M11x NEXT GPU ATI OR NVIDIA

Hey there guys i would love your opinion on this. Do you think the next gpu to find itself in the m11x will be ati in origins or nvidia. reason why i ask is that i thought dell would slap a 435m in by now

 

I'm guessing Nvidia still since Alienware was really enthusiastic about Optimus technology when the R2 came out.

Alienware probably also is listening to customers who are complaining about the lower battery life of the R2 compared to the R1.

AMD (I hate how the graphics cards of AMD aren't called ATI anymore) GPUs generally use more power, and they don't have the Optimus tech of Nvidia cards.

Therefore, Alienware will likely stick with Nvidia. :| I'd prefer AMD though, since their graphics cards are stronger at lower prices. And if you know your computers, you don't really need Optimus tech anyway.

 

Yeah, unless AMD has Optimus, then I want an nVidia card, no questions asked.

It's just too convinient, enough for me to overcome my general dislike of nVidia since the pricing of the 8800 series...

 

dell is already using the 4xx series in the new XPS machines

 

Uh... how do the size and power demands of the 4xx series compare to the 3xx? Will a 400 fit in the M11x chassis? How badly will battery life be affected when gaming unplugged?

 

My Opinion:

I'm very sure we won't see any CPU changes, since AMD can't compete with the speeds of the i7, especially a mobile low power model...

As for GPU, nVidia due to optimus, which as nVidia has announced is a big target for the upcoming driver releases, between the punkbuster problems, as the few general optimus problems that haven't been fixed yet...
the 4xx series from what I read on other forums and reviews didn't give clear performance changes compared to a 3xxm card of similar value, (ie 335m vs 435m) which is why Alienware isn't probably going to rush anything when they're still pushing the R2 right now, I just got an email yesterday with special deals for it.

 

for me, i really wanted to see a ati gpu for our m11x revision. ati gpu has better performance and less thermal and wattage consumption in every class.

 

I feel like optimus is just the lazy mans tool, just be patient and change between cards yourself. You may as well have it on 100% of the time on battery, and gaming on battery, fn+f6 is my friend.

 

Then cars are just a lazy man's tool as well... same for trains, boats and airplanes. Do you walk or swim everywhere you go?

It's not called laziness, it's called efficiency.

 

I ride a bike and definitely own an r1 =D.

 

Well, I've owned a R1 for a while, then switched out to a R2. I like the R2 better, since I can control which app uses the nVidia or Intel GPU. That way, I don't have to hit a manual switch - which isn't an annoying thing to do, but it did bug me endlessly whenever I forgot to, and only realized *after* starting a game <--my own fault

IMO, the difference between the R1 and R2 is level of control (on many different things). The R1 is either "yes" or "no". The R2 is "how much?"

 

As I have posted before.. it's all about control. I dont need my video card telling me when it wants to kick in, I engage the card when I NEED IT! not the other way around. I dont need the card to try and "think" for me, try to interpret when it "thinks" I am going to game.

I know exactly when I am gaming. No thanks optimess.

Dedicated +1 right here.

ON TOPIC - The 425 optimus may be the next M11x option available. Not sure on power consumption and whether a board has been designed that will allow the UM cpu's to be partnered with the optimus GPU's. Any Dell insiders here?



Stevenx

 

lol...

I found Optimus to be more of a "fine control." Only if you let the default nVidia settings stay, will the issues begin

I just set the default to Integrated, and changed the profiles for all of my games to nVidia GPU

 

I agree with the last person on topic. The 425m doesn't really have much of a performance gain, so Alienware wouldn't refresh when it still has a lot of R1 and R2 models in stock.

Anyway, going back to the topic...

Let's speculate further. If there WERE to be a GPU refresh anytime soon, what Nvidia/AMD card would Alienware stick inside the chassis?

Also, how would that affect performance/battery life/heat output/fan noise?

EDIT: Actually... Alienware might want to hold that (disputed) claim of "Strongest Notebook under 14 Inches," so maybe a refresh is possible. Who knows. D:

 

hey everyone!
if you dont mind have got 2 questions -

1. about when do u think "R3" will be released?
2. is it worth waiting?, or probably the changes won't be that big?

thx

 

It better have usb3 thats all i know.

 

Who cares? The R1 is great and Optimus is more a pain than anything. If anything, though, I'd love to see Alienware stick with nVidia as ATI is lame.

 

Every tech has it's own pros and cons. But using the word efficiency for Optimus enabled machines is a real good word to describe it.

example.... R1 can choose to go dedicated with on board or Nvidia. R2 can as well but only via on board and not dedicated to Nvidia. simply set global default to Intel and the Nvidia will never kick in. But R2 cant set Nvidia as default since the final output is still done by Intel. R1 has a +1 advantage in such scenario being able to have more "control". But on top of that R2 has benefit assuming if you are doing more than 2 different things concurrently eg video encoding via GPU and some other stuffs that does not require GPU acceleration. Here in this scenario R2 is being more "efficient". So here's the +1 back to R2. Having total control does not mean efficient even knowing what you are doing. Switching back and forth every time when I am trying to do different thing is already very inefficient. 1 can debate that I could have plan my stuff and work all I need on 1 then switch over for the remaining task. But imo I buy a computer to work for me not for me to work for the computer. It's getting wrong if I need to plan such simple task that the computer should have sorted it. On top of that due to Optimus still on it's way of fine tuning it's still on its rocky road. PB issue is 1 example that will be non existence on an R1. So it scores 2 - 2 now. So both have their own good and bad.

But personally I will give my last point to R2 giving it a 3 -2 win over R1 simply because Optimus issue can get fix over time. But you cant fix the efficiencies of R1 without us human giving in. No punks intended. This is just my personal thoughts and no mean to represent what others think. So you can have your own opinions to which ever is better. This is not meant to be comparison but just how I personally look at both.

I feel that AW will still take Nvidia in their next M11x revision thou

 

I dunno, the Acer 3820TG probably took that title at 13.3"...

 

Where's that claim from? I only see this "The most powerful 11” gaming laptop in the universe"

 

It used to be on the Alienware m11x site...

 

There is a reason to think that there will be a 445 invidia gpu being used. Whether there is a performance increase or not the higher number will be used to extract another $100.00 from the consumer and keep their minds off the hinge defect.

 

imo I feel that it's more important for AW to rethink their Processor selection in their next M11x rather than the GPU. I personally feels that the GT335M is still good for most stuffs out there right now (yeah i mean most not all) but current machine is mostly bottomneck by the CPU rather than the GPU. So I would be more concern with which Processor rather than which GPU they gonna use.

 

In what school of math are 420 and 425 not also higher numbers than 335?

 

I dunno, Nvidia graphics cards are more stable when overclocked, so the M11x can technically beat the Acer since it can overclock to higher rates without exploding.

The Acer wins, but there's a loophole Alienware will insist on exploiting.

The CPU, admittedly, is depressing. The Acer has similar battery life to the R2, and it uses a real full-fledged i5. :| Alienware should really stick in a better CPU and use their "superior" engineers and designers to make it more power-efficient, like what Lenovo does with their ultraportables. D:

As for the last post, sadly, a higher number doesn't always mean better. :| The Nvidia 8800 GT was way stronger than the 9600 GT.

 

lol, any OC I try on the GPU crashes SC2...

 

12'' screen in the same chassis. a good IPS display... it would be.. incredible. It would virtually be the best laptop in the universe.

Look at the new Macbook Air 11. M12x could be the ultimate laptop in the galaxy... only buyers who care about slimness would be turned off.

the m11 has amazing asthetics, and a small footprint, yet powerful. if they can retain the 5-6 hours of battery, and not compromise on the other parts, I dont see any laptop in the world coming close to its combination of power and mobility. the ultimate tradeoff.

 

but it is heavy...
Macbook air 11 has only 1kg, half of the weight...

 

Have you tried overclocking without touching she shader speed? I don't own SC2, but from what I've read some games are very finicky about shader overclocks.

 

well ATI is going to roll out with the 6000 mobility series within a month so it could go either way. it would be nice two options

 

Hopefully Alienware will be cool and let us select our GPU. Imagine choosing between a GT 445M or Radeon 6650 or something like that. I'd be torn.