*OFFICIAL* Alienware "Graphics Amplifier" Owner's Lounge and Benchmark Thread (All 13, 15 and 17)

Yes, I used EVGA Precision X to overclock my GTX 780 that is inside my GA. Worked just like it did when the GTX 780 was in my desktop.

 

You can use the GA as a USB hub/dock with no GPU in the GA. However, you won't be able to have the GA's Alien Head lit up.
Only reason I know is because I have done this myself a few times before I got my R9 285.

 

Alienware 15 i7-4710HQ

3DMARK 11 with GTX 780 in GA = 12179
Fire Strike with GTX 780 in GA = 9635

 

I did some 3Dmark benching with a slightly overclocked R9 285.
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/9791319
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6913813?
Still concerned about those CPU scores. Hoping to get a GTX 960 (preferably the 4 GB version) to do some comparisons and as an upgrade for my X51.

 

Welp I finally caved in and ordered a Titan X. Just to be sure, there should be no noticeable difference when running the Titan in the GA vs. a full sized desktop right?

 

Correct, should be not) Let us know when you have it, so we can do some in-depth testing and compare results to Titan X in a desktop.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

Will do. It sucks because I'm going out of the country for 2 weeks this coming Wednesday so it will be held at UPS until I get back. I just decided to pull the trigger on it now since I got 10% off at bestbuy using the mover's coupon.

 

Hy guys, can i have the 3D Mark about Aw13 with 960m?

Sorry wrong Thread.

 

Very wrong thread. I suggest heading over to the Alienware 13 benchmark thread.

 

Apparently using the graphics amp with your laptop screen doesn't do any good. me and a few other guys posted our results on the Alienware Arena forum and it was quickly deleted. While getting 90+ fps on ultra settings with a 144hz monitor I only get 45-55 with that monitor unplugged. Exact same performance with the 970m in the laptop. Same as about a half dozen other guys before the thread was deleted. if you expect a smooth 60 fps that should be expected from a high end external card you will be disappointed.

While the ads say all you have to do is hook up the graphics amp and 'supercharge your laptop' it is absolutely external monitor only. If I knew that I would have never purchased the thing.

edit... seems like they changed the ad recently. Now it clearly says "external monitor only"... when I purchased it it said "The graphics amplifier allows you to enjoy the performance of the desktop graphics card on your Alienware 13, 15 and 17 R2 notebook or on any external display connected to the amplifier."

Dell must have changed this recently.... all the other sites still show the old ad.

 

I didn't know the thread was deleted or any posts about GA testing bring deleted. I also would have seen the results as well, given that I'm usually on there unless it was from the week I was out.
I did remember a thread in which did need help, but that thread was never deleted. Probably hidden as the forum likes to bug out (sadly).

 

This entirely depends on the application you are using and how it is affected by pci-e bandwidth. If you want to use the laptop lcd, those output frames are gonna be piped back through that 4x pci-e 3.0 connection. The higher the resolution, the more bandwidth it will consume of that limited pci-e connection. This has always been the case with egpu's that route the display output back to the laptop lcd.

With 3dmark 13, I noticed maybe a less than 5% drop in performance using the laptop lcd vs external monitor. In unigine, I noticed 10-15% drop.

But your drop from 90+ to 45-55 is huge. What game? What resolution? Have you tried other games or benchmarks?

 

Get everyone that posted the information to post the same detail in a thread here and we won't delete it. The results will remain available for all to see.

 

Hold it! Gotta come out and say the guy is being superfluous. The thread was never deleted, just hidden (forum bug), and the thread never contained data from multiple users. Just from one, which is that person (under a different name).
If one is going to bash on Alienware, it better be honest and have ground. I sure as heck am not letting this guy post false information (about multiple users posting data) and be dramatic as he pleases. I'm really tired of that crap.

 

Well, that's not right. I can see that thread without logging in, so it's definitely not deleted. Is it still hidden from view in the list of active threads due to some kind of forum bug? I agree... making false statements as a basis to support bashing would not be very cool with me either. Expressing personal opinions is fine, but fabrication or distortion of facts is not OK.

@iknokungfu - what's up with saying the thread was deleted and all that other stuff about data from other users?

 

It's still view-able from the hardware/software section, 2nd page. I just wish threads weren't disappearing, but it happens despite my wishes.

 

Dell now sells the (PNY) TITAN X for the Graphics Amplifier for $1000, $400 cheaper than the upgrade price for the Area 51.
They even sell it as a standalone GPU, so it's not only a good way to get a good external GPU, but to get a good discount on a GPU upgrade for the Area 51 from Dell.

 

Hi guys jusy got my GA yesterday, to run on m,y Alienware 13. Got a Gainward 960GTX OC to run in it and have tried everything to get it to work get BSOD on Win 8.1 and win7 pro, both fresh installs.
HELP.

 

What BSOD code are you getting?
Which Nvidia driver are you using?

 

Hi. BSOD is driver over stack code. have used the dell display drivers then, the latest mobile Nvidia driver on the fresh install. Now I get the 960 GTX is installed but a yellow warning symbol in device manager.

 

Hi All the components are tested and working properly. The Graphics card works fine in my desktop. The GA is shown as connected in Alien FX. After 20 Hours of trying to get this working im losing my S##T. It must be a software compatibility problem can anyone confirm this. or is anyone running the same setup as me?

 

Hey guys I just ran a few tests using World of Tanks as an example. I had to replace my 144hz monitor last week so I had a lot of time to experience what the Amp and Laptop alone can do.

All settings on "High". 1080p.External Monitor used: BenQ XL2430T.

Alienware 15 with 970m & No amp: 60 fps. Sometimes dips down into 55 fps when a lot is going on.
Alienware 15 with Amp (EVGA SSC 970 acx 2.0+): 45 fps. Sometimes dips down to 35 fps.
Alienware 15 with Amp and 144hz monitor: Steady 90-105 fps

Heres the kicker for me...
Alienware 15 with Amp. No external monitor. ALL SETTINGS ON MINIMUM: 54 fps tops.
with bare minimum settings the Amp cannot get the laptop to 60 fps.

I posted some results yesterday at alienware arena with nothing controversial said... just asking why am i getting these results and that post was deleted within an hour.

I can't fault the Amp since it performs very well. For my needs I would have went Alienware 18 since it is a lot more portable than AW15 + Amp + 24 inch monitor if Dell advertised it as an external monitor only device at the time of my purchase. Thats my only issue. Other than that I'm happy with this setup...

 

Your thread wasn't deleted, so if you're talking about a post in a different thread, it may have been something to do with the spam filter being buggy again. Alienware wasn't going after you and neither were the mods.
EDIT: All this said, I did some testing with external monitor versus internal monitor with some on-hands data. with my slightly overclocked R9 285. The results are, well, weird.
Firestrike: ~10% in total, ~17% lost in graphics lost for using laptop panel.
Skydiver: ~18% lost in total, ~37% lost in graphics. Oddly enough, my slightly OC R9 285 (using laptop panel) beats my stock R9 285 (using external monitor).
Bioshock Infinite (1080p, mostly maxed out, sans DX11 features): 71.8 FPS (laptop) vs. 84.51 (external). A ~15% drop.
Thief (1080p, medium, mantle on): 46 FPS vs. 32. A ~44% gain! This actually may be due to Mantle, as all the other games suffer when using DX9 or DX11.
Batman Arkham Origins(1080p, maxed out sans DX11 features): 67 vs mid-90s. A ~30% drop.
Dirt 3 (1080p, ultra preset): 67 vs 94. A ~29% drop.
Conclusion: You may have to overclock the external GPU when using the laptop panel to get similar results when using the external monitor. But the drop is on a range between 15% to 35%. However, with the games listed, they're good enough for 60 FPS gaming.
However, my results pertain to AMD GPUs.

 

Hi Guys. Does anyone have a Geforce 960 GTX running in a graphics Amp. and if so how did you do it?
Nick.

 

Game7a1, are you using the AW13? I was surprised you had such large performance drops using the laptop screen. But the AW13 only has 4x pci-e 2.0 GA connection due to the cpu, so your results kind of match those with diy Egpus using thunderbolt 2 (same bandwidth as 4x pci-e 2.0). The AW15 and AW17r2 uses a 4x pci-e 3.0 connection, which is twice the bandwidth as pci-e 2.0.

I wish alienware had decided to use an 8x connection, then there should be very negligible performance loss when using the laptop screen. The internal gpu is on a 8x connection, but the GA is only 4x. So what happened to the unused 4 lanes?

 

I already knew that information about the bandwidth speed. But here's something you may have not known.
The PCI slot on the back of the Alienware laptops only carries 4 lanes. For Alienware to have it carry 8 lanes, not only would the 15 and 17 R2 need to have a wider PCI slot, but so would the GA, and that would cause problems when selling the GA. As well, the 13 can only carry up to 4 lanes by CPU limitations, as previously stated, so it would be better to make things "global" rather than "specific". Enen then, the 13 would also have a reduction in external ports if the PCI slot could carry 8 lanes. It just isn't feasible to execute such an idea without making things troublesome.
Still, the tests I ran (and Heaven Benchmark, where I saw ~12% drop) are varied mainly because of Thief. I haven't done a test with DX11 on the game, but with the laptop panel doing better than the external monitor when using Mantle is confusing. Sadly, that's my only Mantle game, so I can't test further. While it is for the 13, the drop in performance for the 15 and 17 R2 should be lesser, more closer to 10% to 20%.

 

Yea I suspected the ports to only have 4 physical lanes. I understand the cost savings have a universal port/cable for all three laptop models. I just think 8x lanes would have been perfect where performance loss would have been negligible, for even the next generation of gpus. There are already companies out there that make 16x or 8x pci-e expansion cables that are about the same size like this. They were able to cram more lanes into the same size port as well. And then Intel has crammed 4 lanes into thunderbolt into the size of a usb-b type connector as long as 3 meters w/ copper.

 

I'm trying to choose a graphics card for the GA. I can only afford a $200 card, so I'm going with a GTX 960.
Should I choose a blower type fan like the PNY xlr8 that blows the air out the back of the card, or is it OK to use side fans that put the heat into the GA chassis?

 

Any type of GTX 960 would do, but don't get any with a heat pipe sticking out like a sore thumb or their face plate bursting out.
The R9 285 is also an option since it cost ~$200, but given that the R9 300 series is about to launch, I wouldn't get it.

 

I have a Shield tablet that I want to try gamestreaming with so I have to get a Nvidia card. Are the blower type cards louder than the open fan type? I'm thinking of turning off (or replacing) the main chassis cooling fan and letting the graphics card fan do the work. The 960 only uses 12o Watts, but it might run the fan at a high speed. There are so many 960s to choose from, it's crazy. I get my AW13 tomorrow from FedEx. I'm going to use my 10% gift card rewards for the GA and a $200 graphics card to put in it.

 

Given that I have both types of cooling (reference GTX 660 and R9 285), I can say that they don't sound too loud when comparing them at load. That said, usually the non-blower types tend to be quieter.

 

I'm always wondering about 2 or more fans. Wouldn't they form a slightly off resonance that would create a high frequency secondary sound?
I like one big slow fan like the ICE-Q cooler on my HIS card.

 

Does anyone have a Firestrike score from an AW 13 with a GTX 980 in the GA?

 

Is GA compatible with Titan series cards?

 

100 percent yes, working fantastically.

 

Which one exactly you have? And some example of fps boost?

Thanks for response.

 

titan x, so by default I have the 980m, this gives 980m SLI performance basically

 

Wrong post oops

 

What's the best card for this? I suspect that a titan x would prove to be more capable than this setup can even make use of. Also is adding the amp like adding a card for sli? Or is it more like ignoring the built in mobile gpu?

 

It basically ignores the onboard chip.

 

Sorry. So what exactly Titan X you have? I order amplifier and now chose titan X, I see that it can be Asus or something else.

 

I ordered mine directly from nvidia

 

okay guys I have decided to take the plunge and get an AMP then a 980ti. Can anymore confirm if the system is now fully working? as in no issues like the past?

 

It worked just fine with the Titan X. My 980 Ti will be here tomorrow and I'll throw it in the amp to do some testing.

 

Handy thanks.

I have decided to build a desktop as well as I want something a big more beastly at home. The amp I will be using till I build the desktop as its going to be a project

 

I was looking at this amplifier as a way to breathe new life into my AW 17 a few years down the road when my GPU becomes obsolete. I thought I could just pop in a new card and revamp a then aging laptop. It seemed like a good way to make the laptops more upgradable for a longer period or time. Is this amplifier not likely to be able to support the newest cards a few years from now?

 

it's basically just a port, there's no OS software enabling this as I originally thought. It actually works in Linux. This will support any PCIE graphics card.

 

Splintah, Thetruth

Did you use your Titan X with interanl display with absolutely no problems? Or some external monitor was used?

Tnx

 

You know, I have not actually tried it on an external monitor yet, I'm going to hook it up to my ROG swift tonight and give it a try.

 

I only used the external monitor and it worked fine. I used the monitor in my signature.