Is my 3dmark score any good??

Hi there, Im new to the forum so go easy on me..

I have an Alienware Area 51 m17x-R1 that I have had for quite a while now, I bought it secondhand when it was nearly new (Was about 6 months old).


Currently it has: Inte Core2Duo CPU T8100 @ 2.10GHz, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT x2 in SLI, 4GB DDR2 ram at 667mhz, Seagate 500gb 7200rpm hard drives x2, bluray burner, Tv tuner, 1920x1200p screen & alienFX keyboard.

I never used to play games on it as I did a lot of my photo editing, hence the reason for the 1200p screen for seeing more of the pictures on the creen, but now that I have started to play games Im finding it slow & a friend sugested running 3DMark06.

All seems good with the laptop, still does the phot editing & conversions fast & all, but when I run 3dMark06 pro the cpu test cant even reach 1fps & normally sits around the 0fps mark & the overall score of the laptop

is 7330 3DMarks..

SM2.0 Score: 3387
HDR/SM3.0 Score: 3130
CPU Score: 1870

Do those figures sound right or do I have a CPU problem??.


I would also like to know if fitting the intel core2 extreme X9000 2.8ghz processor would be possible to the laptop & help its performance any?.

Hope you guys can help me out cause im now wondering if im gonna have to start looking for another laptop as Alienware UK are little more than useless as it was a secondhand machine & wont give me any support at all nor will they let me give a account number to access the hive.


Regards, Ed.

 

your cpu is a tip low. You should be able to break 2000 on the cpu. But the 1fps on the cpu run is normal. Also the x9000 will help you out slot with 2.8ghz vs 2.1ghz

 

Thanks for the prompt reply, wasnt sure about the cpu score & thought it was low myself, might look for a X9000 to swap out the T8100, Im assuming the X9000 is just a straight swap as it is the same processor socket?..

Ed.

 

The CPU score is so low because basically it's running ALL of the graphics processing on the CPU itself. 1fps is perfectly normal.

The best way to increase game performance would ideally be to upgrade your graphics cards, but with your model, you can't without changing the motherboard as well.

 

I would have thought I could have changed my cards upto the NVIDIA GeForce Go 8800M GTX cards in SLI or the NVIDIA nForce 100 cards in SLI (If I could even get them now) as they were the maximum spec my motherboard could have been fitted with when it was new??..

Ed.

 

you can also do 9800m gt with is the same thing. i also heard of the 9800m gtx fitting but i haven't comfirmed it.

i'm also confused with the mobo change as well???

off topic:
can you send me some pictures of your unit. i would like to comapre the new m17x vs the 1st gen m17x
my user name then at gmail and don't forget the dot and the com.

 

You should have the pics of mine dondadah88, & yeah, I always though you could change the original gfx cards upto the highest they were when the laptop was built?.. The same with the processor as I thought the t8100 could be swapped for the X9000 processor??.. Does anyone know if it is as simple as just swapping them over?.

Ed.

 

yes the cpu is swapable. the gpu is dedicated so therefore you just need to find a 8800m gtx/9800mgt.
unless there was a motherboard change to support those card but it doesn't make any sense to me. we would have to wait for a 1st m17x owner to comfirm this.,

 

so here is your 1st-gen m17x owner.

Yes. cpu is swapable. I had a T9300(same socket as T8100) when it came from Alienware and recently I upgraded to X9000 myself. (bought X9000 and sold T9300 here). For your system I think T8100 does hold you back. 2.1G with 3M l2 cache is just not enough for SLI system.

The graphic cards are swapable too. However, heatsink for 8800M GTX/ 9800m gt is different from 8600m gt's. So you also need to get new heatsinks as well. I think you may be able to get MXM 2.1 type HE 8800m gtx/ 9800m gt card ( this is what your machine and mine use) on internet but for heatsinks the only source is alienware and they will ask you for the account information associated with your machine. Since you are not the original owner, it may be a problem for you.

And for your interest in 3Dmark06 8800M GTX SLI@stock frequency with [email protected] can get 14100. Therefore this upgrade will be huge for you.

 

Listen. I had the same setup as you. But with 2.4ghz cpu. With dual 8600.

1 I had to have the motherboard replaced with A06.
2 When I Payed for dual 9800gt The slave gpu the one under the Keyboard would run 103c in game. It did not matter which gpu was under in slave slot.

To check your motherboard Model go go alienware support faq/ knowlage base type in m17x motherboard. You see a list and look for How can I determine the motherboard version of my Area-51 m17x mobile system? If your system A02. You would have to get a new motherboard that has a A06 and hope not have the overheating issue like I did.

 

Thanks for all your replies,

Think im gonna get myself the X9000 chip to start the upgrades then see what I can do from then on, Already fitted the two 500Gb 7200rpm drives, fitted the tv tuner card, fitted the 4Gb ram & the 2GB intel turbo boost card.

Being in the UK its still pretty hard to source spares & parts unlike what I have seen on the us ebay listings, & Alienware UK are just a waste of time for trying to get anything from them, hell they dont even have the Alienware branded backpacks, messenger bags, Alienware mouse or any of the stuff you can get on the US site.

Think if the processor dont do the job or get it upto some good speeds, will just keep it for my picture & photo work & buy a new laptop for gaming (but will think twice about alienware now as the support ive had from them so far is little more than useless!)


Ed.