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    Upgrade needed ?

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by HiHu, Mar 31, 2011.

  1. HiHu

    HiHu Notebook Consultant

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    Hi,

    I've bought the M15x the day it was available in France (in October 2009 I guess) and now I wonder if it's time to upgrade or not, given that I want to be able to play 2011 properly.

    Here's my config:

    Intel Core i7 820QM
    Nvidia GTX 260m
    1920x1080 WLED
    4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
    250 GB SATA 7200
    Windows 7 (64 bits)

    Questions:

    1- Should I buy a new gpu ? 460M ? Will this one be ok ?

    2- Or should I try to overclock my 260m first ?

    3- If I buy a 460M, should I get a new CPU ? If yes, which one ?

    4- Is 4gb of ram enough ?

    5- What would you do/get if you were me ? Wait for a new Alienware laptop or upgrade this one ?

    Thanks for you help :)
     
    HiHu, Mar 31, 2011
    #1
  2. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    1. If you game a lot, a new GPU will be useful. That version is compatible. I have one.
    2. Overclocking will yield positive results, overclocking a new 460m will have even greater advantages.
    3. Only buy a new cpu if you need it for heavy work such as encoding. You 820qm is plenty fast anyways.
    4. For everyday use and gaming, 4GB is enough.
    5. If I were you I'd sell it and get an M17x R3.
     
    widezu69, Mar 31, 2011
    #2
  3. Nivaku

    Nivaku Notebook Evangelist

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    If you can go for the ATI 5850, since usually it's cheaper I'd go with that. I had my GPU upgraded it man oh man the 5850 is way better then the 260. In the WEI the 260 only gave me 6.7 the graphics on the 5850 it gave me 7.2 plus I can overclock it some more.

    I personally have no perference over ATI or nVidia it's just whichever performs better.

    I know WEI isnt a good benchmarking tool, but many have posted benchmarks on the 5850 and it performs well on games

    260 is only dx 10

    460 and 5850/5870 dx 11

    your cpu is decent, you should just upgrade your gpu you'll get more performance while gaming.

    yeah that 460m card is good, that card is still a beast
     
    Nivaku, Mar 31, 2011
    #3
  4. HiHu

    HiHu Notebook Consultant

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    So basically, I have to choose between 460M, 5850 and 5870 :)

    Thanks for your answers anyways !

    Any idea when the price of these three cards is going to drop ? New models scheduled ? Because I will buy that in 2 weeks, no real hurry.. Should I wait a few weeks before purchasing ?
     
    HiHu, Mar 31, 2011
    #4
  5. Kratzen

    Kratzen Notebook Consultant

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    Its pretty unlikely that the prices will drop very much. Newer cards wont be supported on the computers using 460 and 5850/5870, so the demand will still be the same.
     
    Kratzen, Mar 31, 2011
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  6. HiHu

    HiHu Notebook Consultant

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    Hmmm I see...
     
    HiHu, Mar 31, 2011
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  7. Nivaku

    Nivaku Notebook Evangelist

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    More bang for your buck the 5850 for sure, I even applied good thermal compound MX-3 I think or MX-5.

    Dont think prices are going to drop anytime soon, I got my 5850 for $300 USD the 460 was like $400+
     
    Nivaku, Mar 31, 2011
    #7
  8. HiHu

    HiHu Notebook Consultant

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    hmm ok and the 5870 ?
     
    HiHu, Mar 31, 2011
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  9. Simplified

    Simplified The Most Awesome

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    I can answer 3 and 4 for you.

    3: No, your cpu does not need an upgrade. My cpu has never been a bottleneck, yet I am running on a crossfire setup.

    4: 4gb is more than enough for almost all pc games.
     
    Simplified, Mar 31, 2011
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  10. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    HiHu, don't bother about the 5870, you can overclock and get speeds up to the 5870 and beyond. A lot of the benchmarks for the 5850 out match those of the 5870. They are effectively the same card with different clock speeds.
     
    widezu69, Mar 31, 2011
    #10
  11. Nivaku

    Nivaku Notebook Evangelist

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    Yeah I agree with widezu69,

    The 5850 again is more bang for your buck, trust me bro if you decide to get your 5850 - just overclock it and you wont be disappointed trust me
     
    Nivaku, Mar 31, 2011
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  12. HiHu

    HiHu Notebook Consultant

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    allright then :) thanks for your answers !
     
    HiHu, Apr 1, 2011
    #12