Starcraft 2 : M11x R1 or R2 ?

Hello everyone,

I think very seriously about buying a M11x and I turn to you for advice and feedback. I only play Starcraft 2, and in the future, I also think playing Diablo III.

My question is about who between the M11x R1 (SU7300, 335, 4G RAM) and M11x R2 (i7, 335, 4g RAM) is the most efficient for this game? I have a strong preference for the R1 because less expensive, no optimus, morer cooler, better battery life) but I always ask myself questions and I want to be sure about my purchase.

Is it possible to run Starcraft 2 at ultrat level on the M11x R1 and if so, how many FPS ? I do a lot of 3v3 and 4v4 and I'd like to have a M11x that allows me to play Starcraft 2 in good conditions. I read a lot, especially in topics dedicated to SC2 that R2 M11x posed some problems with Starcraft 2 (less than FPS).

Would it be possible to have a comparison M11x R1 (SU7300) and M11x R2 (i7) for Starcraft 2 (what options, what FPS?).

Thank you in advance.

SimonG75


PS: Sorry for my poor English.

 

There are a couple large threads on SC2 already you should go through

 

Yep, I know that, I have already read them but it's not really clear (for me) yet and if I can have an answer here, it will be nice ! Thanks.

 

Well, Ultra is a rare push... High textures, with med/low everything else is easily doable on the m11x r1 (non OC'd). 3v3 gets some 30fps, with dips down to 20 or so.

 

Given that Starcraft 2 is a pretty CPU intensive game I'd lean more towards the R2 if I were you, even still I can't get the game's full ultra with my R2 though it's a high/ultra hybrid type level.

 

Ultra setting able to play when having 1v1 or 2v2 at nice fps with some OC'd on R2 i5.
High setting with medium shadow on 3v3 and 4v4 at around 30FPS.

 

I own a R2 and play 2-3 games of sc2 flawlessly every day during break at work. Usually playing with it on my lap (no problem at all with the heat) or during the nicer weather at the picnic table outside (no problem with glare unless its sunset). With latest modded drivers from these forums, I have never had a problem with optimus and hardly adjusted the GPU's settings. Just remember, with sc2 (and most recent rts') the bottleneck always seems to be the CPU

 

Since you're looking for power in the end, the R2 has what you need.

 

Throttlestop is unlocking the CPU power of the R2 over in this thread here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...upercharge-m11x-core-i5-i7-um-cpus.html#links

Based on these early results, it seems like a no brainer to go with the R2 for CPU intensive games like SC2.

Stain

 

I'd agree. Though the R1 was the safer buy at first (due to driver issues mainly), the R2 would be a better choice right now, especially considering better CPU, which (assuming SC2 is CPU-intensive at all) would help with performance, and graphics drivers updates being more frequent and recent.

Realistically though, if you do your optimizations and aren't expecting Ultra at 60fps, you're going to have a good time on either computer.

 

I would say the R2, but only if you go for the i7. But if portable gaming is not an issue, asus have released 14 inch gaming laptops without ULV cpus, and they would cost the same as the R2 with i7. Alienware actually has a special where you can get an m15x, with an i7 and a 5850, for 1400 (before taxes etc).

I have an r1 and when I oc my gpu, I can run everything ultra at about 26+ fps. This is in 3vs3 games. But I usually run everything on medium just because I dont oc all the time, and if the game becomes intense I dont want to turn everything down again.

 

Thanks a lot for this detail Bushman (and all the others of course) !

I have a choice to make. I have the M11x R1 for 980 € (SU7300 / 4G DDR3) or about R2 for 1100 € ? What do you think is the best choice for Starcraft 2?

I heard that the M11x R2 was much warmer than the R1, is that true ?

 

The R2 does run hotter than the R1, but the cooling system is still more than adequate. I have no problems gaming for a few hours with the R2 on my lap.

 

And about the noise in comparaison to the M11x R1 ?

Thanks again.

 

Buy an R2, there's almost no reason to buy an R1 anymore...

 

Curses to you all. I just dropped 900usd on the m11x... again.

 

Based on feedback from users who have owned both and from reviews the R2 is louder than the R1. For some people it's loud enough to be an issue for them, but for the most part I don't think people consider it to be all that bad. It's certainly not in my opinion. When I'm gaming I'm usually either wearing my Grados or my Shure earphones. Day to day use at work and I never notice it above the environment noise since I'm never stressing the system.

EDIT: I generally like the specs that notebookreview gives in their reviews. They conduct a comprehensive set of tests and I think they're usually more accurate or thorough than other review sites. Here's what they had to say about the R2's noise.

My R2 hasn't ever had this whine, but I would agree with their observations about the increased fan noise when under load. The AO3 BIOS updated the fan tables in order to "help with performance". I believe we've verified that this translates into more frequent or prolonged high speed fan actuation. It's been a while, but it was something along those lines. In any case I've owned loud laptops and I don't consider the R2 to be one. Other people's opinions are likely to be different.

Review Alienware M11x R2 Subnotebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

But wouldnt the R2 simply be louder because of turbo boost? Friends of mine have a sony with an i5 and its generally very quiet. Under strain i.e. games or hectic cpu stuff the fan goes nuts.

 

Well, an OC'd SU7300 doesn't make a big amount of noise (unless if nVidia GPU is on. nVidia GPU = noise. OC'd SU7300 = not always noise).

 

Hello all,

I got my M11x R2 (i7 and 4G DDR3) few days ago and this post to tell you that I'm running in ultra options SC2 at 50-40 FPS (IPS) on battery. At 130 population, the FPS drop but it's still playable (20 FPS approx.) I will do some 3v3 in to see how behaves the M11x but really, it's a great notebook !

 

Does anybody else follow the thinking that pure FPS is better than detail level in competitive Starcraft 2?

I don't know about you guys, but I actually play on low settings, just to get the highest framerates. Playing at 20fps - 30fps isn't ideal at all for me, because once a lot of units flood the screen, the framerate will drop and the game will lag. That split second of lag could mean the difference between letting the opponent's zerglings get a surround on your army, or having your army correctly run away.

 

+1, I play at high texture + high shade settings to get better frames.. sometimes play medium overall in team 2v2.

 

I play at the lowest settings, than bump up the textures. My m11x is still often the weakest system (causing slowdowns) out of a 6player mashup with friends

 

true. I hate it when I see that stupid logo "Your computer settings should be reduced as it is slowing down the game".