Test Settings
The M17x was originally scheduled to go up against AVADirect’s Core i7-820XM notebook, but arrived with a faster Core i7-920XM processor. In order to make this a fair comparison, we held onto the system until Eurocom’s i7-940XM units arrived. Today, we get to see how well Alienware’s $3900 configuration fits between $3100 AVADirect and $4100 Eurocom competition.
| Test System Configuration | |
|---|---|
| Alienware M17x CPU | Intel Core i7-920XM PGA988, 2.00-3.20 GHz, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache |
| AVADirect W880CU CPU | Intel Core i7-820QM PGA998, 1.73-3.06 GHz, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache |
| Eurocom X8100 CPU | Intel Core i7-940XM PGA988, 2.13-3.33 GHz, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache |
| Alienware RAM | 2 x Samsung M471B5673FH0-CH9 (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1333 CAS 9-9-9-24, 4 GB Total |
| AVADirect RAM | 2 x Kingston KVR1333D3S9/2G (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1333 CAS 9-9-9-24. 4 GB Total |
| Eurocom RAM | 2 x Kingston KHX1333C7S3K2/4G (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1333 CAS 7-7-7-20 4 GB Total |
| Mobility Radeon Graphics | 2 x AMD Mobility Radeon HD 5870 1 GB, CrossFire 700 MHz GPU, GDDR5-4000 |
| GeForce Mobile Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 480M 2 GB 425 MHz GPU Core, GDDR5-2400 |
| Alienware Hard Drive | 2 x Seagate ST9500420AS, RAID 0 500 GB, 7200 RPM, 16 MB Cache, SATA 3Gb/s |
| AVADirect Hard Drive | Corsair CSSD-V128GB2-BRKT, 128 GB MLC, SATA 3Gb/s SSD |
| Eurocom Hard Drive | Crucial RealSSD C300, 256 GB MLC, SATA 6Gb/s SSD |
| Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
| Power | FSP 19 V 11.57 A (220 W) Power Block 14.8 V 4650 mAh (68.82 Wh) Battery |
| Software | |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit |
| Graphics | Alienware Version 8.692.2-100203a1-095371C-Dell Eurocom Version 8.75-100527a-100755E-Clevo AVADirect Version 257.07 Desktop Version 10.3 |
| Chipset | Intel INF 9.1.1.1020 |
Each notebook manufacturer customizes its graphics drivers to fit the unique designs of its graphics modules. Though Alienware’s driver appears older than Eurocom’s, it was still the released version available at the time of our September tests. Its parent company Dell therefore takes the credit for any effect the lower-numbered driver has on gaming performance.
Bear in mind that AMD now offers universal drivers for its mobile products, following Nvidia's example. These aren't always guaranteed to work, though. On two different occasions, we've been unable to install the GeForce drives on Clevo-based notebook models. Most recently, this was the case with the GeForce GTX 480M tested here. You're of course welcome to try these universal packages when they work, but to keep our comparison even, we used the latest driver from each system vendor at the time of writing. Note that Alienware released a newer driver after testing on its unit was completed. With that said, you'll notice that Alienware already dominates the benchmarks, so performance can only get better from here.
We also retained the desktop performance data from our first Mobility Radeon 5870 review to see if high-end gaming notebooks can reach the performance expectations of mainstream gamers. This is no trivial feat, since notebook components must be designed to generate minimum heat. The desktop platform is based on a Core i7-920 CPU, Radeon HD 5850, and 6 GB of DDR3-1333 CAS 7.
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | Campaign, Act III, Second Sun (45 sec. FRAPS) Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA |
| Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Very High Quality, 4x AA |
| DiRT 2 | Run with -benchmark example_benchmark.xml Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4x AA |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat | Call Of Pripyat Benchmark version Test Set 1: High Preset, DX11 EFDL, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Preset, DX11 EFDL, 4x MSAA |
| Audio/Video Encoding | |
| iTunes | Version:9.0.2.25 x64 Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 min Default format AAC |
| HandBrake 0.9.4 | Version 0.9.4, convert first .vob file from The Last Samurai (1 GB) to .mp4, High Profile |
| TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress | Version: 4.7.3.292 Import File: Terminator 2 SE DVD (5 Minutes) Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9 |
| DivX Codec 6.9.1 | Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multithreading enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search |
| Xvid 1.2.2 | Display encoding status = off |
| MainConcept Reference 1.6.1 | MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 KHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS) |
| Productivity | |
| Adobe Photoshop CS4 | Version: 11.0 x64, Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 2010 | Version: 11.0 x64, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
| Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 9.0 | Version: 9.0.663, Virus base: 270.14.1/2407, Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files |
| WinRAR 3.90 | Version x64 3.90, Dictionary = 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
| 7-Zip | Version 4.65: Format=Zip, Compression=Ultra, Method=Deflate, Dictionary Size=32 KB, Word Size=128, Threads=8 Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| 3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.0.1, GPU and CPU scores |
| PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.0.1.0 x64, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks |
| SiSoftware Sandra 2010 | Version 2010.1.16.11, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
Related Stories :
- Alienware's M17x: Mobility Radeon HD 5870 CrossFire Is A Go
- AVADirect's W860CU: Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Vs. GeForce GTX 285M
- AMD's Mobility Radeon HD 6970 In CrossFire On Eurocom's Panther
- Mobility Radeon Vs. GeForce M: The CrossFire Advantage
- ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5000 is DX11 on the Go
- ASI's IQ17-D2: Is Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 Still Fast Enough?
- AMD Releases Radeon HD 8970M Mobile GPU
- AMD's Radeon HD 5870: Before And After A Year Of Driver Updates
- Deals of Day: Radeon HD 5870 & HP TouchSmart
- ASUS Radeon HD 5870 Overclocks to 1525 MHz
Hmmm. Overpriced.
I smell a comeback hehe
Fixed... wtf is wrong with you..
When you review a product like this, why not go over to the Notebook Review forums and ask the experts there about the M17x R2? The Core i7 Extreme mobile processors are absolute beasts when they have been unlocked and fully overclocked. The turbo throttling that is common to the Core i7 mobile CPUs when loaded can easily be corrected by raising the turbo TDP/TDC values for a simple yet significant increase in performance. Do your readers a favor and show everyone what the M17x is really capable of. With the help of a program called ThrottleStop, you can completely transform the performance of these CPUs.
It'd be nice if Tom's would review some of the more midrange gaming laptops from around $750-$1000. I got a great deal on an Asus G60 with respectable specs and can run any modern game at decent settings. Who here can really throw down that much cash on a laptop? Either way, nice review.
It'd be nice if Tom's would review some of the more midrange gaming laptops from around $750-$1000. I got a great deal on an Asus G60 with respectable specs and can run any modern game at decent settings. Who here can really throw down that much cash on a laptop? Either way, nice review.
It's a tough problem because I wouldn't game on a weak GPU. Since I can't afford any notebook over $2000, I wouldn't game on a notebook. Since I wouldn't game on a notebook, I went in the opposite direction with a notebook that has integrated graphics and around eight hours of battery life. Of course, I also have desktops...
Bang for buck at $4000? Not so much.
The problem with big heavy expensive laptops is that a desktop does everything they do and better at a third of the price.
How much are you really going to be taking a $4000 laptop out of your house?
I like my m11x (i7 r2) sturdy plays most games except for the absolute bleeding edge of cpu throttled applications.
build kickass desktop for 3k and spend 1 k on this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6834152207
and laugh at people who bought this.
Alienware? No thanks.
Although you definitely are paying a superflous price premium, you're at least getting power (the same can't be said for MACs.)
GTX 480M looks like a big whimper compared to those Radeon dualies.
Alienware? No thanks.Although you definitely are paying a superflous price premium, you're at least getting power (the same can't be said for MACs.)
What do you want to say? Your second statement is way out of context of the first!
Never but it i have the m17x r2 and dell has replaced the motherboard and both the video cards and thats only in the first one i had, they gave me a new laptop and it had the same xfire flicking problem even after the vbios update and newer drivers disable vsync and anyone that has played games on it will find out even if you don't notices it at first it will give you a headache i have tested world of war craft hawx css tf2 the only way to fix it is to disable xfire great job dell lost my business.
Outdated within a year.
"...more significant “killer app” is the possible addition of a 3G ExpressCard modem."
Dude, are you still living in 2008??? Somebody throw a MiFi at this guy's head!
the 1500$ asus with one 5870 still works for me
What do you want to say? Your second statement is way out of context of the first!
The average $3K mac has the features of a $1.5K notebook.
A 5870M is equal to a 5770.
So, this unit is about equal to a 5870, or around there.
Great review
Waiting for Clevo X7200 review with 2 GTX 480Ms(compared to 2 5870s)
It's a tough problem because I wouldn't game on a weak GPU. Since I can't afford any notebook over $2000, I wouldn't game on a notebook. Since I wouldn't game on a notebook, I went in the opposite direction with a notebook that has integrated graphics and around eight hours of battery life. Of course, I also have desktops...
I too have the Asus G60 (the Best Buy model). And it comes with an i5, and a NVidia GTX360M. Not that shabby and I've been able to play Just Cause 2 and Metro 2033 just fine on (not too) reduced settings in DX10. I can play plenty of newer games at max settings. It's not a beast like the Alienware, but it works fine for gaming on the road. The M17X is basically a desktop replacement (that you can take from room to room). And I would rather have a desktop instead of a laptop in that price range.