Will the alienware m14x play skyrim

Buffetking

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Mar 23, 2013
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I'm thinking about getting the cheapest alienware m14x (1100$) and was wondering would i be able to play on ultra or high with some mods. And what would be the fps. Here are the specs:


Processor
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3230M (3MB Cache, up to 3.2 GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)


Operating System
Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit


Display
14.0" High Def (720p/1366x768) with WLED backlight


Memory
6GB* Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz


Hard Drive
500GB 7,200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s


Video Card
1 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M with Optimus™
 

edit1754

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May 14, 2012
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First of all, if you're going to buy the Alienware M14x, then you need to make sure that you buy it in a configuration that includes the upgraded 1600x900 display, and not the stock 1366x768 display. If you're ordering online, this means you need to select the display upgrade. If you're ordering over the phone, this means you need to tell them to add this upgrade. If you're buying a pre-configured model, well, that means you need to make sure it comes with the 1600x900 display, or not buy it.

The Alienware M14x should not be bought in any configuration that includes the default 1366x768 display. The 1366x768 display makes things onscreen large, and is a low-grade LCD panel with very poor image quality due to low contrast. The 1600x900 display does much better in both of these regards, and is a decent display overall, but the reason you need to be getting the upgraded 1600x900 display and not the stock 1366x768 display isn't just because of how good the 1600x900 display is, it's also because of how bad the 1366x768 display is.

Assuming you live in Canada, the display is a $100 upgrade. If you need to save that money, then the Alienware M14x in a configuration with the stock display is not an alternative nor a good choice; you should look at other laptops that offer decent displays and decent GPUs at the same time, for cheaper.

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As alternatives (again, assuming you live in Canada), you might want to throw some consideration towards these:

Inspiron 17R Special Edition - $899
- http://www.dell.com/ca/p/inspiron-17r-se-7720/fs
- 17.3" 1920x1080 matte display
- NVIDIA GT 650M (same GPU as in the M14x)

Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 - $849
- http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/webca/LenovoPortal/en_CA/builder.workflow:Enter?category-id=E9A8C337FA7284328C5C21BDE242DF56&mtm-item=%3A000001CA%3A00002C67%3A&redir=y
- 15.6" 1920x1080 glossy display
- NVIDIA GT 650M (same GPU as in the M14x)
- Actually a bit lighter than the M14x. The M14x, despite having a 14"-size display, is heavier than most 15.6" laptops.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 SLI - $939
- http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312438CVF
- 15.6" 1920x1080 glossy display
- NVIDIA GT 650M SLI / x2 (in some cases nearly double the performance of a single GT 650M)
- Again, a bit lighter than the M14x.

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As for benchmarks of the two different GPU setups, and what you can expect in terms of FPS:

- GT 650M Single: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html (Skyrim: fluently on high)
- GT 650M SLI: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M-SLI.84953.0.html (Skyrim: fluently on ultra)
 

edit1754

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May 14, 2012
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Processor is generally one of the less important things to be concerned with. Game performance, for one thing, depends far more on the GPU than on the CPU. The i5-3230M is more than fast enough for most users.