I needed a new laptop for work and also really wanted to get back into Flight Simulation, as I have been out of the game since Flaming Cliffs 1. I had trouble finding any solid performance information regarding DCS and Dual Monitor setups on laptops. I definitely couldn't find any first hand reviews on the new Clevo P170EM running a 3610QM and a GTX 680.
I took a gamble as I really could have gotten away fine spending $1000 dollars less to meet work requirements. I have been a forum "taker" for many years, so I figure it is time to give back.
My Laptop/Hardware Specs:
Clevo P170EM 1920x1080 Matte Black Display
Intel I7 3610QM
8 GB (2x4GB) Kingston 1600Mhz CAS 9
Nvidia GTX 680M 4GB (Nvidia Inspector over clocked +100 GPU +180 Mem)
Intel 520 120GB SSD
Rosewill 7-Port USB Hub
Razer Death Adder Black Mouse
Razer Black Widow Mechanical Keyboard
Sound Blaster X-FI 5.1 USB (for optical out)
Tritton AX Pro (already had them from xbox and they are awesome)
TrackIR 5
Cougar MFDs
Warthog HOTAS
Saitek Pro Flight Pedals
Main View 42" Panasonic P42ST30 (3D mode upscale looks awesome)
Second Monitor 20" Acer G205HV
First off, a quick Promo. This Laptop absolutely destroyed my expectations (in a good way). Some sort of SSD for the OS is a must. The Intel 520 series is top of the line and getting cheaper :) Not that it is everything, but from Off state to Windows Desktop everything loaded (AVG too) is 24 seconds. It is really a game changer, makes having to reboot for updates no big deal at all. I ordered mine from RJtech.com. They have always been awesome.
I received the laptop and quickly put it through some benchmarking while monitoring CPU/GPU Temps. I then took off the back cover so I could apply my own TIM. RJtech did a good job by the looks of the OEM paste. I prefer to do it myself and I really like Tuniq TX-4. I slapped it back together and ran the same benchmarks. Dropped 7 degrees celcisus. I will take that. I then overclocked the GPU 100 Mhz and GPU memory 180 Mhz. I have yet to have artifacts or a crash and don't see the need to try higher clocks right now. That tweak gave me 1000 points in 3dMark11. I have Saltius/Svl7 custom VBIOS ready and had planned on using it, but I installed and tried DCS first. I quickly realized that I didn't really need to. That brings us to the point of this post.
Windows / DCS Configuration
Windows
Main Monitor 42" Panisonic 1920x1080
Extended Monitor 20" Acer 1600x900 (I also tested with Laptop screen here at 1920x1080 no difference)
Nvidia 306.23 Drivers
Nvidia Control Panel All Application Controlled
Nvidia Control Panel Program Settings: Digital Combat Simulator> High-Performance NVIDA (didn't do this the first time, Intel HD 4000 did about 20 FPS on instant action)
Laptop Power Scheme High Performance
DCS
DCS World and A-10 Mod version 1.20
All exports on Mod applied Here
Single Monitor = 1920x1080 Resolution Full Screen Checked
Dual Monitor = 3520x1080 Left MFD, Right MFD, CDU, and RWR on Second Monitor Full screen unchecked.
----------------------Max-------------- Relaxed
--------------------Settings ------------Settings
Textures ==========High============Medium
Scenes ===========High============Medium
Civ Traffic =========High============Medium
Water ============High============Medium
Visible Range =======High============Medium
Heat Blur ==========High============On
Shadows ==========High============High
Res. Displays =======1024frame========512
MSAA = ===========16xQ============8
HDR ==============Normal===========Normal
Clutter ===========1500M============0M
Trees ============15000M===========9000M
Preload ===========150000M==========150000M
Aero display========Checked===========Checked
Tree Shadows ======Checked===========Checked
Cockpit shadow =====Checked===========Checked
TSAA =============Checked==========Checked
Vsync =============Unchecked========Unchecked
Performance
Please see the attached .jpg for the performance graph.
DCS runs beautifully. I have experienced no stutters so far. The game really shines on the 42". The second monitor MFDs with the cougars Poster Puttied on are very immersive and efficient.
I haven't tried SoftTH yet, I have heard it can increase your FPS by allowing you to run Dual monitors in Full Screen mode. My results tell me that I wouldn't get much, so I don't plan on trying. There are lots of tips out there to get better FPS regarding specific settings. My intent was to show worst case in this evaluation. I am sure I will be tweaking my settings for quite a while or maybe I will just leave them maxed out. Who doesn't want to see clutter and bushes for 1500M? :)
I hope this information helps anyone that may have been thinking about trying this laptop or a similar one with DCS.
Do it. You will like it.
