M14x - BIOS A03 Released 05/24 - Discussion Here...

BIOS A03 is now available - changes include the following:

Linky:
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...peid=-1&formatid=-1&impid=-1&checkFormat=true


Please update and retest to confirm the shutdown under battery has been resolved.

The shutdown thread has been removed from sticky status. The link is here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m14x/575012-m14x-shuts-down-battery.html

Please post any continuing shutdown on battery issues here in the A03 thread.

Thanks to ecottard for the heads-up on BIOS A03 going live!
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So did anyone check? Does it fix the shut down problem?
This is the only thing keeping me from buying it =p

 

I would do it if there was a way to roll back to A01 if I didn't like the changes. I really like how the laptop is performing, sans the shutdown problem.

 

@TitanGod: It's always possible to flash the BIOS, irrespective of an older or a newer version. You can do that without any problem.

 

any one update yet? haven't updated my unit yet. it's been running just fine.

 

Downloading now.. will let you know how it works in a few minutes... after I jump on Starcraft 2 in battery mode...

 

haha cool, try both on and w/ battery

 

Bad News... They didn't fix jack...

All they did was completely disable the ability to max out the GPU while on battery mode... even in the power profiles... So it's basically like the GPU is always on "Balanced"... even if you set it to "Max Performance".

I dunno about everyone else... but I'm going to return mine.... Lame...

 

Sounds lame if you ask me...

Not that I would really do hard core gaming on battery, given it would kill the battery in like an hour, but ....

has anyone else updated the bios and found the same things as asgiov?

 

thanks, not gonna update haha

 

As mentioned, you can titan. The link to A01 is here:

Drivers & Downloads

If after flashing to A04 you find you are not happy with the update, simply run the A01 .exe. Flash back to A01 will execute and complete, reboot and you'll be back at square a-oh-one

Perhaps others can test and verify. I'm sure we'll see several posts tomorrow on this.

 

Here are my Test

on AC 3DMark 2006
Performance Bios A01 = Bios A03

On DC 3DMark 2006
Mode Performance and GPU at Maximum = mode Performance and gpu normal

On DC FurMark (maximum performance and gpu maximum)
bios A01 : average 9 fps but pc stop working in 20s
bios A03 : average 3 fps pc work


No more pc crash on DC but they have deactivated totally the maximum gpu setting.

So i prefer to use this bios A03 to avoid crashing my laptop but a little disapointed by Alienware that does the minimum of correction


cdt

 

Does this fix the over active fan

 

hope so, this fan is frigging loud.

 

Yeah, I really want to order this laptop but the fan kills it for me. Been watching some tube vids and wow is it loud whilst gaming.

the whole point of a 14" portable gaming rig for me is that I could get a couple of games of SC2 in whilst the wife is watching soul destroying soaps but with fan noise like that I would end up with the TV remote stuck up my

 

I belive this is the only fix they could come up with. The battery circuit that shuts off power until it sees a AC source is a hardware safety feature. making it to where you cannot run the GPU full while on dc is the only thing they could do with a bios update.

You can change the conditions, but you cannot change the fact that the battery can only give so much power at a time.

If I am going to game I will just have to be plugged in. There are not many laptops that will give top performance while unplugged after all I would not expect my Asus G71 to run for 15 min while gameing on battery.

At some point we will just have to work with reality. As long as it does'nt shut down while on battery and I have to find a AC outlet to restart I'll not consider this a defect.

 

Good to hear about the BIOS update.

I think they are doing what they can to address the battery issue. I'm going to update, as I didn't expect to do my heavy gaming while using the battery.

This laptop is still beast and I love it.

 

I use the laptop on the couch while my wife watches tv, and she did comment that the fans can get loud, but its not deafening by any means.

I expected that with a top-of-the-line system like this that it would generate a lot of heat. I'm glad they have fans that can push enough air to keep it going under heavy load.

 

I just wanted my video bios switch option, like lenovo has done on their W510 et W520.

 

Any word on fix speed corrections? I mean does the fireware balance the fan any rather then it just ramping up for 5 secs every 10 secs?

 

Does the BIOS update do anything for fixing our SATA 3 issues?

 

ok, thats good to know thanks.
I guess I can also disable TB with throttle stop which would keep the fan at lower levels (at least it does on my mbp whilst in bootcamp)

 

I sleep next to my m14x every night. That is about half a pillow away

Most time it is dead silent in idle

 

Wow, I hope this isn't whats delaying my order. Ridiculous.

 

I doubt it, they will either send it with A01 or A03

 

There's two files there (specta03-W64.exe and specta03.exe) which one do I download to update the BIOS? I just double-click the EXE and will auto-install the new BIOS? Thanks in advance!

 

Does this thing improve anything at all? Fans? Anything?

 

i will do some testing tonight and will report back.

 

Right now, the only thing i have noticed is the klipsch logo in the main boot logo.

The BIOS update doesn't fix my Linux problem either.

GOOD JOB ALIENWARE.

 

Checked a few Games after updating BIOS to a03 ............. HUGE DROP in performance , bc2 slow on medium settings on battery , can't play COD4 on battery (slow again) , MOH no good , Blackops (NOP) .

my XPS 14 gets HOT but performs much better on Battery ! than m14x , gotta be getting m11xr3 cos i bought this just cos of the portability factor and as it has some other features added to it .

Hopefully the R2 for 14x would be with a better one and with external battery.................. "external battery CAN resolve the issue for sure" .

 

I am going go out on a limb here... and guess nothing was updated to address the fan noise.

 

Nope, the fan is still loud as hell.

 

So what was the point of this update? We can leave the graphics card on "balanced" and get the same performance on battery power with no shut downs. This just removes the option for high performance? Was that really the best solution they could come up with?

Ugh, if there were anything better out there, for less money, I'd buy it >.<

 

I thought this was the solution everyone was expecting, that the GPU would have the option to maximum performance on battery removed?

Either way, it bites, and I'm returning it. Trying to at least

 

Yeah the fans are loud, but I was impressed how cool it keeps everything. I OC'd the gpu to play some Witcher 2 and I was playing it for 2 hour straight. The highest it got was 62 C. I haven't updated the bios, but is there any need to at all if it doesn't fix anything and all it does is limit options? Also, I've had this laptop for 4 weeks and I'm assuming it's too late to return?

 

I asked a sales rep earlier today, and was notified that we have 21 days to return laptops.

 

I played Dirt 3 on the train tonight after updating the bios. It didn't shut down. However, I did find myself reducing the performance quite dramatically to get smoothish gameplay. I would say going from ultra to medium settings and that still felt a little sluggish. I have to say I'm quite disappointed really and feel a bit cheated really.
I played for roughly 45 mins. The battery dropped from 93% to about 51%
Hope that helps some peeps out there.
I would return it because I'd rather go with a 15.6 laptop with the 460 GTX etc.... but I think I'm past that stage. Might just have to wait for the R2 and sell this eventually.

 

Greetings all,
There seems to be quite a bit of dissappointment with the new update. Unfortunately, there were really only two cost effective options.

1. Disable Maximum Performance on DC
2. Underclock the system and risk introducing more problems

The most feasible of the two was to disable maximum performance. Although this isn't necessarily a solution to the problem, it is a fix. Perhaps something else will be done to improve this.

Thanks,
Gabe

 

The performance on battery are less powerfull on some benchmark than my M11XR1... so far so really disapointed.

When i invest on that machine I expect a better performance on each type of play (AC & DC) . For the AC it's really ok but for the DC I'm not really happy on how they tweak the laptop.

 

I agree.
The laptop just seems to have a really bad design.

Too big of a graphics card for too small a battery.

What I'm wondering is... Why can't they give more than 200mhz on the core clock of the gpu while on battery? Is that really all it can do? Is it really that inefficient? I finally have a day off tomorrow... So calling Dell for a refund and shipping the laptop back immediately. It's just not worth it.

I'm going to look into getting either an HP Envy or MacBook Pro...
I think I'm done with Alienware and Dell for now....

They need better engineers

 

Seeing your posts, I would've gotten the m11x-r3. I am not updating the bios now, seems crappy if you ask me. I suggest they replace our batteries before the year ends.

I won't be able to return it anymore since It's over 21 days and I need the laptop. Sheesh.

 

so can someone confirm the battery gpu clocks? I would expect them to be more than 200mhz! most cards have a low power 3d mode of say 2/3rds of its power

 

No wonder it took so long to have a fix, they know this 21-day return policy.

 

Exactly why I'm initiating my return today. Even if they blow me off, I'm going to demand an email confirmation that I started it today on the 21st day of having it. They better not say "not including the 21st day" LOL

 

Alienware had a better reputation before Dell bought them.

 

Hey All, just ordered my M14x on 5/24. I will let you all know what bios it ships with and can help provide other benchmarks. I have been reading these threads for a while and this is my first post!

specs:
Intel Core i7 2630QM 2.0GHz
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
14.0 High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight
1.5GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus technology
500GB 7200RPM SATA 3GB/s
Bluetooth
Intel Advanced-N WiFi Link 6205

 

With the A01:

Adapter vs battery. Default setting in the energy scheme.

3dmark06 12306 vs 4062
Furmark 790 vs 239

Anyone that have numbers to compare with the new BIOS A03 and using the max performance settings?
(Comparing the difference from using the laptop with the adapter plugged in, there is a drop to expect. But how much.)

 

I'm restoring mine to factory settings and getting ready to ship it back to dell...
but when i tested the A03... I checked the clock speeds of the GPU on battery on "Max Performance"...
It's still at 200Mhz... as it was on balanced mode before the bios update...
I wouldn't really expect any performance increase...

 

Yeah.. definitely 200mhz... and I've found no way to adjust this while on battery mode....

It's dreadfully slow on battery....

Starcraft 2 is pretty much unplayable on anything but LOW settings, while on battery too...

Crysis 2 is no-go... even running Low settings, 800x600 res....
Unless you like dealing with rediculously low framerates... 15-20ish...
Though I may have gotten up to 30fps on the 800-600 res...

Modern warefare 2 is playable 1280x720 pretty much extra effects (Shadows, specular map, etc) turned off... and you can maintain about 60fps....

But seriously.... That's still pretty bad....

It's like a really bad joke....

 

wow! at 200mhz you would probably be better off using the intel instead! that sucks