Alienware M11x R2: A Legend Reborn
by Jarred Walton on July 9, 2010 4:05 AM ESTOverclocked Performance: Win Some, Lose Some
Like the M11x and ASUS' UL series of CULV laptops, the M11x R2 allows you to try overclocking the CPU via the BIOS. Whereas we could simply set the bus speed to 166MHz (from the default 133) with the other laptops we've tested, this is our first Arrandale ULV processor and it didn't quite make it to a 166 bus. At 166, the system would reboot twice and revert to 133. A 164MHz bus on the other hand would boot Windows most of the time, but various games and applications would crash. Eventually we settled on 160MHz and achieved full stability.
Note that the stock multiplier for the i7-640UM is 9x, but with Turbo Boost it can go as high as 17x. You can disable Turbo Boost in the BIOS, but even at a 166 bus speed you would then be stuck with a constant CPU clock of only 1500MHz. At 160MHz we still saw multipliers as high as 17x, but not as often as when we were on the stock 133MHz bus. What's more, in heavily threaded benchmarks the multipliers were much lower on average, with the system often running at the "minimum" 9x. (SpeedStep can still drop down to a 5x multiplier, but under load we always stayed above 9x.)
So, what does overclocking get you? In certain situations we got much better performance, but overall it wasn't worth the effort in our opinion. Here's a table of our results.
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M11x R2 Overclocking Gains - Applications 160MHz Base Bus |
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| Application | Stock | 160 Bus | Percentage |
| 3DMark03 | 15421 | 16096 | 104% |
| 3DMark05 | 11015 | 12124 | 110% |
| 3DMark06 | 6973 | 6990 | 100% |
| 3DMark Vantage (Entry) | 14441 | 14484 | 100% |
| PCMark05 | 4597 | 4822 | 105% |
| PCMark Vantage | 5329 | 5339 | 100% |
| Peacekeeper | 2916 | 3247 | 111% |
| Cinebench 1CPU | 2940 | 3429 | 117% |
| Cinebench xCPU | 5713 | 5241 | 92% |
| x264 Pass 1 | 29.72 | 29.23 | 98% |
| x264 Pass 2 | 7.68 | 7.23 | 94% |
The workloads that are primarily single-threaded in nature showed the biggest improvements. 3DMark03/05 both increased, with Peacekeeper and the single-threaded Cinebench result showing the greatest benefit. Most of the remaining tests showed no benefit, and in the case of heavily threaded tasks the bus overclock actually reduced performance. So from a general application standpoint, we can't see a reason to bother with the overclock; let Intel's Turbo Boost do its thing and be happy. But then, this is a gaming laptop and games are sometimes more single-threaded in nature. Can any games benefit from overclocking?
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M11x R2 Overclocking Gains - Gaming 160MHz Base Bus |
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| Game Title | Stock | 160 Bus | Percentage |
| Batman: Arkham Asylum (Very High) | 63 | 62 | 98% |
| Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Medium) | 31.6 | 32.1 | 102% |
| Crysis: Warhead (Mainstream) | 32.5 | 36 | 111% |
| DiRT 2 (Medium) | 34.8 | 36.1 | 104% |
| Empire: Total War (Medium) | 51 | 51.4 | 101% |
| Far Cry 2 (Medium DX9) | 38 | 40.7 | 107% |
| Left 4 Dead 2 (Very High) | 43.2 | 43.4 | 100% |
| Mass Effect 2 (Max) | 37.2 | 38.6 | 104% |
| STALKER: Call of Pripyat (Med. + Full Dyn.) | 57.5 | 61.6 | 107% |
In general, the answer is no, though we do see minor improvements of 4-7% in several titles. The biggest increase was Crysis: Warhead at 11%, but even there the difference will be difficult to notice without benchmarks.
Overall, overclocking turned out to be of little use, but we do have one final disclaimer. We're using the i7-640UM processor, which runs at 1.20GHz to a maximum Turbo speed of 2.27GHz. It's possible that the i5-520UM with its lower speed range of 1.07GHz to 1.87GHz might benefit more, but without testing we can't say for sure. We do know that on an ASUS Core i7-720QM notebook our results were similar—overclocking caused Turbo Modes to kick in less, resulting in generally lower performance—so while you can get some impressive overclocks out of i5/i7 desktop processors, in a notebook you're likely best off just going with the stock speed and Turbo Boost.
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beginner99 - Saturday, July 10, 2010 - link
this.There is also a 13.3 timelineX with the 5650 radeon. no optical drive tough. I don't need one anyway for what?
I think it's also the same weight as the alienware but bigger screen. imho much better bang for the buck.
Roland00 - Saturday, July 10, 2010 - link
Do you have the model for that timelineX? I can't seem to find it on acer's website (that doesn't mean it doesn't exist though). Personally I rather have a 13 inch and I have seen the AS3820T-5246 in person and I am impressed with what I seen so far (the joys of selling computers).bakareshi - Thursday, July 15, 2010 - link
ppft... optical drive. Still holding on? I don't hold it against Alienware for being at the front of the paradigm change. Optical drives no longer add value, they just consume real estate and sway customers to buy who haven't realized DVDs are no longer a necessity.Akv - Friday, July 9, 2010 - link
The concept of "gaming laptop" still sounds like an oxymoron to me.I game with a large tower with large fans, and a large 27" screen.
I would be more interested in a review about new laptops that don't heat and don't make noise.
Shmutt - Saturday, July 10, 2010 - link
I understand that the review is done on the best possible config for the M11x R2 and thus has the core-i7 CPU.However, on Dell's website, it is stated that the option with the core-i7 does not have an integrated gfx. I have confirmed this in a live-chat with a Dell sales rep. I'm guessing that Optimus will do nothing in this case?
So it was the main reason why I went with the core-i5 option. Supposedly, it will have a better batt life as discrete GPU will be powered down if not needed. I hope Anandtech can get its hands on a core-i3/i5 specced M11x R2 and see if this claim is correct.
JarredWalton - Saturday, July 10, 2010 - link
Whoever you spoke with is clueless. LOL. The i7-640UM (and the i7-620M) are both dual-core Arrandale chips with Intel HD Graphics; they're just clocked higher than the i5 variants. So Optimus is fully functional. It's only the quad-core i7 chips that don't have integrated graphics.Shmutt - Saturday, July 10, 2010 - link
Oh ok! Damn! Thanks for clarifying that.fire_storm - Saturday, July 10, 2010 - link
HiI am planning to buy an m17x in a week or so, is there any upgrades worthwhile in the near future?
should I hold on this until its out if any?
Thanks!
beelzebub253 - Sunday, July 11, 2010 - link
Can anyone confirm what the max resolution the m11x R2 will output to external display (using DisplayPort). The website doesn't seem to specify. In particular, can it display 2560x1600 such as on the Dell 3008WFP?Jarred? Anyone?
Death666Angel - Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - link
The Displayport will be able to hit the 30" resolution. HDMI not.