4850 Xfire Benchmark suite - what you guys after?

what res do you have??????
1920*1200 or 1440*900. it seems that only one card is firing in some runs

 

1920x1200, however the benchmarks have been run on default settings for comparability; unfortunately sometimes that likely means the cards don't shine like they can at high res

 

nah just up the res to 1920*1200. also run dmc4 all on super high 1920*1200 dx10. run it with no aa. 2aa and 8aa.

 

I tried that the other day, unfortunately I couldn't print screen the results and seeing as I was wiping it later on anyway, I couldn't be bothered to put FRAPs on for it instead

 

just alt+enter and use snipping tools to do it,

 

Hmmm, well this laptop is definately CPU limited, at least in some games. I just ran the SFIV benchmark again at 1920x1200, and got a score of 14380 with an average FPS of 136. It didnt have quite as many high fps peaks, but the average is so close to running at 1280x720 (141 fps average), I think it points to this engine maxing out the CPU more than the graphics cards. That said it's obviously been nicely optimised to run at such framerates in the first place! I dont think I saw it drop to less than 95, which is in the last scene which runs at 100fps average anyway.

 

installing GTAIV atm, will post some results soon

Hope the P8600 can handle it @ 30fps..



if not I might just wait till I get the qx9300 or x9100 to play it

 

GTA IV is a badly optimised game, even people with a quad aren't reporting great performance.

I've edited the OP to make the benches so far easier to find.

 

i got p8600 and it plays gta 4 ok for me not everything is on high.

 

With the [email protected] in my M17 and everything at max including texture resolution with the command line fix (since the 3870s only have 512 VRAM) draw distance and the other at 24 i get 48.5 fps and the game is buttery smooth but this is at 1440x900 . Ill report back when i get a Wuxga panel though. I was very impressed with the performance to say the least.

 

No stuttering?

 

When you have dual GPU power, dependency on the CPU rises. P8400's or P8600's, even overclocked to 3ghz, don't have the cache to give the GPU's justice. Specifically in Ati's case, the 4850's and 4870's have shown a higher CPU dependency than 260Ms and 280Ms. This is why someone with an X9100 had 1000 more GPU points in Vantage than others with P8400/P8600s.

The highest vantage score that I know of from the W90 was with a hefty overclock on the GPUs and an overclocked QX9300 at at least 3.2ghz. Mandrake had 12k with an X9100, at what, 3.4/3.5ghz?

Moo is right that the higher the clock the better, so yay for X9100s, but a slightly slower clocked quad should do as well or better since Vantage is fully optimized for quad cores. And I am not talking about the CPU benches at all...

 

Nope none to really speak of since the M17 i purchased had the little copper shim included.

@3.2ghz i noticed some @3.06 i notice 0 and i played games on and off last night on it for about 4 hours.

I have been just testing it to see how it really handled the Quad after all the complaints about them.

Getting the shim just right on there is the real secret to getting it to work right without stutter or atleast it was for my machine. I had to reseat the shim a few times before the issues were gone but it was well worth the effort.

Not for non techie types though as for the average joes who dont want to keep going in there machine till its right id say stick with the Dual core .

For me the pay off is worth it in the end .

 

Well, considering I'm going to keep this computer for at least 3 years I'd say it's worth it to me too as long as the issues can be 100% fixed

I think I'm gonna get the qx9300 after all

 

Max i would atleast try the Qx9300 and if you find your not happy resell it as they are easy to move anyhow since there in such demand.

You will have read all the project freeze to find out about the proper sized shim etc.

 

Old info, so have removed

 

Gah, damn double posts!!!

 

Hey guys thinking about changing my order from 4850's to the 3870's and getting the screen upgrade instead. The performance here does not look as epic as I hoped.

 

Definately get the 4850s.

They're substantially stronger than the 3870 (75% or more if Pmans recollection of the SF4 IV benchmark is correct and any indication), and you will regret not getting them if you cannot upgrade later, the caveat is that they demand a strong CPU to back them up and get the best out of them, just like desktop ATI cards, Marshall got 16k straight off in 06 with the same drivers as me, in W7 on a X9100.

3Dmark 06 is a poor way to judge a GPU these days anyway. Let me put it this way, the 3870s in crossfire perform similarly if a little weaker than my brothers 9600, and will struggle much sooner, on the other hand, the 4850s perform on par with my 4870, and look like they'll be even faster when utilised properly, with a decent CPU (I'm currently using the base, cheapest model!). In terms of high resolution power, they're in another class in comparison to the 3870s, and as a another comparison, performing better than the 260M SLI, for less money.

As Marshall put it, he is able to play every game he has tried, including Crysis, at 1920x1200 on high settings happily. This is not something the 3870s can playably manage anymore, there wouldn't be so many of the 3870 owners hoping for an upgrade if it was the other way round

 

gpu vantage of 7300-7900 to 9500-10000 is a pretty epic upgrade if you ask me

 

It is epic and only going to get better Id grab the GPUs now and you can always throw in a better screen later . I will say though that the WXGA screen i have on mine is pretty bad and im going to be throwing a new one in mine ASAP.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5051186&postcount=23

that should help alex

although look at the settings i ran it at compared to yours before you jump about the frame increase

 

Yeah 100% agree with Alex....to not get the 4850s is insane! Even if you have to get the low-res screen.
I have the dual 3870s and I find it struggles with games like Crysis and Farcry....not that I like these games at all, in fact I think they are terrible but are second to none for judging real world gaming.

Get the 4850s for sure, as Alex said if the 3870s were really good then we wouldnt be crying out for the 4850s. You are quite limited with the 3870s at the moment.

 

i wouldnt say you are limited Tony i think thats abit harsh to be fair, i think the 3870s are excellent cards

I brought a new flight sim today that is very very hard on systems and still run at max res with all settings on v.high

the 4850's will cope better with AA due to the poor architecture of the 38XX but give the 3870s credit

They are not bad cards by any stretch of the imagination

 

Given I have less cache, less cores and a lower clock speed than you I'd say that's still pretty decent, and shows the 4850 have more in reserve (especially as, as I already demonstated, the raw crossfire GPU grunt increases as the clocks go up too). 8xAA/1920x1200 is probably hitting other limiting factors like memory speed as well too. More than playable though

 

not saying its not a decent score, about 10% increase so far, obviously CPU dependant

we wont know a real comparison unless someone sticks a quad in

 

The 3870s are very capable cards and i am comparing this to my M17x 280 SLI . These cards are no slouches and are running games very comparable to the 280s except Crysis which is just a mess on these cards . The 4870s on the W90 were basically neck and neck with the 280s though in everything so the new 4850s should be kickin some serious tail.

 

Well, just loaded Crysis Warhead for the first time, and what can I say...colour me impressed. 1920x1200 straight in, and gamer (high) detected automatically. Start the game and walla, playing nicely.

From the way people talk about this and Crysis I was expecting something nigh on unplayable. Im using the DX9 64bit exe that was added in the patch. Not sure if it performs better or not, but hey.

 

Direct x 9 will perform quite abit better for sure. If you have Crysis(the first one) download the Crysis benchmark tool and run it at 1920x1200 all very high DX10 and report back . for comparison sake on my W90 and the [email protected] my highest score was 29 fps

 

yeah most games play well on the 3870s which is testament to the cards, its just those resource intensive ones that struggle such as Crysis. It just worries me that some really good game is gunna come out and I will miss out because these cards would struggle.

I think you always feel this way when something better arrives!

 

sadly thats just the nature of computers but the 4850s in your machine would sure let you hold on to the machine quite abit longer.

 

tthe 3870's will not struggle with games until nex year and if you have a good CPU end of next year and then you start bumping down Res

 

So Quadzilla; are you using the M17 more than the M17X??

and tell the truth....LOL

what do you think now having both systems in front of you about the decision that some of the guys have made to buy the M17 instead of the M17X?

just wondering really!

 

he is prolly selling the M!7x so you decide

 

I think he's playing with the M17 more. I haven't heard much about what's he's doing with the M17x.

 

Oh and MOO...I have just asked you this question in "the random thread" and dont really want to ask twice but I will;

What is that GPU overclocking tool you used for the 3870s?? I did have it before but cant remember what its called?

thanks.

 

yeah its all M17 talk at the moment...LOL

 

i already answered you there like 2 min ago ..... nothing slips past me

 

thanks pal.

 

Lol im loving the m17 aside from the crappy screen . Part of my love for the system though is the fact i got a super deal . But the machine kicks some major booty also. The difference though in build quality and just about everything else the m17x wins hands down and there is no comparison and i can safely say that since i have both here at my disposal .

I have a close friend who wants to buy my M17x for what i paid so i may let it go as i dont feel like i need 2 laptops of this caliber and the person who would get it would put it through its paces more then i feel like doing ATM .

Im very content with the M17 and hopefully maybe i can get the 4850s down the road .

Originally i bought this m17 with the intention of taking everything out of it and selling the barebones machine but i never pursued that .

 

just to clarify right now Quadzilla is getting my 4850's

 

Ya that too

 

but i may hold a open Auction .....

 

Haha G thanks

 

Well that's a let down. You were one of the people I was waiting for to get the M17x and now your letting it go? I guess I got to wait for Don, Scook and BIGX to get theirs. BTW, you should have a lot more upgrade options down the road with the M17x.

 

Drake i knew you would chime in on this and ill just say without revealing to much the person getting it which im 99% sure he is will give you a run for your money for sure and is a member here so dont worry the competition is coming .

Its been a busy summer so far and i have not put in the time or effort to really go bananas on overclocking etc and maybe just have not been in the mood either so i feel this person will use the machine the way its meant to be used.

 

Is his name john?

 

Lol nope. But believe me you will know who when the time comes .

 

doubt it ...im thinking some one else

 

too bad. he keeps telling me he would beat all my records if he had the system.