Quad Core Extreme - Page 3

Hey mjdart...

Check out the January 2007 issue of PC Gamer. There's an AW 7500 in there with the quad core intel, and dual 8800gtx's in SLI. 3dMark06 score of 17,301, and it plays F.E.A.R. at 1600 x 1200, max settings and AF at 16x at 240 fps!!!

Basically, you can set up the 7500 with the same hardware as the ALX for less, so if he's thrifty, you'll probably want to steer him towards the 7500. The ALX is luxury and has some benefits, but not what I'd recommend for someone that's value conscious.

You're putting a lot of words in my mouth...

They're not all the same parts obviously, and I don't believe I said anything about Dell's EE processor being any better or worse than anyone elses, it's just an old processor at this point.

FPS is FPS. That's just one thing to check when comparing systems. Memory, screens, power supplies, hd manufacturers, motherboard manufacturers, etc... are all things to consider when looking at component quality.

Commish, I know that EE of yours still packs some serious firepower. I though they'd drop the price on that 3.73 EE I've been coveting, but I've been waiting 2 years. I'll be ready for a new rig before that happens though. You're a good sport to put up with all the abuse.

How well do the new Intel Quad core chips OC ?

hey commish just a quick thing...let me know how that rig plays up with all the new DX10 games and vista.

So now we don't only have to deal with Commish, we have to deal with Dell mods too?

nope, you just have to deal with supermods. Didn't you see the "S" on my cape?

Thought your "S" stood for Sasquatch.

mods, supermods, ultramods, who gives a shit............15 year old Trusted Members who don't know their blinkity, blankity, this, that, or the other, give me a break!

And Hammer, I thought you weren't even sold on the C2D's???

but hey, ALL the advice i see here is "spot on", so "rock on". Just make sure it's accurate before you post it!

Well, I didn't think they were going to make much difference to gaming, but the Valve recent release of info and methods of using multi-core makes me think it will make more of a difference sooner than I'd thought.

I still wouldn't worry about multi-core for the short term, but if I'm going ot spend $7 grand for a new desktop and 30" monitor like the 7500, it's going to have to last a few years. I'm not sure about quad core, but there certainly seems to be movement in multi-core for gaming recently.

It's going to be difficult to buy a single core processor here soon anyway...

Absolutely accurate. For the next twelve months, there is going to be a transition in the development window over to detection of available cpu threadcount, and DX10 compliant video card(s). I was chatting with some folks over at CryTek, and their new engine supports hybrid (mesh) multithreading as well as DX10. The important thing to mention here is that these are just percs. The game is not designed around the principle of having this hardware achitecture, but there are some added benefits. Watching HH and Commish mix words makes up for that lame ass light saber scene in Attack of the Clones where Count "Santa Clause" Dooku went toe to toe with Yoda. I haven't been that disappointed since John Romero released Daikatana. For the record, I have a Dell XPS M1710 that I am hocking for an AW m9700. The XPS is a cool machine, and I have no negative things to say about it (other then it lacks SLI and Raid). But most of the Dell hardware looks like it was assembled by 4 year olds in a third world country. Its like chimps are shoveling rocks into computer cases and selling them for 399.00. My company bought 20 machines from them two years ago, and 8 of them have already died. Those machines just SUCK. Dells XPS hardware lineup is now benefitting from the AW acquisition. I can't wait to go back to the office and tell my friends that ATI is making enchanted X800 cards on the AGP interface capable of running their games at max settings on a 3 year old P4. I am giving serious thoughts to canceling my m9700 order...but I don't have the info on what the Leprechauns charge for enchanting your hardware...I may not be saving money....

LOL for the leprachauns...

I'm glad you're around for information as you seem to have some unique contacts and the ability to share information without the brand cheerleading like some... ahem... Hey, stop looking at me...

I've kind of gotten the rep of dissing multi-core due to a lot of people saying the m9700 needs a dual core processor to take full advantage of SLI. When I was first looking at the m9700, AW was planning on upgrading it by last Sept to the dual core processor, so I almost waited myself, but I'm still of the belief that with current games, a dual core processor won't improve SLI performance. When they start incorporating multi threads to games, I still believe the SLI processing will all go through one core, so game performance may benefit from multi threading by offloading some duties, but I don't see major improvements in the SLI array performance simply by adding a second core. It'll be great for everything else though, and I do multi-task a bit. Wasn't a concern for me though until I started using this laptop as my main machine. I shut everything else down though when I fire up a game...

After looking at prices and some tech articles, I think I'll probably go for a dual core in my next desktop, probably the 6700. With the quad core, I think there will still be diminishing returns for years on more than two cores, so the dual core should allow most of the benefits of multi threading as we know it now cheaper than the quad...

I was also thinking of going 8800gtx SLI, but $1200 for vid cards? I'll probably start out with a single 8800gtx 768, then add a second card if I feel I need it. Something tells me I won't feel I need it...

As for Dell, I think that AW and Dell were working together to some degree long before it became public. Both the quad SLI systems from AW and Dell coming out at the same time kind of confirmed that for me. But... if you look at the two computers side by side, the Dell was more expensive, but was put together horrendously while the AW ALX quad had a very clean liquid cooling solution, and had better hardware and workmanship...

I understand Dell's appeal pricewise when you're looking for ordinary systems, but once you venture into high performance top end systems, I just don't get why you'd go with Dell over Alienware, especially when in my experience AW's high end stuff is comparable, or less expensive than Dell's top end machines.

As for Commish, he's got some good points for people like himself. You're not going to find a better price on mid range systems, and you'll likely not find anyone that offers a better warranty for the price, but I've just never gotten along with Dell quality and cost cutting methods. The day he posted that all of us in the AW section secretly wanted an XPS desktop put me over the top, and it's difficult for me to take anything he says seriously... The p4 EE was a great processor at the time, but it doesn't compare to processors and systems now being offered...

Dell has worked out great for him, and many others or they wouldn't be the 800 pound gorilla in the room, but I'm always pleasantly surprised by the quality of components and integration I get with Alienware systems.

As for the switch from the XPS to the m9700, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the package, though you'll be taking a hit in the processor category. Were I in the market right now for a laptop, the m9700 would be my #1 choice, but I'm very curious to see what Alienware has been working on for the new year. I'd hate to buy something now and then see them come out with a core 2 duo/SLI laptop in the spring. As usual, AW is being very tight lipped about what's coming, but I would have expected to see an X2 version of the m9700 by now if it's coming. They've stated they'll be switching to the X2 platform from Clevo with the mALX soon, but nothing on the m9700.

I think it's going to be an exciting year for computers...

Hammer, thanks for the nice words. I am always happy to offer any help that I can. As a game programmer, I spend most of my life studying the technology that drives much of the games we all play. And I am fortunate enough to work around people that are brilliant. Im still waiting for that to rub off by osmosis...

The game industry is a funny place. There really arent that many people out there from a programming stand point that have what it takes to remain in the industry. I got my first exposure to the industry in 1997/1998 at Konami working on the first Medal Gear Solid title. The game lead on that title (and all of them since) is Hideo Kojima. That guys so smart he makes my brain hurt. Here's a pic of him I snatched last May when we were hanging out at E3:




I get to run around with some other cool folks too. I was running around with CliffyB at E3 grabbing Schwag with my friend Samanth (wicked Programmer....triple BS in Computer Science, Math, and Game Programming). For those that wonder who Cliffy is, basically he was the team lead on Unreal, Unreal Tournament 2004, and (gasp) Gears of War. Actually, Gears is his baby...from design all the way up. And he is WILD fun.




And two weeks ago I did a Q and A with John Yoo. John's resume includes Warcraft III, World Of Warcraft, and City of Villians. He can currently be found trolling around SF with yours truly searching for the perfect cup of coffee. His current claim to fame is that he works for Perpetual Entertainment as the Lead Systems Architect for Star Trek Online. This man is a MMORPG Genius.




And last but not least, I have one that is especially for Shazza (because she is cool, has an m9700 that is friggin green which totally rocks, and she wrote a review for it...which helped me make my purchasing decision.) Shazza, remember when I was asking about Neverwinter Nights? Well, thats because a man I love very much is responsible for leading that effort. His name is Don Daglow. Don worked for Atari during the friggin' 2600 days, then went to work for EA when Trip Hawkins started the company. He wrote Neverwinter Nights Online in 1991, then went on to found a little company called "Bioware." The Neverwinter Nights projects are his design. As I haven't played the second one yet, I really feel like a JackAss...but I am waiting for my new m9700 to get here before I play it. Here is Dan running around with myself, Sam, and a few programmer buddies.




Enjoy guys! If there is any tech info I can pass along, don't hesitate to ask.

Wow, sounds like fun...

UT2k4 is probably the game that's stolen most hours of my life, but I'm really bummed there isn't going to be bombing run in UT2k7... Bombing run in 2k4 is the greatest online game ever made IMO... It's like a sport, and a game combined...

As for San Francisco and coffee, I used to live there. I usually make my own expresso, but I bought the beans at Cafe Trieste on Columbus. It's a bit of a cliche' and it's been there forever, but they know coffee...

UTk4 is just awesome. Between that and counterstrike, I killed many brain cells. (Though not as many as the crack addiction that is World of Warcraft. And Im still not a level 60. -sigh-)

I really don't know alot about the dev of UT07, but I can tell you Steve Polge is the lead designer on it. Cliffy had a conversation with Tim Sweeny (President of Epic Games) about four years ago when he wrapped up UT2k4, and said "Dude, no more Unreal. I want to do something new...Im thinking third person with a machine gun that has a chainsaw on it.)

Gears is using the new Unreal 3 engine that UT07 will use. It has mad rendering abilities as seen in the real time engine demo here. It also sports the Havoc 4 physics engine from Sweden (which is the most advanced phys engine in the world to date.)

I know that the Bombing run was left out, and so was Assault and one other I think. But there were rumors floating around that this decision was because the ship date has slipped twice. Once in Summer 06, again in Winter 06 and now the shipdate is probably going to be May/June sometime in 07. It is entirely possible that some of the pvp that was shelved could be added later for PC/Mac via download.

The good news...I think that this game is going to make some huge leaps forward in the franchise. The demos and artwork I have seen are...uhhh....Unreal (grin). The folks at Epic are some of the best game design talent on the planet. Go check out this tour of their facility and an interview with Cliffy over here.

Happy New Years Everyone!!!!
Im off to watch Bugs Bunny and kill Cheerios.

Whoa...sounds like fun Article88! Thanks for sharing with us. And, please do give my special thanks to Don Daglow and the folks who came up with Neverwinter Nights. It was this game that really brought me back into gaming at my old age. I picked it up for my Mac, believe it or not, and immediately became engrossed and gained a renewed interest in gaming (which I had given up 10 yrs before, because I could never make anything work!). That lead me to exhaust the limited gaming options on a Mac...and brought me to Alienware and this crazy crew here.

Can't wait to hear how you like your m9700.

Im crazy not!!

Flur shivend det ting go pillow!!!!!!