EQ2 on m15x

I searched and could find no threads concerning EverQuest 2 performance on the m15x, but I would like to hear what others are getting. I have the 8800m GTX, 2.5 ghz T9300 proc, and 4 gigs of RAM.

I ran EQ2 on the m15x, my old Area-51m 766, and my desktop and used the graphics presets in the game to compare.

The desktop has the 8800 GTS 640, 2.4 ghz E6600 processor, and 4 gigs of RAM.


Resolution:

766: 1680x1050
m15x: 1920x1200
desktop: 1280x1024


Graphics Setting "Extreme Quality":

766: 1 fps, temperature unknown
m15x: 19 fps, temperature 94c
desktop: 28 fps, temperature 85c


Graphics Setting "High Quality":

766: 7 fps
m15x: 35 fps, temperature 92c
desktop: 39 fps, temperature 82c


Graphics Setting "Extreme Performance":

766: 23 fps
m15x: 105 fps, temperature 83c
desktop: 103 fps, temperature 80c


The screen on the m15x has over 30% more pixels than the 766 and 43% more than the desktop, so it is doing much more work in displaying all these pixels. I am glad I got the 1920x1200 screen because it really is an awesome picture in this game. I increased my font size in chat windows so the readability is not an issue.

Test was done in Greater Faydark with a Level One Wood Elf running around the newbie area.

The only alarming thing with EQ2 is that the m15x GPU temperature goes up to 102c when left at the Character Select screen for any length of time. The desktop computer stayed at 85c at Character Select.

 

ummm...plug...I don't think 102c is very safe at all Do you have the new bios? Are the fans kicking in ok?

 

At 90c the fans come on full blast. They seem to be working fine and are blowing a lot of hot air.

It mostly stayed below 90 while playing EQ2. I just checked it again and it went over 100 on the Character Select screen when I left it there for a few minutes.

The computer has the newest BIOS. vx32 P3A33.

 

Both desktop and laptop temps are kinda high. Desktop temps Should be alot lower then laptops. Due to larger cache and such. Have you updated any thing on the laptop?

 

No, I hadn't updated anything. I just received the laptop yesterday and it is current on everything.

Just now I decided to try the beta driver 7.15.11.7580 which I got from My Hive, but this hasn't had any effect on anything.

 

Plug, that's what I had... Sent it back and they told me it was a bad thermal profile on the GPU.
I strongly advise you not to keep that GPU as it will probably lead to problems further down the road. Any temp above boiling temp, inside of the M15x is an accident waiting to happen. It's my theory that the two owners that got their lids broken was due to the high temperatures the 8800GTX reaches during gameplay.

So... I guess the overheating problem wasn't really solved yet. The cooling system is very poor and when it faces a particular 8800GTX that is more prone to warm up (even though it's working completely fine) it shows how poor it is. And AW hasn't done a thing regarding the 8800GTX overheating as nothing was changed on the cooling system. Only when that happens can problems really be tackled.

Sorry to hear that Plug... Play it safe. Send an email to CS (or Roswell) and get that sorted out. Take screens of the temperatures to send it to them.

 

It doesn't run that hot all the time, just on that one particular screen in that game. The rest of the time, it generally is cool enough that the fans do not even run on high. It did not heat up when I ran 3DMark Vantage, either.

I am going to call Alienware and ask about it, though. The temperature was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the house when the computer reached 102C. Raising the notebook half an inch or so immediately resulted in a temperature drop, so maybe I will order one of those fan platforms which people have talked about on here.

The m15x has fewer heat issues than my old m766 did when it was new. I wonder if nVidia either didn't know about, or misrepresented the expected temperatures to the notebook manufacturers when the 8800mGTX and the m15x were both on the drawing board.

Your theory about the lids breaking due to GPU heat doesn't add up. When you get yours back you will see that the heat doesn't go into the lid, and the lid does not heat up much even in the area closest to the GPU exhaust vent. I'm certain those two people just got defective lids.

 

Well... On my laptop, that area did heat up a lot. You have air at 100ºC coming out of the exhaust which is just underneath the hinge. The hot air that gets out the exhaust goes up due to air convection and this warms up the right hinge. I think this is a completely feasible idea. The thermal stress that the hinge is very often exposed to, might fragilize the hinge.

Nevertheless... 100C is simply too much and I'm sure if it goes to 102ºC on some situations, it will go in several other more. 3DMark, syntethic tests (like ATItools), etc etc... will not come close enought to what a game can do when all the settings are pushed up.

Good luck with your laptop.

 

215 degrees Fahrenheit...thats hot!

 

Damn! Thats hot as hell...I cant comment on the m15x or even EQII but I just got my M9750 yesterday and running LOTRO in DX10 with Max everything at native res (1440x900) and it didnt even get very warm and Im only running a single 8700m GT 1.6ghz t5500 and 2 gigs of ram...Ill intall EQ2 tonight and see how it runs on mine