7970m wait for fix? or switch to 680m?

AMD acknowledged they were looking into it a week or two ago.

 

"looking into it" is for sure not enough for me lol

 

"looking into it..." What a joke! I am soo upset that I purchased this card and now it is too late to return it. I am also very upset at all the fanboys who had been flaming my initial posts warning people not to purchase this card for the 150/170EM.

Get the 680m, it's worth EVERY penny.

I just got Sleeping Dogs 2, and have to play on "medium" settings to maintain 40 fps. What a joke!

 

You can play at max and have the same fps, this is enduro issue. You can't lower the setting, playing at medium is pointless.

 

Your pretty much right, I gain about 5 fps average over Ultra... but still have the 20 fps dips... soo annoying!

 

if I lower settings I will have same fps as on max settings
utilizations is going down in lower settings,also lower temp in lower settings
its enduo to safe power

just wondering if optimus with 680 is same

 

Initially Nvidia had some nasty problems with optimus. We can hope that AMD is able to fix this issue, but it may be that this generation of cards is ignored and they move on to the next.

On the other hand, they could fix this issue and everything could be magically better. It seems like opinion on NBR sways with each new bit of information.

 

Pretty stupid if you can't have 60 fps. How this card can be future proof if you can't lower your setting. I know this is enduro trying to safe power, this is why we call it, enduro issue.

 

its the pure fact that this problem should have been noticed before release and taken care of that im not going to give it a chance. Im not going to lie i do run a few games very well but that just makes me more excited to upgrade.

games that are running well: Tribes Ascend, TF 2, Blacklight Retribution

 

well, somehow i still hope they can't simply "ignore" it... there was no information this card would run less smooth with a clevo compared to an AW (or even HM compared to EM).
we paid the same $$ as other users and therefore i can expect the same performance. if they won't fix it i guess in 2or3 months i will send the system in. afaik i can return the system after 2 failed attempts to fix it which i think i'll do.

 

U have asked 680m vs 7970m questions dozens of times... The 680m has NONE of the problems the 7970m has. That's it and that's all

 

Didn't you start a thread asking this? I could have sworn I answered you in that thread.

 

See, I knew I wasn't imagining it.

Here is your answer to your own question in your own thread, fantomasz: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/683461-utilization-7970-vs-680-a.html

 

Maybe he doesn't believe blue people with pointy ears. :laugh:

 

do we have a limit to ask questions?
I will ask so many times I like.

 

No, there's no limit. By all means, start a new thread. Let's begin with what's on your mind today.

 

anyone notice the average fps the two cards got in xotic pc's 7970m vs 680m? the 7970 still beat it in ultra! granted, thats single player... the 7970m is still a great option imo. i do feel like amd dropped the ball resolving this, but i do think they tested this to the fullest extent they could. at time of release it was more than likely designed for their apu's and maybe sandybridge hd3000 igpu. it is also very very possible that game dev need to patch their games for the newer enduro. makes sense to me that optimus works just fine, its been around for a long time now.
i am still hopeful for a fix, whether it be game patches, drivers, whatever...
does anyone use their 7970m for professional programs? any issues with rendering and such?
i have a couple weeks left before i have to order, see what happens by then, but i am still excited to get my 9170em with a hd7970m

sorry the video was multiplayer, custom gfx. still impressive.

 

^^
You do realise that the 7970m has low gpu utilisation in certain games whereas 680m does not. Also, no solution yet from amd regarding this problem.
If I were ordering a new pxxxem I would go for 680m card.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

 

This video shows a NP9150 with the 680M in BF3 where gpu usage never pegs 99%. Play at full screen @1080p and you'll be able to read the usage.

Sager NP9150 (680M) - Battlefield 3 Multiplayer (Ultra Settings) - YouTube

 

yes i understand the issue with the card. but as just stated, i have not seen gameplay with the 680m at above 80% utilization either. xotic pc running crisis 2 on ultra multiplayer got between 30 and 60 fps, mostly in the 40's... 60-75% utilization... even with v-sync on it should pump out max utilization to maintain 60fps.
now with the 680m if you lower the settings fps goes up where the 7970m stays the same fps. still playable over 30 fps, in most cases well over 30. so yes there is things to be fixed, but its not completely bad.

 

Sorry for busting out of the gate with a bunch of posts like this, I have been reading watching and researching for quite some time now.
Has anyone tried to contact the game developers? BF3 has a live chat with tech support, if they cant help solve it they push it up as a larger issue and they investigate it. tell them the same thing happens with Crysis, 1 and 2. mention every EA game you have tried with these issues. put some pressure on them, even if it is nothing they can do, they may help put pressure on AMD. It just does not seem right that some games like metro get 99% load on the card and BF3, Crysis, and many others dont. not only that, but only in certain areas or specific maps.
try
https://help.ea.com/contact-us
You have asked for Sager, clevo, AMD, and even some guy caveman-jim for help. Why not try asking the game producers?

 

nope, vsynch on will reduce utilization as soon as 60fps target is hit. Also, I have only seen 680m gameplay videos where utilization is at 99% solid (BF3 multiplayer), do you have a link to your video>?

 

Hello NBR! I'm not new, I'm what one would call a lurker! I've finally decided to come out of the woodwork.

Anyhoo, I was combing these threads for months, dabbling with beta drivers, painful reinstalls (with black screens where I would just watch the HDD monitor and pray that the driver uninstall/ install finished correctly), and pretty much every other resolution that great Google could provide me with trying to optimize my 9150 (i7 extreme, SSD, 16 GB RAM, 7970m) for Guild Wars 2. Nothing really seemed to work, Enduro had the GPU utilzation well under par and FPS spikes were as commonplace as they were annoying. The fact that you can't simply TURN IT OFF (on Clevos, AW I understand there is a fix) was even more infuriating. So, I got in touch with my retailer - Sager - lovely tech fella there who I had been in contact with previously via email exchanges over the 7970m driver shenanigans. I was about a month out of 30 days, but I had a two way warranty and they allowed me to swap for the $245 + return shipping. Long story short, took the plunge. Got the laptop back in a week, exactly - would've been sooner if Customs didn't put their filthy paws on it.

My observations on the 680m:
- FPS are way more stable. I don't see any of the 20-25 FPS drops or spikes that occurred with the 7970m. Near constant 60 FPS in Skyrim at 1080p with 4XAA and all the bells and whistles cranked. MMOs - RIFT/ GW 2 (stress test, so hopefully even more improvements as they refined their engine) 45-60 FPS. The variable vsync that Nvidia uses is quite interesting too.
- Utilization 90 or higher; 99 when the screen gets busy. This depends on the game, but its definitely better than the 40-60 I was getting with the 7970m.
- The heat output is drastically reduced. I keep wondering if the thermal temp readings are off, but I've confirmed with several programs as well as physical temperature readings. They've gone from 75-90 (under load for 90) down to a range of 43 (idle) to 65 (highest I've seen it under load during an invasion in RIFT).
- I can set the GPU to DEFAULT to the 680m and not use the Intel chip unless specifically chosen by myself.

My last Sager had a 6990m and I loved the card/ price to pieces. I haven't owned an Nvidia card since the 8 series. That said, I couldn't be happier with my upgrade. The only negative was the price really. I'm not a big OCer, I use this as much for work as I do for play and while I'm reasonably tech savvy, I don't have much time to tinker anymore and there's something to be said for a premium card that just works.

Oh, and all my 3D mark scores were up on the 680m. Even that horrid Red Sands (I think that's the name) DX9 CPU one, which still doesn't work.

I'm going to run Heaven and I'll post the results in a bit.

 

lol I didn't catch that the first time. I think Dr. Who has one of those in his TARDIS. Uses it to play retro (2015) games.

 

Can you describe more in detail your experience with GW2 and 7970M. I might get the game, but not if it's one of the titles that suffers greatly from Enduro.

 

Yeah, the 680M is a much better choice than 7970M for people who have the money.

Your experience with it Peekachu seems to be according to what people have been saying: Cooler, stable and it just works. Congrats with it
I`ll recieve mine in about 2 weeks

 

Issues w/ GW 2 and the 7970m:

- Microstutter. This would sometimes fix itself with a hard cap on FPS through MSI AB. Sometimes.
- Variable FPS rates. Anywhere from 25 (when panning, that's how I always test load, find a busy area and pan around the character) to 45. I never broke 50 in that game. With the 680m in the latest stress test I was at 45-55 constant in high trafficked areas.
- Lag spikes. This wasn't due to the fiber optic direct line connection, this I knew. And unless they drastically changed the engine in the week I was away from my laptop while it was serviced, it had to have been the card. We're not talking variable rates fluctuating like above, but full on one second you're at 43, then next you're at 20. Then back to a more normalized rate.
- Bizarre - no other way to explain it GPU utilization. Just all over the place. Never broke high 60s far as I saw or remember.
- Heat. In this and TERA my onboard temps were reading 85-90. I don't like running anything that hot, ever.

Oh and if you play on a newer TV (Samsung 8 series here) make sure you have the input set to "PC". There's a bunch of internal settings that they drop and relegate to the PC that normalizes colours/ FPS and such. This fixed microstutter entirely on the 680m.

Hope that helps!

Grats as well! Yeah the biggest damper is the price for sure. I'm definitely on the low end of the budget for my tech spending the rest of the year lol. F2P MMOs and trashy tablet games for me!

 

680m gameplay
Sager NP9150 (680M) - Crysis 2 Multiplayer (Ultra Settings) - YouTube
Sager NP9150 (680M) - Battlefield 3 Multiplayer (Ultra Settings) - YouTube
i am not saying that the 680m is not an absolute beast of a video card, but the gameplay i see with the 7970m shows promise.
7970m and 680m below
Sager NP9150 (7970M) vs. Sager NP9150 (680M) Review by XOTIC PC - YouTube

 

Too bad he had to play with shotgun users

 

yes right, thats what i was trying to say. only uses as much as it needs to maintain the 60fps. but it shouldnt chill out around 40fps with 60% load... ever.

 

Ok. I just watched some gameplay on the 9150 with a 7970m and I didn't see any hiccups in the game play. Granted, the graphics were on some medium textures but mostly high. Does the enduro stuff only rear it's ugly head when played on ultra when you really need the card to perform?

 

To be honest you can probably play most games fine on relatively high settings. The problem with enduro and the current drivers (I have a P170EM with a 7970M) is that you won't get what you paid for since it will be under-utilized in every game. My irritation and I guess countless others is that when you pay so much for a portable gaming system you want what you pay for and not something that does 60% of its job..

 

The 7970m should allow you to play almost any game at ultra settings. Reducing the graphic level won't help, since utilization will adjust accordingly.

 

Understood. Now to gamble with AMD or go for the 675. I am not shelling out for the 680.

 

Would be great if that leads to 40% discount

 

That will be nice, won't it? Technically speaking, the card is sort of 40% discounted already. It's a $200 upgrade from the 670m, while the 680m is an additional $450 from the 670m. If you look at price to performance ration, the 7970m is right on par with the extra $ for upgrade.

 

I doubt AMD would really set the price based on that though However in buyers' eyes it's truely an unofficial 40% discount

 

Hah... indeed.... it's more like a make myself feel better that my 7970m sucks discount

Off topic, what's wrong with your 680m, since it's being RMA'd? Or your 675M is being RMA'd and you made use of this opportunity to upgrade?

 

Can you wait maybe for a little longer? If you check out the benchmark of the 675m compared to the 7970m or 680m, the 675m looks very very weak (even though the 675m is a very decent card). Or maybe, don't choose a clevo setup. Go for the MSI.

If you go for the Alienware, with the premium you pay for that brand, might as well go for the 680m Clevo setup.

 

My GTX680M broke down the 5th day I got it due to bad solder job, so right now I'm using the GTX675M until the GTX680M arrives from RMA.

 

I've just now only heard of clevo/sager and figured i'd get in on the back to school promo. If they 'always' have some sort of promo going on it would be easier to wait. Also, I have a five year old laptop and I am away from home except weekends. I am getting bored of peggle

 

The price drops every month. Well, it's more like they give more "free" upgrades. The base price will pretty much remain the same.

 

@lowfreq

Just an FYI, this reply is not about me. It's more like my decision, and maybe it will help you with yours. My 30 day return/exchange is almost up. So, I finally made the decision to send it back to Sager and swap out my 7970m for the 680m. So, if you are interested, contact your reseller and they will be able to help you.

What prompts my decision to swap? I have spent about USD$2200 for a top of the line gaming laptop. It's not running like it's supposed to. Already spent $2200, might as well spend an additional $245 for the upgrade and get the laptop to run like a top of the line laptop. Will this ever get fixed.... maybe... maybe not. Let's look at Nvidia's fiasco with Optimus. It's my understanding that it took them approximately 1.5 years to get it fix. How long is it going to take ATI to fix Enduro? Maybe next week, maybe next month, maybe next year, or never.
I don't want to take the risk of this not getting fix, or wait a year or two. That's why I finally made the decision to make the swap.

Off topic here. As much as I blame AMD for the Enduro issue, I still think Clevo still have to take half the blame for the screw up. I forgot where I saw on this forum (too lazy to search), someone posted a nice diagram showing how the Alienware mobo and the Clevo mobo was designed. From the looks of it, it looks like Alienware had the parallel configuration, while Clevo has a series configuration. With the parallel, they can turn off one and force the other to run all the time. With the series configuration, every thing in the line must work correctly. I don't work in computer design so I can't really say much in details. But from the looks of it, the series configuration is a lousy design and is not robust. Was it cheaper to have a series configuration? I don't know. If every manufacturer does not have a problem and only Clevo has problem, this pretty much speaks for itself.

Anyway, for those whose computer still have the window open to swap the video card, I advice to go for it. If not, there's nothing wrong with that decision. Right now, it's pretty much a roll of the dice. I'm just tried of checking the forum every morning and every night and hope the fix is here. I didn't pay this much for this kind of headache.

 

True that. I'm giving AMD one more week to come forward with something substantial before I send mine back for the swap. What a big joke this has been.

 

i dont think they plan on releasing any more drivers this month. i could be wrong.... But they just announced that they were looking into it on the 9th, after they released 12.8. so if they take a month and get it right... great! if they take a month and get a step in the right direction, thats good too. i think that if they rush out a driver too soon (this week), they may not be able to solve the issue enough or at all to satisfy you or potential buyers.
if you have the money just kicking around, and you dont need the AMD for professional applications, then go ahead and swap out the card. if you dont want to stretch yourself thin, hold out... it will get better, i think anyways.

 

I read from Rage3D forums and there is a little update.

"They're waiting for internal validation of testing their performing on different options."

Maybe I'm reading a little bit too much into it, but this is what I decipher. I think they have been in discussion of possible solution, and need to get approval from upper management, before they commit their resource to fixing the issue.

I don't know....

 

sounds good to me

 

The only problem with putting any blame on Clevo is that they designed a system that would work fine if Enduro worked as advertised. They were told Enduro worked, so they designed a system to use it fully. Yes, it is an annoying design, but if Enduro worked as intended there would be no problem with it. It works the same way on the 680m and works great.

So their design isn't exactly flawed, just their assumption that AMD was being correct in saying that their system would work as intended.

 

"Internal validity is the validity of (causal) inferences in scientific studies"

They seem to be testing different kinds of settings to see how different variables work together.

 

At this point any fix, however AMD wants to do it, is welcome. Lol. I really hope they do this. As consumers willing to spend big bucks, aside from the college users and a handful who are on a budget, AMD would do well to fix this issue and keep our business. I would upgrade to the 680M in a blink right now if I could.