Alienware M17x Nvidia Geforce GTX 260M

Hey guys, I am new to forums, and was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me how well a Nvidia Geforce GTX 260M performs in games like world of Warcraft, and of course the high end games like Crysis.

I have had my eyes on the new Alienware M17x but cannot decide between single GPU or Dual GPU's. I also cannot decide between the T9600 processor or the Q9000. Any help on these two topics would be greatly appreciated , I keep trying to do some basic research of each on google, but not many sites offer a suitable answer, and the mobile GPU is always confused with the desktop version .

Thanks.

 

GTX 260 SLI for sure, otherwise its pointless, as there are ALOT of single GPU Laptops out there for a much better price that give much better performance.

T9600 and overclock it to 3.2 GHz for Gaming.

Q9000 for multitaasking and programs.

Its that simple.

 

I would go with dual since that's one of the main appeals of this machine. It seems kind of... wrong to go single.

And for the processor, it depends on what programs you plan on using. People are saying most games don't take advantage of quads yet, so just go with dual. I'm thinking by the time quads are fully being utilized in most games, there will be faster versions for cheaper, so upgrade then.

 

Of course it does, if why get a single GTX 260 on an M17x when can get a laptop with the same processor and a GTX 280 for less?Better yet, there's a laptop with a Core i7 and a single GTX 280.Its just so pointless to get a single GTX 260 unless to upgrade later....

 

Plus, if all you wanted was one GTX260m, you could get a 15.4" notebook and save yourself 4 lbs.

 

Thank you for the quick replies! I was thinking the SLI was the way to go but then at the same time would you recommend upgrading the LCD to 1920x1200 to take full advantage of the Dual GPU's? (sorry that is kind off off topic to my original questions). I read somewhere SLI doesn't scale as well as low resolutions.

I was also reading that the quad cores aren't properly utilized yet, but I read somewhere that Crysis, CoD4, and some others "gain a performance boost" from quads, but the Q9000 seems to be clocked a little low for gaming. So all in all, the Duo core is the better option?

 

get the high res

and a t9600 ...

Cheaper CPU and can be overclocked to 3.33 ghz

 

u can overclock the t9600?????

 

yea you can OC any CPU in the M17x using the Multipliers or the FSB

 

Or better yet get a Q9200 off Ebay for only £150 and overclock it to 3GHz or more. Quad core + 3GHz speed = Brilliant.

That's my opinion anyway.

But yea unless you're going to upgrade later due to money, go with the SLI or it's pretty much pointless.

 

Yeah i would agree with alot of the people who have responded already. Plus I have the m17x with the T9600 and the 260s in SLI. The processor I have overclocked to 3.33Ghz, but I usually keep it at 3.2ghz. The Dual 260s are very powerful and will play any game out there, I can play crysis at very high/enthusiast with them and with overclocked T9600 it works. Though on very high for an hour the GPU's get hot. The better resolution is nice, I like my spec alot. Plays any game I want and, didn't cost as much as people speculated before i came out. I felt I got a great deal, as did many others.

 

Since there are some talks on thsi thread about overclocking, could someone help me (and i mean lie an idiot step by step) procedure on how to overclock my Q9000. I hadn nto attempted to do thsi ebfore, because i thought you could only overclock an unlocked procesor.

Anyways, i guess i go to the bios first and change the FSB (what value should i use?)
Second, are there any other BIOS values i should change, and if so "to what"?
Third, i guess i need to downlaod and run some Os program to finish the overclocking... what program and what settings should i set.change.
Finally, what should i be monitoring (like temps) and what program should i use (and what values i should keep within my usage)

Sorry for sounding so retarded, but its been ages since i have overcloked

 

wait what? you dont need an extreme cpu to OC on the m17x? Or are you talking about using set FSB...

 

just talked with dell rep and hey said only ex cpus are oc able

 

I have used the FSB to overclock. If that doeskin count, whatever. But it worked to get it up .53 Ghz. Ricard I have only overclocked with my T9600, but all i did was change the FSB, for example, If it is at 1066, throw it up to 1100. See how your comp runs(should be perfectly fine at this low of a FSB) The slowly keep going up on the FSB. Check your temps in games while it is overclocked. Check the m17x benchmarks thread for looking at CPU temps and overclocking. I would say don't go above 87 degrees C. My T9600 has hit 84 and then i just turn the settings down on the game. Note: I am not an expert whatsoever. Just know the basics

 

your using SET FSB right?

 

Nvm...I dont use SET FSB..i went into BIOS and changed the FSB myself.

 

Okay, to overclock: (Yes it is long, but it should tell you everything you need to know about overclocking it)

I'm not sure if you can do this in the BIOS on an M17x but I think you can...change the FSB value. It should read 266MHz. To start with raise it by a fair step, about 10MHz. (so, to 276MHz) Boot the computer, and run a program called OCCT (search for it) I personally run the test for 10 minutes but to ensure stability and to make sure of your max temps with it you may want to run it for longer. OCCT will fully stress the CPU and should find your maximum temperatures. Once the test is over, provided your computer doesn't crash and OCCT doesn't say your processor is running too hot, you have found a stable clock. The process is to continuously raise the FSB at small steps of 10MHz at a time for a start until either 1. the computer crashes, or 2. your temperatures are read on OCCT as too hot. After that happens, change the clock down a step to your last stable clock and you have found your maximum overclock. If (and only if) you are limited by the temperatures rather than your computer crashing, then you may change your thermal paste or use a notebook cooler to try and cool your processor even more to allow for a higher overclock.

After that you may want to try minor adjustments of 1MHz instead of 10MHz to try and find your max, max overclock but it won't likely make much of a difference.

Considering the M17x has very, very good cooling, you will most likely find your computer crashes from too high overclocking before your CPU runs too hot, however I'm not entirely certain.

Each individual processor is different; some overclock better than others. There have been, for example, QX9300 owners who have easily overclocked (using multipliers, not FSB, but this is the same principle in terms of processor individuality) to above 3.2GHz but some can't even hit 2.93GHz. You cannot be guaranteed that your processor will run at the same level as someone else's, and at the same time, your processor may overclock above what everyone else can.

Hope all of that helped.

IF you can't overclock in the BIOS using FSB, you can use SetFSB in the operating system instead. However I can't help you there; you will need the clock generator for the M17x and I don't know what the clock generator is. Once you have that you basically increase the top bar by steps of 10 at a time, maybe 5 if you want to be careful, instead of changing the FSB in the bios.

 

go 260 SLI,

many games have problems with SLI, but the ones that dont, say hello to desktop power n speed.

 

For the last time it has been said 3 times we are not using a program it has the option in the BIOS.... and the dell rep you talked to was retarded