[OPINIONS]Return 7970M and get 680M?

i have following problem, i mostly play BF3, and seeing that the AMD card has its problems, i am considering an exchange. Money isnt an issue here, i would only pay 100$ more, but id have to change my processor dor the 3610qm to be able to afford it.


[680M]PROS:
-BF3 MP runs stable (Optimus>Enduro)
-card runs cooler (-->better overclock?)

CONS
-slower processor required(see above)
-possibility of 7970m running faster after better drivers.

[7970M] PROS
- runs everything else than bf3 fine and bf3 isnt unplayable most of the time(>30fps)
(-comfort, I already have the laptop and would like to keep it )
-possibility of outperforming the 680 in the future
-no other problems like heat issues etc. for me

CONS
-BF3 MP unstable (Strike at Karkand runs 25-35), and otherwise huge fps dips (70--->30)


All i want are opinions, should i wait for better drivers or switch? i heard AW got some drivers 2 days ago, were they any good?
I also dont like the idea of a 3610qm processor
But my biggest concern is that the 7970M will outperform the 680 in the future. the fact that i now get over 100fps on ultra without AA sometimes gives me hope.....
On the other hand i want to play bf3 badly

i tried some overclocking(940/1375) yesterday but that didnt help much...

my rig is in the sig, what do you guys think? and what would you do in my situation?

Also id be happy if anyone could comment on what they are getting on close quarters fps-wise, since i plan on buying it.

 

i say go for it, the 3610qm is more than fast enough for anything you will ever need to do period.

 

+ Better drivers
+ Runs much cooler
+ If you know what you are doing, overclocking is going to be a lot of fun.

- The 7970M is slightly stronger
- The 680M is more expensive
- 680M doesn't overclock as insane as 7970M

If you ask me, the pros kill the cons! If you've got the cash, go for the 680M better in the long run and keeps your machine nice and cool, but hey the 7970M is very nice too

 

As someone who already ordered a 680M, I say don't do it.

The 7970M issues will be fixed eventually, and unless you absolutely must play BF3 at full details right this instant, it's not worth it. If the 680M would be a significantly faster card this could indeed be a dilemma, but the gain will be minimal, at best.

Lower some graphics in BF3 and have fun

 

thanks for the input guys

if the 7970 turns out to be better than the 680, im gonna be really pissed if i buy nvidia
is it confirmed that the 7970m stronger? like a comparison on a Alienware without Enduro/optimus

About lowering the settings: the problem is by lowering the settings, utilization goes down and fps dont get more stable, they stay the same
also when do you think new drivers will come? next week? next month? next year? sorry im really new to the AMD driver update schedule.

 

I'm Also thinking about the same exchange as battlefield 3 is the game I play. I would change it if it wasn't so complicated for me( need to ship it to sister than return - than ship back). The bad think is I dont have any confirmation that new drivers for the 7970m that will fix this issues are in progress or will come somethime soon.
If there wouldnt be so many problems with the exchange in my place I think I would change it for the 680m and enjoi bf 3 normally.

 

yeah the real problem is not knowing when the drivers will come.... might phone AMD later

 

I wont return it for sure, coouse it would cost me al lot-( shipping). But I dont want those threads regarding the 7970m problems to calm down so I know theres some buzz around it
If some resseler just would comfirm there will be drivers that would actually fix this specific problem ...

 

Instability and a lack of drivers are the price to be paid for being on the bleeding edge of technology. You might want to consider that next time you buy something that has only been out for a couple of months.

I hate AMD products and I still say keep the card. The differences between the two probably aren't worth the hassle. Plus, it would be ridiculous for them to not update the drivers on their flagship mobile product.

As long as you can be patient, I'm sure the drivers will come.

 

I think you should stick it out. Drivers should get better and IMO the 680m isn't worth the price...and I'm an nvidia fanboy.

 

easy for you to say with a 680 no, jk
thanks for your opinion

well the price isnt an issue and i dont want to really wait too long, im looking at the time nvidia needed for making optimus work, and that just would be unacceptable for me

 

I contacted my provider (malibal) and they agreed to send me at gtx 680m for me to install myself. They put a hold on my credit card for the value of it and will include a return shipping label in the box with the card. When they receive my 7970m back they will return that and charge me the difference, which will be 295. This was easier for them and wont cause me to go without a laptop for a few weeks. It worth a shot for you

 

thanks, yeah ill definitly see if that works if everything fails me, but then id have to keep my processor which makes it expensive, but ill manage

oh but will the laptop run without a dGPU? i heard that it wont, does anyone know?

 

If you use any Pro apps for any reason the 680m lost lots of processing power from last generation as well as cuda support. Not sure what line of work you're in.

If gaming is all you do that is hardware intensive then the 3610qm is plenty. But I wouldn't downgrade my CPU for a lateral (or negative) change in gpu, especially for more money.

Also, is one game really worth all your trouble? Wouldn't be for me, but maybe for you. Something else to consider

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

I tried without (P170EM) - the fans went at 100% the whole time but otherwise it behaved fine.

 

I wont be going without the dGPU. I return the 7970m in the box that they are sending me the 680m in. They are providing a return shipping label in the box and everything.

 

HTML:

i gave up console gaming for this notebook, bf3 especially, so yes its pretty important to me.

 

Well you can buy a console for the price difference

just kidding, kind of!

For me no single game is worth the added price. Plus in the past when there was a certain game that had issues, AMD/ATI would fix it in a driver update. Being that BF3 is a big name game, I am guessing when they actually get the driver out it will be taken care of.

 

just to clarify, i didnt buy it because of BF3

i needed a laptop for school, and a new one anyway, and consoles were just pissing me of

do you know an example of a game which had serious issues like these and how long did it take to get fixed?

 

If you are doubting your purchase or don't have the patience then returnn it for the 680M.

The 7970M is more then capable to run anything, just have to wait for a better driver. BF3 shouldn't be the be all and end all reason why you want to switch. That's just ludicrous.

If $300 more for better performance NOW in 1 game is ok with you then go nuts.

7970M>680M in pro-apps.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

 

well i guess you are right if amd hurry the fck up

i dont plan on really using any graphic intense programs except maybe sony vegas, but the 7970 outperforms the 680 there doesnt it?

the thing is, its not a 300 upgrade, its only 100. so im would be paying 100$ for the time amd doesnt supply drivers...

 

Everybody is waiting on AMD to update drivers to fix issues , yet they are famous for being terrible and late at it.
even though I would like to get AMD :|

 

I just wanted to share this.

i am definitly NOT changing!
I just overclocked to 950/1375 and i was basically getting 80fps straight on metro, with ultra, NoAA 4xAF, AWESOME

id like to show you guys but my only camera is my phone lol

 

oh well

congratulations with your overclock have fun

 

I say keep the 7970m. It's a better price for nearly the same performance (soon). The $300 for a 15% increase in performance isn't worthwhile.

 

To go from the 7970m to the 680 is an additional $295 over the AMD at most places, unless you're finding an amazing deal somewhere.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

 

He's saying the upgrade is only worth $100 I think, so not worth the $300, at least that's how I interpret it.

 

He is trading his 3720qm+7970m for 3610qm+680m, that is how it is only $100.

Downgrading CPU + $100 is not worth it, in my opinion

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

Gotcha, misread.

 

yeah i would have basically downgraded cpu, but im sticking with amd now

 

I think that's a good choice. If you need any help keeping yourself occupied while you wait on driver updates, there's a weeklong game sale on Steam. I picked up a bunch of stuff for as low as $5-$10. Rage is onsale today for $10 for example.

 

Good to see you sticking with the 7970m like A REAL MAN WOULD!

 

If the 680M was within $100 range from the 7970M, I think even an AMD fanboy wouldn't blink twice. I've been an nVidia fanboy since I first upgraded my Voodoo 3 to a GeForce 2, but these days, it's whatever my pocket can shell out and still keep my gaming happy.

 

i know its tempting, but you havent heard the full story.
Yesterday i was told that taxes cant be refunded (i imported from germany) and that they probably cant refund the whole price, because i used it

so i would loose 200$ taxes plus i probably wouldnt get back the full price i paid, and then there is shipping... so all in all not really worth it considering i would have to wait 3-4 weeks if i order new today

 

I have the same worries as OP(7970m in Clevos not utilizing 90%+ in BF3's MP). I am seriously thinking of changing to Alienware M17X R4 over NP9170 since this problem does not exits in AWs. However, after numerous enquiries with Michael S - Xotic PC, Michael S states: "When the beta came out, the 1st batch, there was many issues with the AMD
7970's. However, the batches were recalled and AMD released a new batch
around a month a half ago. This version of the AMD has been fully restored
to working condition and there has not been any issues with these cards."
Does this mean NP9170 + 7970m models that are sold by XoticPC now don't have the utilization problem when playing BF3 Multiplayer or any other game?
Can the OP confirm when you got your laptop so we can tell which batch it is?

 

i dont think there is a hardware difference between the cards as they are clearly capable of running at 99%, but it seems that certain rendering elements drop the performance (ie switching kombustor from DX9 or OpenGL to DX11 or 10 will get your utilization from 80% to 99% - so something in the driver itself is bottlenecking utilization. My card is from the 3rd batch and it still has this issue.

 

Well how come M17X R4 does not have this "GPU usage" problem with 7970m?
Are you 100% sure it's the Clevo AMD driver problem? Not a motherboard problem? I hear AWs have better motherboards compared to Clevos.

IMO through hours of reading, if you want a reliable top performing gaming laptop as of now you have to go with 680m in Clevo. And if you want 7970m it has to be in a AW or you'll have utilization problems.

 

alienware has the option to disable enduro, unfortunately that is not possible on clevos. If you leave enduro enabled on alienware 7970m will also perform poorly.

 

So you think Clevos will perform the same as AWs if Enduro could be disabled?
Only future drivers can accomplish this on Clevos?

 

yep, just hope its possible as alienware motherboards allow video output directly from 7970m, on clevo only in hd 4000 is connected to monitor output, so you have to use it.

 

ObserverJLin already knows the answer, but in case anybody is wondering i am in the second batch

 

What do you mean? So even if AMD release good drivers HD4000 can't be disabled on Clevos?

Is BF3 the only game Clevo/7970m not able to utilize 90%+ or are there other games also?

Also are the any other problems with Clevo/7970m apart from utilization. Plz list all faults with Clevo/7970m systems.
Thx in advance.

If Clevo/7970m not fixed soon fck it I'm going with Clevo/680m or AW/7970m.

 

Why'd you get the 3720m in the p150em anyway? You can't OC it so it's just a .2ghz boost.

 

I suspect so also. He's posted a ton in 680/7970M threads already. Not sure why he is asking, especially since there are already a dozen threads that would answer to the question I think he already knows.

 

hulawafu77 i meant that he sent me a pm and not that he asks too much

@ObserverJLin, look at 680m with optimus in clevos, they perform the same as alienwares 680s maybe ~3 fps difference

 

i didnt like the 10 in 3610qm.... ...


no just kidding

i choose the 3720 because i was a bit scared about the future, i dont think next-gen CPUs will still support the HM77 chipset, so i went with the best i could afford.

 

Games that I tryed so far that have this underutilization problem are Bf 3 - mostly when you lower settings and on larger maps. Crysis 2 with dx 11 and hirez, on dx 9 it seems to run ok. than Crysis the same issue as Crysis 2, Formula 2011 is like 50% utlizattion all the time and running like 35 fps somethimes less, Shift 2 very low utilization, Just cause 2 when you enter the urban side of the islad or you run the concrete jungle benchmark, splinter cell conviction somethimes drop to 70% utilizatin but still perfectly playeble- more than 35 fps all the time-but I think that game shoul run around 60 anyway. Gta 4 is runnig ok but should do better utilizatin on cpu or gpu never goes more than 50-60% but the game is just so terriblly optimized that I think it's normal. So far metro 2033 is running perfect 99% all the time, Alan wake also giving perfect frames.

 

Honestly BF3 MP requires quite a bit of CPU. You guys with the 3610QM are going to be bottle necking either the 7970m or the 680m in a 32+ player game...

 

I dont think so , Before I had An i7-740 with an 5870m and when I put it to low it ran perfectly fine on larger maps , which I played all the time- 64p karkand, gulf of oman, etc. The 3610qm is two generations newer and I think that even better than a sandy bridge 2920xm. Theres no way the cpu is boutlenecking the gpu. When you set everithing to low you get the same frames as on ultra -thus the same as on mi old 5870 which is 3 times slower.

 

Check out the info in this thread: BF3 64 player MP CPU benchmarks! - [H]ard|Forum quite a few tests and whatnot. CPU speed has a very large impact.


Also 3610QM is closest to a 2820qm, not a 2920xm. Higher end ivy mobile parts get you quite a bit of clock speed.

EDIT: Check out this post particularly, it shows 3.4Ghz(~60fps) vs 4.2Ghz(~90fps) with everything else the same the whole thread is definitely worth reading though.