M15x now with the 5850!

Oh, I see. Well that's a bummer. At least you got it 75mhz higher than regular 5870 speeds, which is really impressive.

 

Thanks for the info man. I have not time to download the drivers yet. I would like to see how the dell drivers work (I'm not expecting much of them but I would like to compare and run some benchmarks).

This is what I got for 3dmark06


3DMark Score
11718 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score
4852
SM 3.0 Score
5403
CPU Score
3153

Should I be getting more? I saw some of the benchmarks up to the 12k. I have the i7-720Q 1.6ghz

 

well you should run vantage as 06 is not well designed for the 5850 so it doesn't compare realistically for some reason.

 

I ran it. I forgot to copy the results and it wouldn't let me run it again. Results were very similar to the first guy that posted benchmarks but he had a i3. I have an i7 and the processing speed was a little faster.

 

what was the score near 7k?

 

how come my 5850 is getting constant 75 degrees celsuis at full load during extended play in starcraft 2 at stock clocks.. is this normal?

 

completely normal if you want lower temps get some good thermal paste like ocz freeze or Mx-3

 

Yeah that's totally normal. Your room temperature comes into play as well.

It's really cool in here most of the time because my computer room is very small air conditioned room, so I can get some pretty decent temperatures.

 

75 under full load is pretty good, 5870 is around 85. and yes ambient temp can make your temps fluctuate.

 

If i remember correctly with stock drivers it was around 6700-6900. With the 10.5 drivers it bumped up to 7100 I believe

 

What is a good application to check temperatures voltages and all that good stuff? What about overclocking. My laptop runs very cool (to contact) I think it can be overclocked easily but I don't have much experience with it and I don't want to end up frying the video card. Any advices?

 

I use GPU-Z, CPU-Z, HWiNFO32, and the AMD GPU clock tool -- For an ATI card of course.

In my opinion overclocking is fun for number chasing in benchmark tools like 3DMark Vantage but I`m rather against keeping my PC at those clocks during real world applications. Especially on the 5850, where everything I`ve played so far runs great anyways. The small performance gains aren`t worth shortening the life of the computer. Just my two cents.

I am not sure what people are using with the 260m. I think they use Nvidia System Tools. And a few use Rivatuner to counter the throttling issue as described in this thread.

 

I only overclock for benches, for games and normal use I am always stock

 

Good to know then. I'll leave it as it is. I love my m15x more everyday

 

Glad to know this. Thanks a bunch!

 

Do you play games on the 5850? Could you tell me what you see FPS wise when your overclocked?

 

Dragon Age: Origins, everything max, No AA. Went through the battle of Ostagar from the start to the second floor of the tower. Fraps was running.

No OC (625/1000):
Min: 24
Max: 101
Average: 62.5 FPS

OC (775/1100):
Min: 27
Max: 111
Average: 69 FPS

 

wow quite an improvement what was the temps, did u use stock thermal paste?

 

Hey guys, has anyone tested the hdmi out yet? Just wanted to know if anyone got the audio to work yet. Thanks

 

I forgot to mention that. This laptop does not have HDMI. However it has a cable that converts to HDMI. I have not tried it yet. Has anyone tried it? Does it play audio?

 

Yes it plays audio. I've tried it with the Dell ATI drivers, and audio works fine.

 

Hey guys. Long time lurker here and on the M17x forums. Hope to be buying one or the other in time for going back to school this fall. I just finshed reading this whole thread and was startled at the end to see that there is no HDMI although now that I go back and check the manual that I downloaded, thats right, there isn't. So I just wanted to clear up some details on this because this is a big deal for me. Which ever I get I will be getting the BlueRay drive with it and using it with a flatscreen tv and sound system for movies. So my questions are as follows:
Does the cable to convert to HDMI come with every m15x or do you have to order it separately?
I assume it converts from display port to hdmi, is this correct?
And finally, I just want to clarify that we really do have confirmation that it will output the audio over this conversion cable as battousai10k said (no disrespect, just want to make sure thats actually what was being said)?

Thankyou in advance for answering these questions.

 

If size is not a concern for you, then get the M17x. It has confirmed hdmi working with surround sound and more expandability. The price difference for comparably spec'd M17x and M15x is not much ($350) with the M17x having a 5870 vs 5850 in the M15x as well as a higher res and much higher quality screen in the M17x(1920x1200 vs 1920x1080 and WLED vs RGBLED)

 

Hi ,

yes the M15x comes with a DP->HDMI adapter. The sound does also work as long as you get the graphic card from dell

 

Mine didn't come with an adapter but, I got a displayport to HDMI cord off Amazon for $7 and I let my wife watch Alice in wonderland last night. I am also using the 10.6 drivers not dell drivers so yes it works fine for me.

 

yeah...despite hdmi's popularity.... display port is actually superior... and the adapter ships out with the system in Canada+ US for sure. I won't make any claims for the rest as i'm not 100% sure.

And audio over DP/HDMI works with the 5850m.... but not the aftermarket5870m... has anyone figured out why yet?

 

Maybe its the port wiring which is different? The drivers keep telling me that I have a DVI adapter and that is why there will be no sound.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, I really appreciate it.

Not to get off topic for the thread but with regards to the m17x vs m15x the screen is an issue but in the reverse of what you were thinking scook9. I'm one of those "crazy" people that perfers a slightly lower resolution on their screen so the choice is between the 1440x900 non LED screen of the m17x and the 1600x900 LED screen on the m15x. I've been looking the two systems on their US back to school sale right now (I have a family friend in Washington State that can do the ordering for me) and been debating between the two. To be honest, the biggest let down for me on the m15x is not having a second hard drive. At 1600x900 the 5850 with DDR5 will be enough graphics power for me (while the thought of the crossfire 5870s in the back to school special m17x give me tingles there are alot of problems with crossfire right now, 1440x900 is a little low for xfire, and they use a lot of power) and I have read a number of reviews speaking well of the 540m in the power vs. power consumption field and I like the idea of actually being able to use it unplugged for a while at school (I would definitly be getting the 9 cell battery). But there is no denying the awesomeness of the m17x, thats for sure... oh decisions decisions. It would be easier if one clearly sucked but they both have a lot going for them.

Anyway, thanks again for the replies guys, I'm glad to hear that you can get sound and video out to a reciever over a single cable but you have made my decision that much harder lol.

 

I believe the M17x switches to onboard graphics which will probably save more on battery. The M15x can have a second hard drive if you get a caddy and take out the dvd drive.

 

imo....one 5870 is sufficient....and if you get the 500gb hdd... then the m15x can work out well for you... but if you like to game full-pin... maybe then the m17x will be a better option... that is... if $$ aint an issue... cuz 2x 5870's, with 2x hdds.... and all the extra bells and whistles... tends to add up considerably more than the m15x...

 

The M17x R2 (the only one offered right now) does not have switchable graphics, you will get about 1.5 hours MAX on battery (usually less)

 

and yeah forget about gaming unplugged....as itll suck the life outta your battery faster than you know it... remeber time flies when your gaming...and 1hr just aint long enough...

 

Im going to get a M15x soon (UK) i'm asking if this configuration is good
i7 740qm 1.73-2.93ghz
3gb ddr3 1333
160gb hdd, upgrade later myself
ati radeon 5850m
1920*1080 wled screen

 

that is the one I would order

Upgrade RAM and HDD yourself (and CPU if you are comfortable doing it)

 

would or going to?

 

Would. Just started working and gotta save up to get an apartment and an engagement ring

 

congrats!

 

Hey all first time posting here. I am in the process of deciding what I want in my M15x and the only category left is the Graphics cards.

The two choices are
1GB GDDR5 ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5850
1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M

My question is, that although the 5850 is listed as GDDR5 does it actually run with it? or is it in fact the GDDR3 version. Any help is appreciated

 

Choose the 5850. It is superior for gaming.

Take a look at these:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/507075-game-tests-gtx260m-vs-5850-unbiased.html

and

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ne-heaven-v2-1-m15x-scores-260-vs-5850-a.html

Good luck.

 

Unless you have a specific need for Nvidia or just like Nvidia products AND you're running a dual core, go with the 5850.

 

Cool so the specs I'm planning on are like this

Intel® Core™ i7-740QM Processor
8GB (4GBx2) 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
1GB GDDR5 ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5850
500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive

what you guys think?

 

Dont waste you money on 8GB unless you know you are going to use more than 4GB of RAM (e.g. photoshop with large images, high res video editing, virtual machines, etc..)

You can use that money to upgrade the CPU

 

^^^^

chances are you will notice very little to no difference in 4gb and 8gb

This is being realistic real world stuff including gaming.

 

Yeah I realise the RAM is excessive, but I dont live in the states, 8GB is the only option and it costs the same as 4GB did before they took that option away.

 

Hi guys i ve had a 5850 installed last night. ever since then i ve been getting power cuts during game play. Dell thinks its a software problem. i have reseated the card etc. Anyone got any ideas? if so please write in the following thread. http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/518281-5850.html

 

what do you mean power cuts out like laptop shuts off. check your temps wil gaming or benching and run a log so we can see if it is a thermal issue or whats going on. Do you have the latest bios and did you try the dell beta drivers listed on the webpage.

 

they are forcing you to get the 8Gbs?
Mine they still have 4GB but no i5 Processors to choose. only i7 740QM and above.