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    M17x Crossfire in 7

    Discussion in 'Alienware' started by zennik, Oct 21, 2009.

  1. Marvie100

    Marvie100 On a Mission

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    The system for sure came with installed drivers, but in his angzt to get Win 7 installed the OP didn't do any testing with the system prior to wiping it lol.
     
    Marvie100, Oct 21, 2009
    #51
  2. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    lol...oops. Wait for the next person to get it then unless he is willing to open the system up.
     
    Mandrake, Oct 21, 2009
    #52
  3. Quadzilla

    Quadzilla The eye is watching you

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    I dont think the drivers would change the memory type under GPU-Z .. Everything else that GPU-Z is reporting is correct IE subvendor Dell etc... So these may in fact be DDR3 :(.. Hopefully im wrong though..
     
    Quadzilla, Oct 21, 2009
    #53
  4. SillyHoney

    SillyHoney Headphone Enthusiast

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    @ Mandrake: I'm just curious but how do you get 12k+ Vantage score with a GTX 180M?
     
    SillyHoney, Oct 21, 2009
    #54
  5. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    So more or less you believe it's reading it directly from the bios of the GPU?

    180M is a Vantage database issue. I had the 280M SLI.
     
    Mandrake, Oct 21, 2009
    #55
  6. Quadzilla

    Quadzilla The eye is watching you

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    Exactly....
     
    Quadzilla, Oct 21, 2009
    #56
  7. nickbarbs

    nickbarbs Notebook Deity

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    Still, seems like performance (if they are GDDR3) rivals the Nvidia 280's. For Euro Customers thats great news because the 280M GTX SLI's are significantly more expensive than the HD4870 GDDR3 Crossfires..
     
    nickbarbs, Oct 21, 2009
    #57
  8. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    I did some research on GPU-Z and it retrieves the info on the card via the PCI device ID. Unfortunately that is too generic.
     
    Mandrake, Oct 21, 2009
    #58
  9. Quadzilla

    Quadzilla The eye is watching you

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    Well from just a stock clock perspective they are on par or even a hair better then the 280s and in your case cost less so i would be happy with that no doubt..

    In the end if there DDR3 and only marginally faster then the 280s then it will be more of a which flavor do you like thing, atleast for US customers...

    I myself would still opt for the ATIs because i know in games(where it counts) they are going to be faster just like my W90 was getting better framerates compared to my M17x ...

    These cards support DX10.1 so to me its a no brainer which one i would pick personally...
     
    Quadzilla, Oct 21, 2009
    #59
  10. nickbarbs

    nickbarbs Notebook Deity

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    Cool, so at least I dont have to have warranty - swapper remorse LOL :p

    Is it wrong that at work, I've got my Dell Invoice spec sheet open in the back ground, and I keep looking at it longingly? 2.5 weeks to go w a delivery date of 11/09.. and F5 doesn't seem to be changing my IN PRODUCTION status.. *tear*
     
    nickbarbs, Oct 21, 2009
    #60
  11. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    According to the techpowerup forums the memory info is read from the GPU registers via its driver. The OP should call up Dell at the very least and get a hold of the original drivers.
     
    Mandrake, Oct 21, 2009
    #61
  12. Quadzilla

    Quadzilla The eye is watching you

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    Did he hose the factory image in the hidden partition ??... I did not read that he did or maybe he does not know its even there...
     
    Quadzilla, Oct 21, 2009
    #62
  13. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    We'll have to wait until he wakes up. lol.
     
    Mandrake, Oct 21, 2009
    #63
  14. nickbarbs

    nickbarbs Notebook Deity

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    Ok, I realize this is off topic and we should get back to the original topic at hand - but I dont think this is possible for Dell UK?

    Edit: moving that comment to the right thread, thanks
     
    nickbarbs, Oct 21, 2009
    #64
  15. dondadah88

    dondadah88 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    can't wait to see some runs.

    since it's gddr3 that we know so far, I am wondering if the OP can upload the bios from gpu-z and someone try to flash the w90 with it.
     
    dondadah88, Oct 21, 2009
    #65
  16. Marvie100

    Marvie100 On a Mission

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    GPU-Z reads from a database based on DEVID's so it could be misreported.
     
    Marvie100, Oct 21, 2009
    #66
  17. Darth Bane

    Darth Bane Dark Lord of the Sith

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    Darth Bane, Oct 21, 2009
    #67
  18. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    Mandrake, Oct 21, 2009
    #68
  19. ichime

    ichime Notebook Elder

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    Vantage numbers look like a GDDR3 card to me, especially when factoring in that Catalyst 9.7 is being used and Windows 7 is the OS. I got around 10.3k GPU with the W90 with 9.4 drivers. I could be proven wrong if the single card scores are in the high 6k range with nothing done to the cards (difference between GDDR5 and GDDR3 would be around 800 pts in that situation). But so far, it looks like GDDR3 cards, which is a downer.

    That said, people are saying that Catalyst 9.11 BETA gives people a good jump in Vantage and games that run DX10.1:

    http://developer.amd.com/gpu/ATIStreamSDKBetaProgram/Pages/default.aspx#five

    (direct link to both 32bit/64 bit: http://developer.amd.com/Downloads/ati-opencl-beta-driver-v2.0-beta4-vista-win7.zip)
     
    ichime, Oct 21, 2009
    #69
  20. Digital1337

    Digital1337 Notebook Evangelist

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    Digital1337, Oct 21, 2009
    #70
  21. kryptonian

    kryptonian Notebook Evangelist

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    There has to be some kind of explanation. Why would dell allow such a glaring mistake like that? I wish we could just know one way or the other already.
     
    kryptonian, Oct 21, 2009
    #71
  22. Digital1337

    Digital1337 Notebook Evangelist

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    Alright boys, we gotta wake Zennik up !!!! Anyone has his number ?! I can't wait to see some gaming results ... ))
     
    Digital1337, Oct 21, 2009
    #72
  23. nickbarbs

    nickbarbs Notebook Deity

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    He should be up soon, but he might be still upset from his GDDR3 discovery and spend his time yelling at Dell instead.. LOL!

    Isn't it pretty easy to pop open the GPU cage to check it out once and for all on the actual card?
     
    nickbarbs, Oct 21, 2009
    #73
  24. Digital1337

    Digital1337 Notebook Evangelist

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    gotta send him the Moo's GPU guide link for some easy DIY though )))
     
    Digital1337, Oct 21, 2009
    #74
  25. zennik

    zennik Notebook Enthusiast

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    Dear god people, I work 14 hours a day, patience :p


    So, here's the catchup based on what i've read:

    Yes, I wiped everything out. I cannot put into words how much I loathe Vista, I'd have tried to load XP if 7 wasn't out...

    I did talk to AW a bit last night. The person I spoke to assured me that with proper drivers, it would register as GDDR5, and from my own personal understanding, I don't really doubt him on that. Lack of sleep just had me really pissed off, initially, at seeing 'GDDR3' plastered everywhere.

    GPU-Z does NOT read the info straight from the card, as far as I know, but instead pulls its information straight from the drivers it's talking to, thus why both show it as GDDR3. That being said, I wasn't even aware of 9.11 Catalyst Drivers, so I'm going to give that a shot real quick.

    If I have time, i'll pop it open, but I think the best bet is to wait for Ribz or whoever gets the next one to do some testing with the shipped drivers.

    Hey, that's an idea. SEND ME YOUR DRIVERS IF YOU GET YOURS!
     
    zennik, Oct 21, 2009
    #75
  26. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    Did you ask Dell to put the original drivers up on their FTP site?
     
    Mandrake, Oct 21, 2009
    #76
  27. zennik

    zennik Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yeah, I was told to wait until they're officially posted.
     
    zennik, Oct 21, 2009
    #77
  28. nickbarbs

    nickbarbs Notebook Deity

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    Hmmmmm... Mandrake, maybe this means UK cards are actually GDDR5?

    Still a mystery. Would be crazy if UK gets GDDR3 but all the rest of the world gets GDDR5!
     
    nickbarbs, Oct 21, 2009
    #78
  29. Ribz

    Ribz Notebook Enthusiast

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    Shouldn't be too long now. It's on the Fed-Ex truck for delivery, headed to my apartment as we speak.

    The only problem is, despite taking this week off from work, I'm going to have to head to my office for a while. I'll post CPU-Z and all that when I get home later tonight.
     
    Ribz, Oct 21, 2009
    #79
  30. lordqarlyn

    lordqarlyn Global Biz Consultant

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    I'm hoping its misreads from the software and there are GDDR5's in the cards....
     
    lordqarlyn, Oct 21, 2009
    #80
  31. Ribz

    Ribz Notebook Enthusiast

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    More than likely, that is whats happening. I highly doubt that a corporation like Dell would deliberately - or, even through a gross mistake - mislabel the 4870s, opening themselves up to countless customer complaints, returns, and maybe even a lawsuit or two.
     
    Ribz, Oct 21, 2009
    #81
  32. kryptonian

    kryptonian Notebook Evangelist

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    Here's hoping!
     
    kryptonian, Oct 21, 2009
    #82
  33. menengroth

    menengroth Notebook Consultant

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    i'm only after looking at the Irish site again now, it says:

    Single 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M [Included in Price]
    Single 1GB ATI® GDDR3 Mobility™ Radeon™ HD 4870 [add € 25.00 or €1/month1]
    SLI™ Dual 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M [add € 370.00 or €14/month1]
    CrossFire™ Dual 1GB ATI® GDDR3 Mobility™ Radeon™ HD 4870 [add € 415.01 or €16/month1]
    SLI™ Dual 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M [add € 739.99 or €27/month1]


    =o
     
    menengroth, Oct 21, 2009
    #83
  34. Ribz

    Ribz Notebook Enthusiast

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    Amen.

    I know for sure that if the cards are indeed GDDR3, I'm going to have a freaking fit on the phone with Dell.
     
    Ribz, Oct 21, 2009
    #84
  35. anothergeek

    anothergeek Equivocally Nerdy

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    I still believe they are GDDR5. For one, a 10.6k GPU score in Vantage with a T9600 is quite good, certainly better than the W90. Secondly, the memory clock is 888mhz, which was Ati's given specification for GDDR5 Mobility 4870. The W90 looked like this:

    [​IMG]

    The most certain way would be to crack open the GPU heatsink and check the memory on the GPU. If it doesn't blatantly say GDDR5, at least write down the number and we'll check it out. Keep in mind RV770 is more CPU bound than G92, with GDDR5 it's even more CPU bound. When you pair the 4870 x2 with a QX9300, you should easily be in the mid 11000's at stock clocks, and perhaps 13-14k with overclocking.
     
    anothergeek, Oct 21, 2009
    #85
  36. Digital1337

    Digital1337 Notebook Evangelist

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    @ Ribz
    hahah , well I'll be sure not to leave you hanging all alone ... ! ))
     
    Digital1337, Oct 21, 2009
    #86
  37. lordqarlyn

    lordqarlyn Global Biz Consultant

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    Yeah I'm thinking the same....
     
    lordqarlyn, Oct 21, 2009
    #87
  38. WaR

    WaR Notebook Virtuoso

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    sigh

    So now we wait for what as confirmation? For someone to get it in the US?
     
    WaR, Oct 21, 2009
    #88
  39. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    Are you against opening up the system and finding out?

    I agree. Hint hint to zennik. Imagine all the rep you'd get. lol!
     
    Mandrake, Oct 21, 2009
    #89
  40. zennik

    zennik Notebook Enthusiast

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    It would have to wait until I get home from work, don't have time to do it in the office today.
     
    zennik, Oct 21, 2009
    #90
  41. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    cool...thanks.
     
    Mandrake, Oct 21, 2009
    #91
  42. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    Follow my guide it will be easy
     
    The_Moo™, Oct 21, 2009
    #92
  43. cookinwitdiesel

    cookinwitdiesel Retired Bencher

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    Sorry to add to the confusion (frustration?) here, but I am pretty sure that GPU-Z gets data right off the card...it shows the memory type and amount without any drivers installed in the system...(you just wont see any of the clocks or performance numbers)
     
    cookinwitdiesel, Oct 21, 2009
    #93
  44. ichime

    ichime Notebook Elder

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    And even if GPU-Z did misread it, it shouldn't affect the performance of the card. The vantage scores suggest those are GDDR3 modules.
     
    ichime, Oct 21, 2009
    #94
  45. dondadah88

    dondadah88 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    well eurocum does have it. I wonder if someone can call them and ask them?
     
    dondadah88, Oct 21, 2009
    #95
  46. cookinwitdiesel

    cookinwitdiesel Retired Bencher

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    what iChime said....

    Sadly, I feel better with my GTX 280m now.....sorry guys!
     
    cookinwitdiesel, Oct 21, 2009
    #96
  47. Rengsey R. H. Jr.

    Rengsey R. H. Jr. I Never Slept

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    I'll be the guinea pig. I'm getting my m17x today between 12 and 2 p.m. I'll rip that sucker open when i get home from work.

    Note: He did use a driver from 4850's. That might explain the GDDR3 info. We'll see.
     
    Rengsey R. H. Jr., Oct 21, 2009
    #97
  48. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    No drivers for the hardware then the hardware will not work.
     
    Mandrake, Oct 21, 2009
    #98
  49. Mandrake

    Mandrake Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    Would appreciate more than one verification.
     
    Mandrake, Oct 21, 2009
    #99
  50. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    Yea I had gddr6 one time when I had no driver on my m17
     
    The_Moo™, Oct 21, 2009
    #100
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