2920XM vs 2720QM for Gaming

Hi guys, I know there are a lot of posts covering this but I feel those are more focused on different aspects for use of a Extreme cpu, not purely for gaming.

I can get a good deal on a 2920XM for my m18x. Purely for gaming, is this worth the upgrade?
I am getting a pair 7970m in the near future and dunno if the 2920XM is worth it as the 2720Qm with my 6970m's in cfx is actually doing its job really well... Would there be much effect (fps in average games) when OC'ed in my current config?

Any info would be much appreciated!

 

Its good choice if you get this CPU at good price and also 2720qm at turbo mode 3.3Ghz using only one core and 3Ghz at 3 cores.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...grades/545462-2720qm-vs-2820qm-vs-2920xm.html

 

If I remember correctly, the 2720QM goes up to 3.1GHz on 4-cores boost. The 2920XM should go up to say... 3.4 GHz? It isn't THAT much of a bonus but if you're gonna OC it could help.

That being said, it doesn't need helping. If you're getting a steal of a deal then go right ahead and enjoy yourself, but your CPU should be much aplenty for gaming right now. My CPU's the i7-950 and there has yet to be a game to tax its load anywhere past 50%. If you do things like livestreaming though, then it's better for you, but if you purely wish to game? You don't need it at all.

 

Depends on the CPU price and games you play. It probably won't raise your average fps noticeably but it can avoid some spike in MMOs (FPS or RPG). For single player, again depends on game, if you like simulation games/civilization, then cpu helps.

 

Thanks for all the replies!

Sims do tax the CPU more but I never really noticed my 2720 having much trouble at all. I tried a couple MMO's and noticed some horrid spikes in large crowded areas but I thought that was due to ping and the server CPU...

Anyhows, the deal is not really a steal, just a good deal and was contemplating. I probably will save the money for the second 7970m. Thanks again all for the pointers!

 

That's incorrect, the 29**XMs will pull off a stable 4.4ghz+ in the M18x.

Rusty, if you're planning on upgrading your GPUs, then I would heavily recommend the processor upgrade. It has been proven that the 680m sli and 7970m cfx are bottlenecked by weaker processors in benchmarks and CPU intensive games. The 2920XM will be a good match for 7970m cfx.

 

I was afraid of that fact and perhaps secretly hoping for an excuse to safe some hard earned cash. The CPU upgrade looks more or less inevitable in the long run. Basically boils down to what to upgrade in what order. I think I will try and lower the price of the CPU and just start from there.

Thanks for the advice!

Also on a side note, I am actually very impressed on the performance of my 6970m's. Downlvolted and overclocked a couple of percent running amazingly cool! Up to date games all play well with the more stable and CFX friendly AMD drivers The 7970m's project is more or less a future investment.

 

Any time bro. No doubt, the 6970s are still excellent cards with plenty of life left. It may be a good time to upgrade in the few months though, as the new GPUs start rolling out and current models drop in price. And the 2920xm definitely isn't necessary to have a great gaming experience, but your current processor will end up being a bottleneck on more powerful GPUs. No reason to rush though. You can always hold out a while to find the perfect deal. I just picked up my brand new oem 3920xm for under 500 bucks, so great deals do come along occasionally

 

For future games, you can turn down settings for GPU bottleneck, or OC the GPU. But there isn't much you can do for CPU bottleneck.

However, if you don't upgrade, then what can you do with the saved money? Perhaps buy a new laptop earlier?

 

I was referring purely to the default turbo boost feature. I was not referring to how high he could get it by OCing. I WAS correct in saying that games needing a better CPU than that are nonexistent, however. A 2720QM at let's say 2.9GHz (it should go higher, but I'll use this for pure safety) should be WAY more than enough for just gaming. Period. As I said though, if he does livestreaming or uses recording programs that use the CPU alone (like Playclaw, or OBS' recording feature) then he will see his CPU actually being taxed. Either way, if he can get the upgrade for a steal of a deal, he should.

 

If I have the upgrades I want I will be one happy owner of a machine to which I am rather attached to and all will be well in universe

The reason I have so much fun with this older m18x R1 is that I can treat myself with these upgrades, Sure a newer model would be nice but sure as hell not as much fun I am having now. I think that was one of the biggest reason I went for an AW to play around with these upgrades, tweaks etc etc (and the looks offcourse). Perhaps after this a R2 mobo for the Ivy bridge like your fancy 3920xm

I believe the 2720Qm goes to 3.3 in turbo.

 

Mmm that should be for 1 core. I believe it's +10GHz over the base clock for 1 core, +9GHz over base clock for 2 cores and +8GHz over base clock for 3-4 cores. The websites had the actual listing, but they don't sell em there anymore so it's hard for me to find the info. Websites are stupid and only list the base clocks.

 

I also like upgrading my stuff =) i just ordered a 2920xm today. wish me luck. if you dont mind, how much did you get your 2920xm for? i got a decent deal myself.... well... at least i think so. what's the going price for the 2920xm nowadays btw? i compared with amazon and other sellers on ebay for a figure

 

I paid $275 a few months back for an OEM 2920xm, had an ES chip before that.

 

If you are comfortable doing a complete upgrade, grab an R2 motherboard and a 3940XM. That will last you two to three years, easy. Those 680M's are also going to last a good two years for maxed settings. Mr. Fox may have made a complete tear down video. He basically did just that and has Ivy Bridge.

If you don't want to take that route, a 2960XM is what I recommend. It can easily overclock to 4.8GHz? If I remember correctly...

 

Wow. That's an awesome deal. I negotiated with the seller for like 5 days to get it down to $335.00 I looked everywhere and amazon has it for a lot and eBay had no other sellers. Is that a good price or could I have done better?

 

Yeah $335 isn't bad at all in my opinion. I got a little lucky with finding mine off the NBR Marketplace.

 

Thanks for the clarification.
By chance, do u know if I will b able to overclock a 2920xm and run a 780m gtx at stock with a 240W psu? Or will I need a 330W psu? The overclock doesn't have to be a lot tho. I just tryna get my 2 year old laptop on par with some of the new spec laptops today (i7 37xx or a i7 47xx) for the next gen games due to come out... I really trying to avoid shelling out for a new laptop for bf4 and cod ghosts. Or at least a i7 36xx :s

 

I haven't had any experience with the 780m but the TDP is 122w, versus the 100w for 680m/7970m. In my current system, my 2920xm is OC'ed at 3.8ghz x 4 at 70/80/32s and my 24/7 oc for my 7970m is 950/1450. I have a 230w psu and haven't had any issues whatsoever. Do you currently own a 780m or looking at them? Judging by your psu, I take it you have a m17xr3?

 

Of course you can. The 4930MX draws more power than the 2920XM and they still offer 240W adapters. Go for it!

 

Yea. M17xR3... And I messed around with the bios and got the sound working without an external sound card. I posted what I did on another forum, but no one replied to it, so idk if it's a fluke. Do u know if other people got the sound working without an external sound card? Or am I just EXTREMELY LATE? Lolz!

 

Wow, does ur alienware 17 have a 240W psu? If so, I'll be a little more confident. I will need to check other forums on overclock procedures tho :s

 

Yes, it does. I'm actually going to use the AW 18's PSU for benching. The 240W is only enough for light benchmarking and gaming. With the modded vBIOS and a 330W PSU, I should be able to easily break 10k in 3DMark 11 with a single 780M and the 4930MX.

If my system is flawless upon arrival, I'll make threads and do a video review.

 

so how much do u think i can over clock the 2920xm by assuming all goes well?

 

You should be able to reach 4GHz+. I haven't used the 2920XM, but my experience with a 2960XM - thing can overclock!

 

nice, i hope all goes well then =)
btw, how do i get my signature to show? i have the show signature option ticked and it still does not show.

 

You can probably get it to 4.3-4.5ghz with proper cooling.

 

that cap happen if 2720 cant go to turbo modes. i was messimg some time ago with swtor and if i were to disable turbo game would run horribly on main stations if max clock would be stuck on 2.2ghz. also once game was loaded onto ssd i wad totaly lag/spike in fps drop free on main stations.

Sent from my HUAWEI Y300-0100 using Tapatalk 2

 

Do you know of any links that can explain how to mod my cpu heatsink for my m17xr3?

 

Alienware has a triple-pipe extreme cpu heatsink. However, I'm not sure of its compatibility with the m17xr3.

 

Ok, so i was hurriedly reading through some forums about the 2920xm in the M17xR3. Do i need to flash my bios in order to get it running or is it just plug and play? i flashed my bios to A12 in order to get the 780m gtx running on my system. Will that bios version be sufficient? I'm not too sure if it was for overclocking or if that was for the laptop mobo to detect the cpu. I hope i was just reading through some old threads and it's not alot of headache to install like the 780m was. :s

 

It should be plug and play.