Dell XPS M1730: SLI, Penryn, and Overclocking

Gaming Performance - Resolution Scaling

We decided to break out the resolution scaling charts from previous pages and focus solely on the Dell XPS M1730 in order to keep the graphs readable. We tested that 1440x900, 1680x1050, and 1920x1200 with SLI enabled, using both the official driver and the current 174.20 beta driver.

Quite a few games appear to be CPU limited, particularly at lower resolutions. There's no real need to run at lower resolutions with the system, however, with the possible exception of Crysis at higher quality settings. Most of the titles we tested perform almost identically with either driver version, but there are several titles at show dramatic improvements with the beta driver. We also see a couple of titles that drop in performance, but we notified NVIDIA and they are looking to correct the situation. (That's why they're beta drivers, right?) Dell told us they hope to have updated drivers available on their website sometime in the next couple of weeks.

While we're on the subject of drivers, we should also talk about Dell's rapid driver approval program for their gaming notebooks. Normally, any laptop drivers go through an extensive testing and evaluation process before an OEM will post them on their website. Looking at the above performance improvements in games like Bioshock, World in Conflict, and Crysis should make it clear how important drivers are when it comes to gaming - particularly when SLI is involved. Rather than going through the entire driver approval process, Dell's has a rapid deployment group for their XPS notebooks with the goal of posting beta drivers on a more frequent basis.

NVIDIA is also working to release quarterly driver updates for participating gaming notebooks, including Dell's XPS line. That's excellent news, as it provides users of older gaming notebooks that are no longer supported by the manufacturer a viable source for new drivers. Sure, you can always try hacked drivers from places like LaptopVideo2Go.com, but frequently hacked drivers don't perform as well as officially sanctioned drivers - especially on SLI setups. Case in point: the 174.20 drivers from LV2Go run on a different notebook were frequently up to 50% slower than the 167.46 drivers that shipped with the notebook.