i7-3610QM Vs I7 3720QM in MMORPG CPU INTENSIVE GAMING (GW2)

Hi guys Thinking about getting a alienware M17x r4 with the 7970m -(Driver problems and other problems fixed by now right?)

However even though there are many posts about them in normal GPU intensive games, how does the 3610qm compare to the 3720qm in online CPU intensive games such as GW2 or Wow :O or any other MMORPG? As in the last beta (GW2) it was still using a lot of the CPU for WvWvW and I think I will carry on so.

Also even though I know it is a stupid question but is the i7 3720 more future proof or when it is time for a upgrade it would not really help longevity and both would be obsolete??

Thanks for your time.

 

Note that Beta does not equal final. A lot of it was unoptimized (apparently this is not a word) code.

They did say that those games will draw more power from the CPU, and the 3610qm being a fresh 3rd gen i7, I think youre good.

I will be astonished if even my sandybridge produces problems in the final release.

 

Ah okay then mate So either pick I should have no problems with ultra in WvWvW on 1920x1080 screen?

Oh and would the i7 3720mq last longer or when the inventable upgrade is needed Both would need changing anyway?

 

The 3720qm is partially unlocked, so you get get an extra 400mhz or so on top of the 300mhz speed difference above the 3610qm. So that's 20% more CPU performance. It's certainly better than the 200mhz bumps that you usually get from upgrading the CPU, but it's not going to be the difference between a game being playable and unplayable.

It's not a bad value, but get it only if you really need the CPU perf. For MMOs I can see it coming in handy.

 

Ahh okay then i might buy the I7 3720qm for OC'ing to 4Ghz as that would be best for a MMORPG gamer i assume

 

Any ivy bridge i7 should make light work of any task related to gaming.

 

Just to give u a heads up on the Mmo part of your ? Kailenring. U can see my setup in my Sig. And I play wow a lot and I'm getting over 50fps minimum in all maxed settings and dc11 enabled when standing in the middle of a full orgrimmar. And never even come close to lagging any other time. Don't get me wrong, the 3720 is going to be technically better. But u should really have zero problem if u wanted to save that money and put it towards a ssd or a whatever else.

And even with new mmos coming out u have to keep on mind that they never really try and make them the new metro 2033 in terms of gfx or anything as to not lose a chunk of the player base just because said players comp won't handle it.

Again. I'm not going to try and tell u what your budget is but I personally can not see any of the mmos beating the crap out of a I7 of any "class" anytime soon.

 

were nearing the age where most games are now having quad cores in their recommended specs; its gonna be a while till they reach minimum specs.

I have a question that I wasn't really sure of but how much work does a "virtual core" do when gaming?

Like say if I 6 of my 8 cores (4 real, 4 virtual) thus that leaves me with only 1 working real core for the game, but hyperthreading is enabled would the game run as if it were dual core?

 

@esca
Thanks for relpy . So would you say that there is no real point in getting the i7 3720qm over the i7 3610qm in terms of anything related to gaming? Even in non online Cpu intensive games like Shogun 2 total war?

 

At this day and age? No. However you were asking about future-proofing your rig. Its entirely up to you on how long you plan on keeping it. Upgrade it only when its neccessary is the mindset I have, but if you want the best of the best settings and fps, technology will always upgrade and get better.

 

m1_1x@ Good advice mate, just wondering how hard will it be to upgrade cpu on a alienware Mx17 ? Oh and how much longer would the i7 3720 last in terms of future proofing?

Thanks

 

Pretty much what m1 said. It all depends on how long your going to go before another computer. I personally will have mine for atleast 4 years and if by the rarest chance in the world the 3610 doesn't hold up, which I doubt with most games taking advantage of quadcores now a day, I could buy a 3720 or even a 3800 series dirt cheap by that time and do a quick change out. Well after recovering from the $2250 bill for the laptop. Lol.

 

It wont IMO. By time you replace the 3610qm you will also want to replace the 3720qm.

 

Okay i am going with the i7 3610qm.

Thanks everyone for all your help much appreciated

 

I know it’s kind of off topic but would a SSD drive help load times on a MMORPG or any online game e.g. loading new dungeons or maps?

 

Glad we could help u come to a conclusion. Enjoy your comp. I love mine.

 

The 3720qm will most likely never reach or keep the max rated Turbo clocks, especially on a non-modded cooling system. At stock, 3720qm will barely be 10% "faster" than the 3610qm, and with Throttlestop or bios cpu configurations, it's much less than that if not equal....

 

3610QM will destroy GW2, no sweat. Probably only 50% usage or less.

 

Yep, I think so.

 

Thank you For all your answers

 

An SSD drastically reduces load times for all games. in swtor alderaan would take me 55 seconds to load on a 7200rpm hdd. on my crucial m4 it takes 9 seconds

 

@fenryr423 OMG OMG.. I would literally drool to load that fast on SWTOR i mean on my desktop it was around 1-2 minutes per plantet sometimes even more!! ( Well mostly more )

Do you know if you buy the 32GB upgrade from alienware m17x does it boot from os when you get it or do you have to mess around with it?

 

the best set up is to get a 128gb (preferably larger if your budget can handle it) SSD for your main drive with your OS and all your programs on it. then just get a large HDD for all your music, movies, files etc

 

Okay so what is the 32GB upgrade from alienware for? Is it only for OS? And so you have to load games and everything else on 500GB HDD?

Or is it other way around and alienware load OS on to 500GB HDD and allow you to use 32GB SSD for selected games and once full you have to use the 500GB HDD?

 

i dont know... i didnt even look at AW cuz i couldnt get a laptop with all those lights and take it to work. its prolly an MSATA caching drive. ignore it and get 500 GB HD and then install a SSD yourself that you can get way cheaper from amazon or newegg. AW is a ripoff for the SSD

 

Cheers mate will do

 

That's an mSATA I'm thinking? I'm not on the website. If it is, that's for the new intel tech that helps with caching, so your loading of programs and boot is nearly in use, as fast as SSD. Read/Write will still be slow since that will be on the mechanical drive.

 

Which would be better for overal loading times and loading times in online games that or a 256GB SSD?

 

I recommend you get at least a 128gb ssd for your OS and the games you might install, everything else goes to a normal HDD.

That way you can install... 6 or so AAA games and a bunch of smaller ones.

MMOs tend to be big and the average for all games in the future is to occupy more space.

Edit: if you have the money get a 256 gb ssd of course. ( you can even use it in your next notebook, although by then it is possible 1TB ssds to be cheap lol)

 

A full SATA III SSD (which I'm assuming the 256gb one you're talking about is) would be faster.

But don't buy it as an upgrade from Dell. Buying it aftermarket and installing it yourself is much cheaper.

 

Alright i'll keep that in mind

Is it hard to replace the bog standard 500GB HDD hard drive from dell to a SSD 256GB? And after i replace it would i just wipe the alienware and reinstall the 64 windows 7 and all the drives that come with it or does it not come from alienware with the drives and you have to find and update online anyway?

And would it still be under warranty?

Thanks

 

I have seen some SSD's that come complete with a HD transfer kit which consists of a USB to SATA connection and a software program to complete clone your current HDD, and even you if you get a SSD without said cable, im sure you could pick one up somewhere.

 

1) yes it would still be under warranty.

2) Yep, just install the new SDD then reinstall windows on it and install the drivers from the CD that comes with your computer and then head on to dell.com and update your drivers to the latest versions.