x220 - Please share your GPU performance

Hi all,

I recently got an x220 and immediately upgraded to 8gb ram after reading that the extra ram increases gpu performance for games significantly. However, I am not seeing any performance boost in my games. Nor do I see much increase in my WEI scores, or 3DMark06 scores.

So I'm wondering if people can share their benchmark scores, fps in games, and maybe the somewhat useless WEI scores.

I'm not on my x220 right now so I'll post my WEI scores and fps in games later, but I remember my 3DMark06 score to be in the 3100 range as opposed to the 5000 range I should get with 8gb RAM.

 

You don't get more performance unless you were upgrading from "single channel" or "asymmetric dual channel".

 

Sorry forgot to mention that. I was indeed upgrading from a single channel 4gb set up. So I added another 4gb module to the one I originally had. Also I tried to find the closest spec to the one I orginally had.

 

Well according to my previous experience with Intel integrated graphics cards (Core 2 Duo era), upgrading from "asymmetric dual channel (2GB+1GB)" to "dual channel (2GB+2GB)" improved my 3DMark (cant remember which version) score by around 20% or so.

 

3dmark is pretty pointless to run on integrated video that wont be used for anything intensive, to me anyways, so I have nothing there. Here's a capture of the WEI. It's pretty useless as well, but it's there and takes no effort.


i5-2410
6gb DDR3-1333 (2gb samsung that came with it + 4gb Corsair)
320gb Hitachi that came with it.
Fresh install of 7 x64 ultimate, latest vid driver (2361 i think it was)


Pretty average I expect.

 

PCMark Vantage x64 = 12071
3DMark06 = 5364

Processor 7.1
Memory 7.6
Graphics 6.4
Gaming 6.4
Disk 7.7

i7 / 8GB 1866 / Intel 320

S

 

i7 / 8gb 1333 / intel 310 / bios 1.19 / Win 7 Pro x64

WEI

Processor: 7.1
Memory: 7.5
Graphics: 4.5
Gaming graphics: 5.9
Primary hard disk: 7.7

3DMark06: 3100 (with ac adapter and battery plugged in) 4377 (only battery)


I know these are synthetic benchmarks and scores, but what I want to figure out is why my scores are significantly lower. These scores should roughly be in the same range given our specs are similar, but they are far off (or is it? 1866 vs 1333 RAM might be causing this?). Also the much lower score with AC battery plugged in might be the well known throttling issue.

 

I have 6.3/6.3 and 8gb 1333. Install the Intel driver, not those from Lenovo.

 

For reference, a 3-1/2 year old T61p Quadro 570m is 6.2 on 3D graphics.

If only they had a little dedicated graphics processor, I would have bought a i7 X200, but it's odd for it to have twice the processor, and nearly as much on graphics capabilty.

[I still want a W320, something with a switchable dedicated GPU. A 12"-13" is good for traveling. The x220's 7.7mm drive form factor is a baffling compromise.

If they stuff a i7 2620 in a 13" machine with either an ATI or Nvidia graphic chip, and a 10mm hard drive, I will not be able to resist buying it.]

 

Sorry I'm a little challenged... Could you tell me how to get the intel driver, better yet a link? Thanks

 

Where did you get 1866MHz DDR3 memory modules?

 

Those are most likely the Kingston Hyper X modules.

Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1866 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1866C11S3P1K2/8G

 

I upgraded my graphics drivers to the Intel ones as suggested. My WEI went from 5.2/5.6 to 6.4/6.4. Full WEI:

Processor: 6.9
RAM: 7.4
Grpahics: 6.4
Gaming: 6.4
HDD: 7.7

i5-2420M, 8gb RAM (normal speed), Intel 310 80gb / Hitachi 7200RPM 320gb

 

Ok, I installed the intel driver. WEI is now 4.6 and 6.0 and 3DMark06 in the 4400~4500 range. Not much of an improvement...

 

If not a link, the driver name/number we are looking for

 

Can someone link to the driver please?

 

Go to the Intel site, go to the Support page, go to the Drivers, get the HD drivers for 32- or 64-bit OS as appropriate. I believe the newest one is xx61.

If you're smart enough to install your own mSATA drive, I'm sure you can figure that out.

 

The driver is 2361 and you need to download the zip version and update the driver through device manager. Didn't realise the driver made that much difference. That is the one I'm using, and the RAM is the HyperX. All the tips were from reading the owners thread. And I'm on a clean install.

S

 

I went to the Intel website and downloaded the latest (Mar 11) driver and it would not install saying it was not validated for the computer.

I would leave it on Lenovo validated drivers for now.

 

Here is the result of the Intel Driver Detection Utility from the Intel website:

8.15.10.2342
This device is unknown or unsupported. Please contact the manufacturer for possible updates. More information>>

The latest Lenovo driver is apparently modified enough by Lenovo as to be currently unrecognizable by the Intel software.

The Intel 2361 driver is the one that will not load, at least from the *.exe download. Nor will it run from the .zip file download.

At least on my X220.

 

Well it's the latest one when you search for HD3000 and works without issue from the zip file.

S

 

I believe if you completely uninstall the existing driver from the Device Manager page (delete files if it asks too) then reboot, you should be able to install the Intel driver. That's what I did.

Also make sure you're using the right 32/64 version. I was trying to install the wrong one at first.

 

Nor will it install from the unzipped folder in Downloads from the Device Mgr. So I tried all 3 methods....exe, Zip, and unzip and than point to it.

 

I thought the 1866 memory would make a bigger difference in graphics as I've seen this in other postings. I have the Intel 2361 graphics driver installed and latest bios. Why the low graphics reading?

Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB 7.6
Graphics Intel(R) HD Graphics Family 5.3
Gaming graphics 1696 MB Total available graphics memory 6.2
Primary hard disk 242GB Free (287GB Total) 5.9

X220/4286CTO: Windows 7 Professional / Bios 1.19 / i5-2540M CPU / 8gb 1866 Memory / 320gb 7200rpm hard drive / Ultimate-N 6300 / Intel 2361 graphics driver installed / HD IPS screen

 

^Odd, but then I don't fully understand how WEI works. Make sure you do a full refresh of the results though, as sometimes a hardware change can trigger a small recalculation rather than the full re-evaluation.

Have you tried any proper benchmarks to check the difference, like PCMark Vantage or 3DMark06?

S

 

Can you post 3dmark06 please

 

These are 1866 C11, which is basically at the same level as 1600 C10 and 1333 C9. I assume even the original 8GB modules from Lenovo are running at 1333 C9 (I'll have a look myself when I receive mine).

 

You will probably get a decent jump in 3DMark, but not in WEI. I think all WEI does is measure the latency of RAM. I have read reviews that have said WEI scores actually dropped with 1866 Memory. But I would guess you should get a 500 point or so gain in 3DMark and a decent FPS gain in games.

I am more than satisfied with a 3DMark score of 5,200 or so, so I didn't see a need for 1866 and after reading up on eGPUs, seems that extra cash could be better spent.

 

Thanks for the replies. I did get a WEI Graphics boost changing to 1866 memory from 2gb stock memory (4.6 to 5.3). I have "re-run the assessment" in the WEI window. I'll get 3DMark, give it a whirl, and report back.

 

Reporting back
3DMarks: 4430
Likely about a 500 boost as turned2black suggested.
3DMarks isn't going to change with SSD, is it?

X220/4286CTO: Windows 7 Professional / Bios 1.19 / i5-2540M CPU / 8gb 1866 Memory / 320gb 7200rpm hard drive / Ultimate-N 6300 / Intel 2361 graphics driver installed / HD IPS screen

 

I have installed this one: Win7Vista_64_15221.exe

Scores:

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2520M CPU @ 2.50GHz 7.1
Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB 7.4
Graphics Intel(R) HD Graphics Family 5.7
Gaming graphics 1696 MB Total available graphics memory 6.3
Primary hard disk 89GB Free (119GB Total) 7.9

X220 tablet: i5 2520, 8GB RAM, 128GB Crucial M4

 

turned2black and stevod, would there be some kind of special settings you guys might be using for your graphics? You seem to be the only two with 3DMark06 scores of over 5000.

 

Latest Intel driver, Maximum Performance, Thermal settings in the BIOS set to "Performance" instead of "Balanced." And I have an i7, so I run 3DMark on battery for less throttling.

 

Maybe a Vaio SA with the i7 2620m+HD6630m+900p 13.3" display is for you (dunno on the 10mm drive, but a 9.5mm Momentus XT fit fine, and the bracket probably could spare some room if asked). Also a built in slot loader, upto a Bluray reader. Can also swap out for second drive (since no mSATA). Of course, it has the normal stupid Sony design stuff, like fully opening the screen (which is a meader 135* or so) will block half of the only outlet vent, no DP, since Sony loves HDMI, and a useless, seperate slot for MediaStick cards.

Or the Fujitsu S761, which is basically the same thing with a 768p display, and nVidia equivilent GPU (may be the weaker 520 or the near equal 525, idr), and no Optical drive...

But I think I would of went for the X220 if one of my friends didn't make a mention about the IPS panel being not as great as it seemed

 

The IPS panel is a lot better than the SA screen, and although lower resolution, I think I prefer it to the Z screen (1600x900), although the Z screen can go brighter.

S

 

No. Just using the Intel driver. And a clean install. I think the benchmarks override any settings for power management and resolution and so on, so that they can be compared from machine to machine.

I'm using a 90W power adapter, although it doesn't seem that these benchmarks run long enough for the throttling to take place anyway, as I read people needing to run them for 3/4/5 times in quick succession to get throttling (which seems a pretty pointless exercise). I've never checked the throttling on the machine.

S

 

Ah, I was eyeballing the new Z and it's 1080p display (since I've played around with a Z11? that had one and liked it), but the external GPU was a showstopper for my useage (and because it detracted, IMO, from the Z's premium). I was looking at the X220 before that, and just couldn't decide if the reported IPS panel problems were a select few who had much higher standards for IPS panels (maybe expecting H-IPS or S-IPS?) or was it really an issue that showed up across the board.

Oh, well, I'll wait on Ivy Bridge and stop bothering you guys/gals in the Lenovo forum

EDIT: since I'm here, the Sony SA/SB/SC/SD has 4GB of it's RAM integrated in the form of 1333c9, soldered onto the mobo , so the IGP get's little boost

 

Why does it seem pointless? The original guy to discover the perma-throttling found out from playing Civ 5. Considering the shortest amount of time anyone would realistically play that game is 30-60 minutes (and that's being generous!), I'd say running that 10-minute-long benchmark program 3-4 times is a pretty realistic way to recreate real-world usage.

 

That wasn't really what I meant. I didn't mean that discovering the problem was pointless, just that now that it's been discovered and a fix is on the way, a personal endeavour to recreate it on my own machine is not an amazing use of my time. So I spent £25 on a 90W adapter and don't need to think about it.

S