EQ2 (extended) free version on m11x r2 i7

OK -
Thought I'd have a bash at EQ2 (thoroughly enjoyed the first one many many years ago) and wow, I cannot get the thing stable at all.

Game will crash (freeze with audio still playing) if I have any form of OC whatsoever on GPU. CPU OC @ 160 (as I have for all games) is fine.

Otherwise I'm getting between 15-23fps - Mostly medium/high on graphical settings (although tried with low with little affect).

What have other peoples experiences been with this game? Although would expect this game is to be more CPU intensive than GPU, I have to confess to being a little disappointed.

Cheers, Paul.

 

EQ2 is a CPU intensive game and I can tell you with certainty that you wont get decent framreates out of that game without 3ghz plus processor. People with the best desktop systems out cant run it maxxed and its 2011. Bad engine is bad.

 

seemed to run fine ('playable') on my r2 i5. i set the in-game 'high performance' profile though. using dell's graphics drivers. anything over balanced probably would've given me troubles.

 

Ahh thanks for the responses. - guess my expectation was out of whack.

After some more tweaking and fiddling I didi manage to push the fps up a little but the game stacks the GPU driver (a known issue) which requires a hard reset of the laptop.

So it looks like I'll have to underclock the gpu to get the game running for longer than 5minutes!

What a shame.

cheers, Paul.

 

I am pulling 3.0 GHz with the i7. Give SetPLL or SetFSB a shot after you've OC'd in the BIOS. (If you can't OC 166 MHz try better RAM)
Also give ThrottleStop a shot.

 

Wow -

The best I've eeked out is OC@160 (anything higher BSODs at OS start-up).

Throttlestop @ 30/30 which gives me a consistent 2.4Ghz -

I'll have a further play, perhaps if I can push the cpu further, it will, in my minds eye, at least better offset limiting the gpu.

Cheers, Paul.

 

If I were you I would call Alienware and have a new M11xR2 sent to you that is confirmed by an Alienware technician that it can overclock to 166 MHz without BSOD. I mean... You paid for a notebook that can OC the CPU... I really feel bad for the people here on the forums that can't even get over 150 MHz... While me along with many others don't have this problem... I don't know if they will but give it a shot.

 

I can run 162Mhz without any issues and probably 166 if I was ok with the occasional BSOD. I've only had 1 before I turned it down and it was after running at 166 for the for 2 months I owned my M11X.

As for EQ2, I don't know if the free/extended version is any different than the regular/paid version that I use, but EQ2 runs great on my M11x-R2 i7. I run at high settings with stuff like particle effects and shadows scaled back. One thing I made sure of is to not max out the clipping plane (how far back the system begins to render the scenery). This is a huge resource hog from what I can tell and was a problem when I played on my desktop as well, even with dual 9800GTS and a 3Ghz C2D. In fact the game runs just as well on my M11x as it did on the desktop- a nice testament to technological progress!

If you haven't already, I would dial back your clipping, spell particle effects and shadows. Keep everything else at med-high to high (model detail, textures, etc.) and see how that works. Maybe even dial back your audio if you think it's an issue. I can't imagine why a game would run fine on my system and not yours since they are identical.. or were, before I upgraded to the hybrid HDD. Hopefully it isn't faulty hardware.

Though it's a little cramped playing on the 11inch screen with rows of hotbars, effect, pet and chat windows, etc. it's really great to be able to log in from anywhere


Good luck!

 

Well -
I think it would genuinely be unfair to expect a stable oc@166 on _every_ application/game. So with that, I am happy that it's rock solid @ 160.

Generally I've been very very happy with the m11x. I bought it as a slimline gaming PC, for as and when I travel across the atlantic (which for my job I do frequently).

My only criticism is the 355m gpu random hang (whether on OC or otherwise). It has dampened by experience with some games but with the majority it has not been an issue.

Anyway, back on topic, with an underclock on the shader to 1020 I have not experienced a freeze.

I have also managed to get between 17 (external areas) - 50+ (internal areas) on EQ2. I'm happy, life's too short not to be

cheers, Paul.

EDIT - tazm0n - thank's for the advice re LOD clipping etc, I will definitely give those settings a tweak. And yes absolutely fantastic to be able to hop into MMORPG from anywhere. Just need to read up on the best custom UI and mods to tailor it to the smaller screen, but I am enjoying wasting my precious hours in-game.

 

YW!

What a great idea to look for a custom UI for smaller screens... hadn't thought of that... still using ProfitUI which has been my favorite for years. I'm going to look as well, but if you could post anything good you find, I'd be much appreciative!

Also, I should have noted, that I solo mostly these days (dusted off the Necro and Coercer for now - coming back after about 9 months off), but performance did take a small hit in a dungeon group (though it wasn't bad outdoors) and I have not been on a raid yet while playing on the M11X- I'm sure I'd have to dial everything to low for a raid.

Cheers!