Incoming Clevo 680M (4GB) for AW M18x-R1

[Brian 1975]

Special thanks: To Eurocom for providing a discounted price to Tech|Inferno.

REVIEW IS OUT: nVidia GTX 680M Performance Review | Tech|Inferno

We've managed to snag a 680M from Eurocom and will be testing it in an AW M18x-R1 with 2920xm. The video card will hopefully be here this coming week or two. Eventually we'll purchase another for a full SLi review but for now, we'll be doing a 580M SLi vs 680M (single) comparison. Since the Kepler GPU has a huge gaming advantage over the 580M chip, it should be a pretty interesting match-up and something to think about for M18x-R1 users that are looking to upgrade.

So what we need from you, the community is feedback on which games and applications you'd like to see tested (sorry svl7, no furmark ).

Here is sample of my current games

1. BF3

2. Crysis 2

3. Mafia II

4. Mass Effect 2/3

5. Skyrim

6. Max Payne 3

7. LA Noire

8. Saints Row 3

9. Just Cause 2

10. COD: MW3

11. Darkness II

12. Serious Sam 3

13. Batman Arkham Asylum & City

Application list

1. 3DMark Vantage

2. 3DMark 11

3. Sony Vegas GPU render test

4. Unigine Heaven DX11

Not all the games listed above will be tested due to time constraints. Please pick your favorite app/game and reply to this thread.

Thanks.

Alright poll is closed, the winners are:

1. BF3

2. Skyrim

3. Crysis 2

4. Batman Arkham City

5. Metro2033 (not in the poll but will be tested).

In addition I'll be testing the obligatory synthetics such as Vantage + 3DMark 11. If I have time I'll do a cuda render test but that's not important right now. Oh and a few teaser pics for you guys below.

[widezu69 252]

Wish I could get me one and do something like a 4GB vs 2GB with a definitive answer

[Michael 1315]

Please include Quake, Doom and Warcraft in the list of games lol

[Brian 1975]

Please include Quake, Doom and Warcraft in the list of games lol

You forgot wolfenstein lol.

Sent from my GT-N7000

[Brian 1975]

Poll added, please limit your selections to 5 choices since I'll only be testing 5 games.

[joeny 10]

That's awesome brian,I have been dying to see what kepler GTX680s will do against our beloved GTX 580s.I can't wait for you to post your findings and I imagine beyond the FPS and general better performance I understand the new 680ms are more efficient and add better overclocking etc.It's hard to know since no one I know has a 680 in an M18XR1.Great work man!

[Guest]

That's awesome brian,I have been dying to see what kepler GTX680s will do against our beloved GTX 580s.I can't wait for you to post your findings and I imagine beyond the FPS and general better performance I understand the new 680ms are more efficient and add better overclocking etc.It's hard to know since no one I know has a 680 in an M18XR1.Great work man!

Yep the kepler's seem to be fantastic overclockers with the proper vbios mod. Since this is a clevo 4GB model, the MSI vbios should help it achieve some pretty awesome numbers. Meaker broke 8K GPU in 3DMark 11 on his single 680M already which beats 580M SLi numbers.

[Speedy Gonzalez® 35]

Have fun with the 680M Brian looks like an amazing card I am retired from mobile powerhouses at least for this year I made a bad decision and purchased a crossfire system not knowing what nightmare that would bring

I just build a micro ATX pc with Asus GTX680 TOP and yeah kepler is a good overclocker and performer I want to wait for Haswell and probably Maxwell next year to buy a new laptop i hope to resist the temptation

[Brian 1975]

Have fun with the 680M Brian looks like an amazing card I am retired from mobile powerhouses at least for this year I made a bad decision and purchased a crossfire system not knowing what nightmare that would bring

I just build a micro ATX pc with Asus GTX680 TOP and yeah kepler is a good overclocker and performer I want to wait for Haswell and probably Maxwell next year to buy a new laptop i hope to resist the temptation

I know man, that 7970M xfire you had was a disaster. Seems they still haven't really fixed anything either so it'll be a long time before its really trouble free (if ever). Oh yeah, the 680M shipped out, it arrives this Friday!

[unreal25 786]

Wow nice! How much does this card cost? (Bought as a single item with cooler and essentials). I'm having trouble navigating through Eurocom website.

Thanks!

[andyausz 14]

What is better: 680m with 4gb or 7970m?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Xonar 412]

Wow nice! How much does this card cost? (Bought as a single item with cooler and essentials). I'm having trouble navigating through Eurocom website.

Thanks!

Here's Eurocom's ebay. $790 + $25 shipping for the card alone.

What is better: 680m with 4gb or 7970m?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Stock vs. stock, it's debatable, the 680M is at most 10% better, while the 7970M is better at other things. Worth it for the price premium? Probably not.

Overclocked and overvolted, the 680M hands down.

[Brian 1975]

Wow nice! How much does this card cost? (Bought as a single item with cooler and essentials). I'm having trouble navigating through Eurocom website.

Thanks!

I got a discounted rate but it wasn't by too much less than what's on the site. You have to buy the card, x-bracket and pads from them and then call Dell or someone for the 580/680M heatsinks. Since I have 580M SLi, the heatsink wasn't an issue.

Here's Eurocom's ebay. $790 for the card alone.

Stock vs. stock, it's debatable, the 680M is at most 10% better, while the 7970M is better at other things. Worth it for the price premium? Probably not.

Overclocked and overvolted, the 680M hands down.

Pretty much what Xonar said. Stock performance is similar but with overvolt + OC, the 680M leaves it in the dust with respect to synthetic benchmarks so far. We'll see how it does in actual games but I anticipate it doing very well since nVidia traditionally has much better drivers and game support.

[unreal25 786]

Hm the pricing is kind of steep compared to 7970M. In any case I'm looking forward to see the performance!

[Xonar 412]

Hm the pricing is kind of steep compared to 7970M. In any case I'm looking forward to see the performance!

Yes and that is my current dilemma. Perhaps if I give it a couple months the choice will be clearer, but I can't stand the wait.

This generation reminds me of the jump we saw from nvidia with the 7xxx to 8xxx. Such a massive increase in performance from both sides this time around though.

Anyways, can't wait for Friday.

Sent from my Sensation

[One23Forty 20]

I read that the m18x heatsinks for the 7970m are slightly bigger than those for the 6990m, but both are compatible with each other. Is there a similar situation with the 580m/680m or is the part the exact same?

[Brian 1975]

I read that the m18x heatsinks for the 7970m are slightly bigger than those for the 6990m, but both are compatible with each other. Is there a similar situation with the 580m/680m or is the part the exact same?

Yes the 580M heatsinks are compatible with 680M so you don't have to purchase new ones. You might need to buy a new x-bracket for the back + thermal pads. I'll let you know when I get my card in a few days.

[daveh98 26]

Anyone with 6990/580 SLI setups, I would strongly advise waiting a bit to see what plays out. It's not like there are many games that won't play at nearly the highest settings. My gut feeling is that the 680M will prove to be less hassle, have much better driver support, and also BETTER image quality. AMD rarely gets called on this but their image quality is poorer than the Nvidia offerings. Back in the 6800 Ultra ATI 800XT(I think they were called that) there were similar debates but with Nvidia doing maneuvers to get better performance at the sacrifice of IQ. Nvidia will likely prove to be worth the price but those prices should come down a bit in a few months when the enthusiasts get their fix. Just my .034

Edit: surprised no one wants to see Metro2033 benched. That thing kills cards at max settings.

[Xonar 412]

Edit: surprised no one wants to see Metro2033 benched. That thing kills cards at max settings.

I agree Metro would be a great game to test, but I don't think Brian owns it. The list is based off games he owns.

[Brian 1975]

Sorry guys I totally forgot about Metro. I do own it but it's not installed but I'll include it as one of the default games to be tested when I get the 680M.

[Red Line 22]

Hey Brian, do you plan on getting the 2nd card in the future? Seems like some peole were having hard time installing 7970m (driver related) cf in R1, probably it won't affect future 680m sli owners

[Brian 1975]

Hey Brian, do you plan on getting the 2nd card in the future? Seems like some peole were having hard time installing 7970m (driver related) cf in R1, probably it won't affect future 680m sli owners

Yup if this single one works then the plan is to get a second one for sli in the future.

Sent from my GT-N7000

[Jimbo 696]

3dm11 P and X (if you have the registered version). Many thanks Brian.

[jhmonroy 21]

Yup if this single one works then the plan is to get a second one for sli in the future.

Sent from my GT-N7000

Hi,

I can assure you it will work, because yesterday I received one for my M17x R3 which is very similar to your M18x R1.

You will need to pull the x-bracket from your 580m, and put it in the 680m,

also, you will need to find the card ID form your system, and do the following with the latest nvidia driver:

Using Notepad, open nvcv.inf from the 'Display.Driver' directory (I suggest you copy a backup of file elsewhere)

(Using the replace function)

Replace all occurences of DEV_11A0&SUBSYS_51051558 with DEV_11A0&SUBSYS_xxxx1028 (You can replace any GTX 680M Dev ID code you wish)

Replace all occurences of %NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.5105.1558% with %NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.xxxx.1028% <------ my Hardware ID, your one may differ.

Replace all occurences of NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.5105.1558 with NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.xxxx.1028

I don´t know why, but the clevo card (vendor ID 1558) is recognized as a dell card (vendor ID 1028)

I can assure you that the difference with the 580m is amazing, the idle temps,are as low as 28ºC, and without any overclocking, just above 60 something after running 3dmark11, cinebench, 3dmark vantage, etc. The whole system is much cooler now.

Luck with your card.

Julian

[Brian 1975]

Hi,

I can assure you it will work, because yesterday I received one for my M17x R3 which is very similar to your M18x R1.

You will need to pull the x-bracket from your 580m, and put it in the 680m,

also, you will need to find the card ID form your system, and do the following with the latest nvidia driver:

Using Notepad, open nvcv.inf from the 'Display.Driver' directory (I suggest you copy a backup of file elsewhere)

(Using the replace function)

Replace all occurences of DEV_11A0&SUBSYS_51051558 with DEV_11A0&SUBSYS_xxxx1028 (You can replace any GTX 680M Dev ID code you wish)

Replace all occurences of %NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.5105.1558% with %NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.xxxx.1028% <------ my Hardware ID, your one may differ.

Replace all occurences of NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.5105.1558 with NVIDIA_DEV.11A0.xxxx.1028

I don´t know why, but the clevo card (vendor ID 1558) is recognized as a dell card (vendor ID 1028)

I can assure you that the difference with the 580m is amazing, the idle temps,are as low as 28ºC, and without any overclocking, just above 60 something after running 3dmark11, cinebench, 3dmark vantage, etc. The whole system is much cooler now.

Luck with your card.

Julian

Thanks for the heads-up Julian! Will keep that in mind when the 680M arrives tomorrow. And welcome to Tech|Inferno!

Edit: @jhmonroy is HDMI out working for you with the 680M?