Question about Gaming on new Alienware

roweder

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I got a new Alienware Laptop, the Alienware 17, and I've got a question about it regarding gaming.

I got the i7 4800, 16gb ram, and GTX 780M with 4gb RAM (single, can only do double on Alienware 18)

I was playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and the computer's screen is capable of 120Hz, so I set it to 120Hz, at full HD with anti-aliasing set to 2x.

I noticed a bit of lagging, but no more than what it did at 60Hz, so I assume that this is just due to internet lag? It doesn't display the cable disconnected symbol, but I've never ever seen it display that until it lags for 2 or more seconds. Also, the game was not crashing and the computer was not overheating, the fans were not turning up, and when I put my hand behind the vents they did not feel very hot. Not even noticeably hotter than they do while I perform normal tasks on the computer.

So I was wondering, should the GTX 780M be able to play games at full HD and at 120Hz? Or is that too much to ask of this graphics card?


Thanks in advance

-Derek
 
Try monitoring framerates with FRAPs or something similar. Is vsync on in the game? Not sure how that would impact playing at 120Hz, but it's worth a look.
 
Ok, I'll try FRAPs, but what is vsync?

I'm also thinking maybe I'll be able to tell once I go back to college because my internet at college is a lot faster than my internet at home.
 
vsync limits the frame rate of the game to the refresh rate of your monitor.

Check your connection ping too (pingtest.com). If that's too high it might cause that. Anything around like 50 to your closest server is normal
 
Ok, on modern warfare 2 the servers are other players' computers. One person is the host and if they leave it "migrates." It hasn't chosen me as host yet. I can't see ping though (at least not within the game) because they took it out of the game's design.

I just had an idea, I switched to private match and played for a little - with myself as host so that should eliminate internet lag issues, and I still got some lag. I switched to 60fps and got about the same amount of lag, so maybe the lag is due to the CPU? I couldn't imagine that but I guess it's possible. I had no other programs open. Maybe it's the game's programming, it's going to be 4 years old this fall I think, and it was designed for windows 7, not windows 8.

What do you think? I should try vsync, I've got to get this chemistry lab report done first though.
 
Hi I just installed the app on my phone for this forum and have no idea how to use it. I don't know if this is the right place to put this but if you guys can, please help me.
My laptop, whenever booted, says "windows not responding" and doesnt load the desktop or let me open applications or do anything. I've talked to many support people on the phone and they all think the only option is resetting it and losing my files.

I realized that when the WiFi is disconnected, my computer is normal. Please help me someone, I would much appreciate it!
 
Definitely not the right place ;) You'll get much more help if you create your own thread.
If you want, I can help via PM. Having said that.. I still say create a thread of its own so you get the most help :tongue:

To respond to the OP....
Did you install FRAPs? To see what your framerate was? If it was any sort of computer lag (not networked) it'll show there. pingtest.com will show if your ping is too high (will cause "choppiness" during multplayer, ie characters moving around)
 
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Scorchfrost: Disconnect wifi, back up all of your files, and reset windows. If the pc works just fine with wifi disconnected, then that's what I would do. Or, with wifi disconnected, uninstall and re-install an updated or different version of the wifi device driver or try connecting via ethernet with wifi disabled.

iFargle: ok so FRAPs is the way to go then? That will tell me if it's my pc or the internet? I'll do that tonight and get back to you guys!
 
I installed FRAPs and it showed an average of about 80fps, but the screen refresh rate was 120Hz and while it was getting 80fps it was still very smooth. Is the FPS rate a network FPS rate or a monitor refresh FPS rate?

When I experienced lag the FPS rate would drop to a minimum of 50fps, I never saw it dip below 50 and most short lags it would be at 60 or 70 once the lag was over and it would quickly get right back up to 80 or 85fps again. At the end of each game it would max out at 90fps.

I'm not quite sure what this means, how can I get 85fps and it is smooth like 120fps?

I think I should try installing COD4, that game was always very hardware demanding and it's got its own FPS monitor I can turn off and on within the game. Maybe that could help me determine if this is a hardware issue or a game programming issue. Other people playing frequently complain about lag too.
 
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