My rig (some questions)

[dbstrinity]

first off hi. i have been on here basically since i started playing skyrim on pc. ive been through most of nexus mods and achieved a lsit of probably over 400.. though i usually stick to 80-150 mods ingame (my rule of thumb is to try and stay below 100 as hard as it can be) below is my rig and i am aiming at running "realvision enb" from nexus at full performance as well as about 100 mods. which once i get back to installing them i will post the list. i get around 30-40 fps normally with the end installed and when it is not installed i can achive 60 easily and have seen a constant 90 before but i have ocd and anything above or below 60 bugs me

 

 windows 7 home premium 64 bit

intel i7-3610 qm @ 2.3GHz

geforce gtx 680m 2gb

basic HDD (not a SDD)

 

 

that is about the gest of the information im aware of and from what i know those are the only things that fully make a difference in skyrim. refund check should be here soon and im wondering is there anything i can upgrade that would help me run the realvision with no problems. i also went and got SSME from nexus which has helped greatly and while i wait for a reply i will go and get the list of mods that i "can;t do without" (if i have to then i can  )

[gvman3670]

You're going to want 8gb or more of RAM as well and didn't seen any RAM on your list. Your 2.3 CPU seems to be the weakest link, though. I wouldn't be going for high poly meshes and really high res textures to avoid performance issues and try to keep scripting to a minimus since that ties up the CPU.

[dbstrinity]

oh i seriously forgot all about the ram luls

 

anyhow im good with that as i have 16gb of ram. 15.6 usable i think it said... 

 

and im glad you answered so fast and picked the weakest link with detail. i figured the cpu was the cause but im still unsure how to remedy that. im aware that a cpu can be upgraded with a swap but it depends on the laptop... and i really am unsure if mine is soldered into place or interchangeable. though i do recall a tech coming by to fix a speaker problem saying that everything in the alienware mx17r4 is interchangeable. does anybody know if a simple way to figure out if my particular laptop has this option without me opening her up? also if anybody has a way and needs more information kindly ask as you are helping me so the least i can do is go fetch you guys the correct information.

[gvman3670]

Worst case scenerio? You can contact Dell/Alienware and ask them? You should be OK, though. Especially since you've got a seperate GPU. I have on board graphics in this thing so my video graphics rely heavily on the CPU. Do your BIOS allow CPU overclocking? Most laptops have locked BIOS and won't let you in there to change that, but be aware than OCing a laptop can lead to overheating issues. While gaming I keep mine on a stand I built that has the entire underside exposed so it runs nice and cool.

[dbstrinity]

apparently it has a auto turboboost to 3.2GHz function that ive been monitoring with cpuz for the past hour or so. its been fluctuating between 1ghz and 3.1ghz every few seconds. im running 9 tabs in chrome(2 of which are youtube on hold), NNM mod installing and the cpuz program itself.

 

ive also looked rather lightly into overclocking and will look at my BIOS after setting the modlist up properly for everyone to overlook while im in there.

 

also i am currently using a 20 dollar fan to place laptop on. im finalizing mod-list now and will edit post accordingly. everybodies suggestions will be welcome. today is geared towards skyrim testing with help from the community for once. as well as studying

[Rayblue]

 

 

NMM(installing mods currently at 115 :/)

 

 

Also, playing modded Skyrim on a laptop is a bitch, even if it's a boutique gaming lappy.

[dbstrinity]

yea that is to be expected sadly.

 

i haven't even gotten through all the character mods yet either. working on that now. then ill go through and get rid of the ones i can live without and post list.

 

should i add as attachment or just copy/paste when i get to it?

 

 

[Rayblue]

Either way, or Pastebin.

 

I'll have to be careful with those scripted mods, or high-poly meshes or big 4k textures.

[dbstrinity]

going back to RIG questions.

 

ive been planning on getting a SSD for quite awhile and while i cannot afford one as it stands right now i figure now is the best time to get the information.

 

i need to know how to install one.

 

i need to know how to setup one with the built in feature i currently have that clean installs the OS.(used it many times and never made a disc as i really dont know how)

 

i do have an empty slot i can place a second HDD as well though i dont see a reason for this if i can succesfully ake a full OS disc from my current setup and install it on a fresh SSD. im just not sure about any of it.

[dbstrinity]

BUMP (sorry i usually edit my posts and figured i'd bump every so often just to update whoever is interested and can help)

[Rayblue]

On SSDs:

 

1. Google is your friend, like typing in "Installing Windows 7 on SSD" or something.

2. Make sure that before installing the operating system you have to enable AHCI in the BIOS, so that TRIM can be used to prolong the drive's life.

3. Installing the 2.5" SSD in the laptop is as easy as hooking up a hard drive of the same size.

4. Samsung SSDs are most recommended at the moment.

 

If you always game, unlike consoles and especially as you own an Alienware, you have to learn how to maintain your PC much like you tinker with a motorcycle's innards.

[Spartan 363]

Since you own an Alienware laptop, chances are, you have an unlocked BIOS for overclocking.  If Dell is not such a dick with Alienware PC's, you may be able to install a faster CPU as Skyrim is very CPU intensive more so than GPU when you are gaming at 1200/1080 and below resolution.  Your other components are pretty solid.  The 2 weakest links and an area to upgrade in the future are the CPU first and foremost and then the GPU as the 2GB of VRAM is being chocked with the ENB and HD texture mods.  I game on a 55" 1080p HDTV and my heavily modded Skyrim uses about 3 GB of VRAM out of the 4GB that I have.

 

For now, your GPU is ok, just limited by the VRAM for heavily modded Skyrim, but you do need to upgrade the CPU.  Give Dell a call and ask them to see if it's possible to upgrade the CPU as you will need detailed specs on how efficient your CPU cooler is as a faster CPU will produce more heat and the other note being if your laptops BIOS even allows to upgrade the CPU without messing up your installation of Windows as those branded prebuilt PC's have their CPU and motherboard serial numbers locked in with the OEM key of Windows they shipped with, typically, when you change either part, you are forced to buy another Windows key since it's not the original matching serial numbers in the Windows it shipped with.  That's another major downside to prebuilt system and one of the major reason why I always go for custom built PC's.

[dbstrinity]

thanks for the information. ill give dell a call. ill let you guys know how it goes once i get to that.

 

sadly if i need to get another key as well with the cpu i would have to wait a little longer than if i went straight for the SSD though i wonder if adding a SSD would cause me to need a new key as well? another question i guess while i wait for time to go by to call crappy dell.

[dbstrinity]

so i got my refund check and another job today so once i start getting some checks and get settled into the new job ill be looking for an upgrade

 

 

very good day so far.