key word

 

I was reading the article from PC Gamer about ARMA 2 Operation Arrowhead. I also watched the video. The funniest part of the review was where the author states "In ARMA 2: OPERATION ARROWHEAD, you can kill a man from a kilometer away...at 15 frames per second"... I was laughing to myself... how true. They played the game (didn't describe what detail) on a $7000 machine and was having a hard time gettings frames above 20s.

So if you are thinking of buying and playing this game just remember... It's a military simulator. True the graphics will look basic on low levels but the complexity of the engine and the game sets it out from the rest. I think the R2 folks will be in pretty good shape for this one. Us R1 folks are in a whole other boat...

Best Wishes, StevenX

 

Dead Space runs great maxed out on my R1. 50+ fps

 

@All - I created a couple of videos last night of ARMA 2. However they are a bit blurry and my camera is frustrating the heck out of me. Do you think I should wait to get best quality video or do you think M11x folks want to see what ARMA 2 (blurry) looks like during gameplay?

Best Wishes,

StevenX

 

I'm all about seeing it. Got my r2 on the way. And I have always been an arms/operation flashpoint fan. I remember never have a computer good enough to play the last big operation in operation flashpoint. Just so much going on.

 

Fallout 3 is 50% off at direct2drive. Is this one of the games people are having trouble with on the R2(optimus)? I am still running the Dell beta drivers.
Thanks in advance.

 

I haven't got it to run stable since day 1 on my R2. However the newest drivers (quadro 259.12) are running it for up to 40mins with no crashes

 

@All.. ok .. here is my Arma 2 video. No battle, just game settings, helo, comm center, soldiers and some screen shots since the video doesn't show in game fps (which varies from 17-24, higher in areas where it's only vegetation)
YouTube - ARMA 2 Alienware M11x

Thanks for watching. Spread the word... this game is playable. The fps gets a bit low sometimes but remember it's not COD. It's a military simulator. Probably the best one made so far.

Take Care, StevenX

 

How does Call of duty modern warfare (cod4) play on this machine? as in multiplayer? Im strongly considering getting it today to play with some friends but would really like to know if anyone has had any experience with it (Seen vids of MW2 multiplayer on the m11x and it runs great)

Im on an R1.

 

Just played a lot of that last night. Modern Warfare, and Modern Warfare two run perfect.

 

Great, thanks.

 

I just got my M11x and I'm having issues with Final Fantasy XI. I use to run it fine on my M1330(when it didn't overheat and needed a new MB lol). I am at latest Nvidia driver, White listed the game, Turned off Powermizer but I am getting like 4 FPS in a heavily populated area. The funny thing is I think its still using the Intel graphics even though the control panel is saying its not. But if I run EVGA's Graphic Tuner, the GPU usage is at 0%. I normally got 15 FPS on my M1330 in the same area. I don't really play many games but this is one that I do. Any suggestions?

 

@Idlehand - did you add the game to the whitelist in Nvidia profile? If not search this forum, there is a thread that show you how to do it for the R2.


Bw, StevenX

 

Yah I whitelisted that game in the nvidia profile.

 

what program do you guys use to measure fps during gaming?

 

FRAPS show fps, record video game movies, screen capture software