Help! (new soon to be alienware user:D)

[richg211]

Hey everyone! so i was thinking of buying an Alienware M14x pretty soon. I was just wondering if there really is a difference of a single 6GB DDR3 @1600MHz and a 4/8GB Dual Channel DDR3 @1600MHz. Is it worth getting the extra RAM if i change the GB from 4 to 6 or 8? Or would it not matter much? and also, for the video card, should i stay at the 1.5GB DDR3 nVidia Geforce GT555 or get the 3GB one? Is there much of a difference in performance? I would only be playing Black Ops and MW3 when it comes out. Thanks for the help everyone!

[Stevenxowens792]

Cheers Rich,

Let me try to answer these...

1. Memory, very little true in game performance difference between 4, 6, and 8gb . Regardless of dual or single channel. (yes you can probably see small differences in certain

benchmarks).

2. Video, Absolutely no game difference between 1.5 to 3.0 gb. (at least right now) We ran benchmarks between the 1.5 and 3.0.. nada.

Good luck and let us know if you have any other questions...

Best Wishes,

StevenX

[richg211]

Alright, thanks. how about the Core processor? Is the i7 2630 fast enough along with the Geforce GT 555m to run the games smoothly with nice fps? I will really only be playing black ops and MW3 when it comes out. Thanks.

[Staff Sargent]

I see your off to college ( saw your profile via missed click) as I don't know game profomance on these cpus but I do know other software can benefit from the extra power. Not sure what your courses will be but it also sounds lile you miht be thinking of the future so with that in mind a bump in cpu power might be a good choice. The ram can always be done after and cheaper. The GPU well the only choice to not waste money is the 1.5. Just some ideas for you to think about.

I am also getting one soon and the 2720 is my choice since I will also be using it for more then just games. Plus the extra cpu power when running lower will still give me faster speeds at cooler temps.

[richg211]

Alright, thanks Staff Sargent and Steven. But the m14x with a 2630 2.0ghz (w turbo 2.9ghz) along with the 1.5nvidia gt 555m and 4gb dual memory should run black ops or anything pretty smoothly right now with good fps? thanks again.

[Stevenxowens792]

Richg211 (if you search youtube) for stevenxowens792, I have a gameplay video that shows bfbc2, black ops, homefront and two worlds 2. Black ops runs on ultra minus AA/AF anywhere from 65-95 fps most of the time (With GPU overclock of 750/900). If I enable 2xAA it drops by like 3-4 fps. Not much.

So no worries running black ops, or modern warfare 2/3 or battlefield bad company 2 or anything like that.

This is also at my native rez of 720p.

Thanks,

StevenX

[richg211]

Ahh okay, thanks for the help! Sorry I'm a it of a noob when it comes to knowing anything about gaming on a laptop. I would usually just stick with my xbox, but that is now broken.

Does overclocking harm your laptop though? I just don't wanna overheat it that it would burn out quickly and my money is then wasted.