Alienware M17x R4 (2012), Ivy Bridge and Kepler Refresh
Game Tests: Metro 2033, Far Cry 2
Next we fired up some high-end game engines to allow the Alienware M17x to stretch its legs with leading-edge game titles and rendering effects at play.
We suppose there's bound to be a weak score here or there, and the Metro 2033 test is apparently it. Although the M17x fell to the two dual-GPU configurations, it still posted far better scores than any other single-card setup in the group.
Here we see both how a dual graphics configuration can deliver strong results at high resolutions and also how one really fantastic GPU can take the cake. In the higher-res test, the M17x scored just about on par with the two dual-graphics M18x systems, although at a lower resolution our system outpaced them handily.
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 Metro 2033 |
Metro 2033 is your basic post-apocalyptic first person shooter game with a few rather unconventional twists. Unlike most FPS titles, there is no health meter to measure your level of ailment, but rather you’re left to deal with life, or lack there-of more akin to the real world with blood spatter on your visor and your heart rate and respiration level as indicators. The game is loosely based on a novel by Russian Author Dmitry Glukhovsky. Metro 2003 boasts some of the best 3D visuals on the PC platform currently including a DX11 rendering mode that makes use of advanced depth of field effects and character model tessellation for increased realism. We tested the game engine using the Metro 2033 benchmark tool. |
We suppose there's bound to be a weak score here or there, and the Metro 2033 test is apparently it. Although the M17x fell to the two dual-GPU configurations, it still posted far better scores than any other single-card setup in the group.
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 FarCry 2
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Like the original, FarCry 2 is one of the more visually impressive games to be released on the PC to date. Courtesy of the Dunia game engine developed by Ubisoft, FarCry 2's game-play is enhanced by advanced environment physics, destructible terrain, high resolution textures, complex shaders, realistic dynamic lighting, and motion-captured animations. We benchmarked the test systems in this article with the FarCry 2 benchmark tool using one of the built-in demo runs recorded in the "Ranch" map. |
Here we see both how a dual graphics configuration can deliver strong results at high resolutions and also how one really fantastic GPU can take the cake. In the higher-res test, the M17x scored just about on par with the two dual-graphics M18x systems, although at a lower resolution our system outpaced them handily.
