Alienware M17x R4 Review (i7 3610QM/ AMD HD7970M)

Shogun 2 is set in 16th-century feudal Japan, in the aftermath of the Ōnin War. The country is fractured into rival clans led by local warlords, each fighting for control. The player takes on the role of one of these warlords, with the goal of dominating other factions and claiming his rule over Japan. The standard edition of the game will feature a total of eight factions (plus a ninth faction for the tutorial), each with a unique starting position and different political and military strengths.

We tested first with the built in benchmark via the STEAM client. 720p was perfectly smooth – averaging over 90 frames per second. The 1080p test failed with the error message above. We double checked that the Catalyst Control Center was highlighting the ‘performance mode' for Shogun 2 (HD7970M, not Intel 4000), and it was configured properly.

We decided to load the game directly, rather than rely on the built in benchmark.

Even though the above screenshot shows the Intel HD Graphics 4000 as active, we were getting 60+ frames per second in game at the above ‘high' settings @ 1080p, which is impressive. We would imagine that a future driver revision from AMD will fix this minor bug.

Great performance overall from the M17X system.

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