Can you game on battery with the M14x like M11x?

Can you game with the M14x on battery? Like the M11x can game full power and achieve reasonably battery life and framerates.

I ran my Sager 17" on battery which greatly underclocks the CPU and GPU and my 3DMark06 was only about 4000 compared with 7500+ on my M11x overclocked.

 

No, it cant - however I were able to play portal 2 on batteri without any lagg today before I noticed that the PSU-plug werent unplugged.

But yeah, the GPU DC here as well as you could expect since the system draws a lot more power when gaming then an m11x.

 

Thanks. So on battery does the machine runs strictly with IGP or just an underclocked 555m?

 

Undercloacked 555m when gaming - otherwise optimus, the autochanges there is really good.

And my personal experience is that it really depends on the game when it comes to battery - Portal 2 as I mentioned went nice but newer games you can forget it.

 

I'm just looking for something as good as if not better than M11x R1 as far as performance on battery (i.e. 3DMark 06 > 7500)

I'm basically looking for a machine to replace both my 17" Sager beast and M11x R1. So something that can game for a couple hours on battery, but can run newer games well when plugged in.

 

Ah, all you have to do is limit the CPU to something a bit lower and turn fof wifi and BT, then you can turn up the 555M. Example, I can run almost stock speeds on the 555m with the CPU at 75%. Not not full power, but it works

 

I was looking for the same as you, I had the m11x r1 for a year and loved it when using it on school and home since Im only living 3 hours away from home I wanted a laptop who can do it all, but the m11x were not good enough for SC2 gaming and so I though a loong time about this one.

And so far I have not regret it, I did the first time before I tweaked and OC and learned how it worked and now im satisfied - still very portable and extremly powerfull (at least with GPU OC and ram-tweak etc) I got it at the end of the schoolyear but with wifi off and powersettings on "greedy" it lasted all 6 hours of school before the power went out and with the SSD and power-mode it was free of any noice as well ( however the fan random kicked in for some secs from time to time --_--)

I considered returning this actually for an AsusG53 but changed my mind after taking this to a friend in my "school man-purse" and the fact that Crysis 2 on DX11 and high textures patch was playable on everything on extreme with around 40 fps 720p

Hope that can help you with your decision.

 

Well CPU I'm less concerned about because Sandy Bridge is quite powerful, and I'd most likely need wifi on.

 

Can you post your GPU-Z screenshot here? What version of the 555m is in the M14x? The GDDR5 with 750MHz graphics clock I hope?

GeForce GT 555M

 

Sadly it is the DDR3-version with 590 cloack. =( But it does run newer games pretty good after OC without the temp going high.



Edit: Woops, sorry for the big picture.

 

Thanks. +1 The true test will be Battlefield 3. Anyone play Bad Company 2 and what is the performance like?

How well do the graphics scale to 720p from 900p? Does it look crappy or decent in game?

 

NP.

I actually just finished Bad company 2 yesterday - and as always at 720p and everything maxed out without shaders were around 50 ++ at the most and 25fps at the minium. It needed some "breathers" at the most intensive scenes but 90% of the times it were smooth gameplay and the game look beatiful. I did test some at medium and it was really difficult to see any changes from medium/max IRL performance, for me it looked close to exact the same but the framerate were high all the time.
I expect BF3 will play it a mix of medium/high just as Metro 2033 did.


Cant say about 900p as my screen does not support it and my 24" are back in the capital when Im going at school, but sure some others have some numbers there.

Edit : I got you a video of BF2 BC2 ingame with an M14X at 768 resolution and medium since he using fraps.
I got around the same framerate with the configuration as mentioned above (720p all maxed out minus shaders)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOqGuWaL7F4

 

One thing to do is go into your settings.ini file and set HSAO and Bloom to "false". And thanks for video!

edit: oh I see you have 1366x768 screen. Wondering how games look to run at 1280x720 with 1600x900 screen?

 

No, I heard some did it but after DL it (thank you steam for summer-sale and rainy summer) I was so eager to test it since the xbox-version sucked monkeyball so after I installed it I went in, took everything to max without shaders since that seems to be the bottleneck for the GT555 and .. well .. played it until I finished it.

And honestly - at least for me; real eye difference between the settings are minimal - just look at crysis 2, I tried to see any difference between high and low and it was .. well .. not easy, but maybe my eyes are lacking vision these days.

 

Well I'm ok running at lower detail. I just was wondering how good BFBC2 looks running at 1280x720 on a 1600x900 screen. Sometimes scaling to lower resolutions can make things look blocky. I just need view distance to be far is my only requirement really.

 

I OC @ 750/1080 on the 3GB 555M, with battery set to High Performance. I get about 40-80fps @ 1600x900. All settings on max, with Vsync and HBAO off. AF on max and AA on 2x. BF3 will definitely be playable, settings? Not sure, but medium or above.

I play resource intensive games like Metro 2033 and Crysis on lower resolutions and strangely they look extremely sharp. Usually it looks quite blurry but even on Metro 2033, if something is really intensive I can turn the res down to 1280x800 and it still looks like HD.

 

Thanks gearsguy. So do you game on battery too? Not BFBC2, but other games, and is battery life decent?

 

I really dont "game" game on battery, but I can play Portal 2 on high settings just fine on battery (just when Im too lazy to run up to get my charger lol). Battery life is awesome. That may just be cause I came from a G72 (typical desktop replacement with 1 hour battery), but I got almost 5 hours out of the box. Ive heard different from others, but you should be able to acheive 4.5 out of the box. What I reccomend is limiting the CPU to 1.5ghz through windows power options when on battery. Its fine for web browsing, gives you about another half hour of battery, and allows you to clock the GPU a bit higher to play some games.

For max battery, get an SSD, limit the CPU to 1.33ghz, and turn off extras like wireless, bluetooth, alienfx, ect.


Example, right now Ive got tons of flashing lights and stuff right now running on my m14x, all attenas on (wifi, BT, ex), running at 1.5ghz, and one notch above lowest brightness and windows gives me about 4 hours and 20 minutes of battery. So yeah

 

Well yeah, I'm good with maximizing battery life. I've got a 256GB SSD I'll put in whatever machine I get.

If you don't mind, at some point can you run 3DMark06 with CPU @ 1.5GHz and GPU whatever speed you find reasonable? I'm just trying to do better than my M11x while on battery. I would really appreciate it.

I'm definitely leaning towards the M14x, but also the Sager NP5165 because it comes with a 1080p screen, is a pound lighter, and costs $250 less than the M14x. It's a 15" laptop, but dimensions are nearly identical. If I could find a good coupon for the M14x though I'd be sold (like $200 off). But have to sell my current Sager first.

 

Call Dell. I got 250$ off (30$ off, and free upgrade to bluetooth and 8gb of RAM).

If you just want something cheap to replace the m11x, maybe look at the new Envy 14? Sandybridge i7 and AMD graphics I believe. It wont be almost anywhere near the m14x, but itd probably beat the m11x. It also has one of those battery slices which makes it go up to like 12 hours if Im correct

 

Really it's replacing my M11x and my Sager NP8170. Trying to find something middle ground that can game on battery ok for up to two hours, give me decent battery life for surfing, but be decently powerful for more intense gaming while plugged in.

Not so interested in more RAM or bluetooth. I have 8GB here waiting to be installed somewhere And don't use bluetooth. There's a $50 coupon right now, but that doesn't quite cut it, and EPP only drops about $25 off the price too.

One other caveat is the 1600x900 screen versus a full 1080p which is nice for doing Windows desktop work and HD movies, but not necessarily a deal breaker.

Problem is that I have to sell my NP8170 at least before I can buy the replacement, so hate to not know what Dell can offer until after I'm without my good laptop.

 

Yeah but dont forget its also a smaller screen. Theres alot of screen real estate on the 1600x900 screen. I dont think he actually got the 8gb ram for free, but he dropped 250$ off then added the stuff I want. So just call up a rep and ask to get a quote. Doesnt mean you have to buy it, but you can use that at a later date for the pricing.

Again, not saying the only deal you can get is 8gb ram + bluetooth, just saying thats what he got me lol..

EDIT: Also, forgot to mention. My sister came home this weekend and she has a 14 inch laptop (Samsung QX470 I think?), and I have to say, theyre basically the same size. M14x is only alot thicker. Theyre the same height and the m14x is actually a bit smaller in length (going left to right looking at the keyboard). So really, the m14x IS a 14 inch laptop to me, not a 15 inch

 

OH ok, so $250 off plus those extras! Hmm. Nice deal. I may do that then. Just really would like to know performance on battery. I guess I've been spoiled by my M11x.

 

HT, why not an m11x R3? Faster, games on battery, awesome battery life.

 

No no no no no.

He got me 250$ off. That is all. Then he added the 8gb ram + bluetooth, in which I got those free as they cost 250$ together.

But in reality, I just got 250$ off.

 

Oh gotcha. In another thread I noticed someone mentioned they got about $300 by calling. So seems I should be able to get $200-$300 off by calling. If that's the case, I'm 90% sold on this M14x.

How is the display quality? Dell is known for using crappy screens. They are sub par on my M11x and average on my mom's Dell Inspiron. So hoping they're reasonably decent. Better than M11x at least I hope!

 

I've heard there is terrible color gamut on the 900p screen, somthing like 43%? May be mistaken.

 

Oh great. Heard of any third party high quality replacement screens yet? Of course since I won't be using it as much shouldn't be as big of a deal.

And regarding the M11x R3? I want a larger screen, quad core, and something more powerful than the 540m.

Now I'm considering the HP DV6t with HD 6770. It seems to have switching issues with OpenGL, but I don't use it for anything that I know of, except for MineCraft, but that should run fine on the IGP anyhow.

 

Not yet. I wonder.... Radiance screen? Thats 14 inches and 1600x900.

 

I find colors okay. The screen is reaaaallllyyy reflective. Direct sunlight = impossible. Bright areas? Doable. Dark areas? Best.

Radiance screens are supposedly not being made anymore. So you have to wait till someone makes an alternitive.

 

Yeah, you can find Radiance screens on here sometimes..

 

Yeah but you cant put it in the m14x. Its 14.5 inches, m14x is 14.1

 

Aaaah, didn't know. That stinks. Its an amazing screen, friend has one.

 

Is there a matte protector like there is for the M11x? I got one of those matte protectors and they look great.

 

Yes, there is one. Someone on here mentioned that they had it and it was fine. Maybe reduced the brightness/colour/viewing angle ever so slightly, but a worthwhile trade-off in their opinion.