*OFFICIAL* M14x Owner's Lounge Thread - READ BEFORE POSTING

yeah thats what im looking for, turning of when i want it. but i cant seem to find it.

 

If it's like other laptops, it should have a key combo like FN+"??"

 

with my old dell studio 1555 i pressed FN+F2 and i could disable it there....

 

One of the big selling points for this m14x was the WI-DI feature, however I don't have any other WI-DI devices at home. I was thinking of buying one for my TV at the local tech store here (JB Hifi) and testing it out but I'd like to find out if anyone has actually played around with it and if it is actually worth it?

Much thanks people

 

Just purchased two M14x laptops in late October during the 25% off all refurbished systems sale on Dell. One for myself and one for the BF! Unfortunately, mine was stolen about a week ago but I've hijacked the BF's to use until I get a replacement (next sale for refurbished systems, hopefully after Christmas!). I was undecided between getting an Alienware or an ASUS, but went with the Alienware because it was such an awesome deal with the discount. I'm really glad I got the M14x, they're such amazing systems! I have already done a teardown/rebuild of the BF's system (with help from the manual, thanks guys!) to swap out the 720p display for the 900p display. Hopefully looking to swap out the HDD for a hybrid drive soon. I would go with an SSD, but they are a bit too pricey at the moment so I'm gonna wait for prices to drop. This place has been a great help and I'm glad to join the community of Alienware owners.

 

I remember there's a fellow new owner ask similar question to yours and I've also made a reply post to that as well maybe you can have a look at it: New M14x Setup Questions, in there you will find info on how to turn the Turbo Boost off as well.

And for the game whitelist thing, it is a pain because on all Optimus machine you have to do it basically everytime you installed a game, though sometime you dont have to but just to make sure that the game will run on the GT555M, you might want to whitelist it, and for the guide you can find it on my sig ( Guide: How to Whitelist games on an Optimus Machine although this guide is for MW3, but it still the same because all you need to do is locate the game's .exe file)

Although be careful and you should monitor the temp on the laptop when you play game without anything to elevate the laptop or without a cooler because it might get very very hot and worse overheat, and there are many program you can use to monitor it, like for example:
1): CPUID HWMonitor
2): Open Hardware Monitor (I use this one because it allow you to pin every hardware temp as Windows Gadget however it use less RAM resource than the actual Windows Gadget)
3): Real Temp (this one you can use it to alert you should it reach the set Tj (or I like to call the overheat) level)
4): Core Temp

Hope this help.

 

What are is a reasonable temps for the gt555m? I'm getting 74-76 max n stays at 70 at load. That's without a cooling pad. With I cooling pad I get 68 max n 64 average. Is mid 70s fine for the gt555m?

 

Does anyone know what Alienware related startup processes I can disable?

I still want the command centre to launch on start up, the OSD, but not things like Alienrespawn.

In fact, CCleaner shows Alien Respawn as disabled but it still starts up, along with its updater.

 

Last time a dell technician came and removed all dust for me and replaced the heatsink. I'm currently having around 40degrees, just webbrowsing. Didn't play a game yet today But if your temps are while playing it's fine I think.

 

You guys should check out the NBR F@h team. I have a feeling the M14x would do pretty well at folding, especially the GPU!

 

can anyone please post the safe temperatures for GPU,CPU , HDD an all for the Alienware m14x.
Thanks in advance..

 

Still no fix for Sonic Generations due to the launcher and Optimus clash.

 

I just got an m14x for xmas, I already updated the Graphics card, is there any other MAJOR things you guys would advise me doing? thank you =] oh and merry christmas!

 

M14X is a nice machine, isnt it???

What I do is I look at Dells driver download page, and then go to specific sites.

For example Intel chipset driver, Renesas USB 3 driver off Intel site, Processor graphics off Intel site and Nvidia drivers from Nvidia site are the ones (important ones) that are newer than Dell.

 

I've searched this site and a general internet search on the following but with no answer.

Is there a way to change themes from a command line?

Thanks

 

Finally got my m14x!! seeing it for the first time is just amazing. Hoping that i won't have any snags with it but just in case i know i can rely on the people in this forum for help. will go about updtaing and doing backups. tips for new owners are most certainly welcome and appreciated! specs are in my sig.

 

Tip: Use it as is, only update the drivers. Don't overclock, don't open it to see what's inside, don't fool around with the bios other than to check the version and update to AO5 if needed, etc.

Enjoy!

 

thanks kimjo! i'm not that into tinkering inside machines anyways. :|
Btw, how do I know/check if my drivers are up to date??

 

i just got mine... sent from a relative from Los Angeles... the system worked fine for me... the usual problems come in after hours of using... the heat problem where the HDD is located... fan noise is quite minimal for me... as of now, im planning to upgrade from HDD to SSD. i think i'l go with a SATA 3 but i guess issues are still around... im on A06 bios though...

 

getting my 3rd Alienware m14x !!

 

Just got my M14x today and I love it, but I'm wondering, is there any way to make the secondary functions on Function buttons the primary functions? I almost never use the F1, F2, etc. but I use the brightness, volume, play/pause all the time...I hate having to hold down FN first. Is there any way to switch that? If not, that's fine, I'm just wondering if there is a way

 

i just got my machine today ... love it .... and I am also wondering if there is a workaround that Fn thing ....

cheers

 

You get used to it guys.

 

Late to the party, but as of next Tuesday I'm in the club.

Needed a new laptop to replace my old XPS laptop that was starting to show it's age. Decided to go with the M14x because of all the raves about it's build quality, and fit & finish. Between work and play, I'll be spending a good amount of time on it, so I figured I might as well get something that I enjoy working on.

Can't wait to fire up BF3, because anything has got to be better than the super low settings I've been playing it at.

Bought it off the Outlet, and got a great deal that had almost everything I wanted. Not exactly the processor I wanted (2630QM), and just the stock wifi NIC, but everything else I wanted.

My tip to anybody looking to buy off the Outlet, open up a chat session with one of their reps, they didn't have what I was looking for in the inventory on the site, but the Dell rep found several that hadn't been posted yet.

Can't wait for my new toy...

 

I get mine tomorrow - I don't game but do use some cad based programs to design CNC parts for my milling machine and remote control boating hobby . I do enjoy Microsoft Flightsim X as the only game I play . I would assume I am quite a bit older than most of you but still excited to get an Alienware machine - yes its overkill for my app but its only money.......... Always wanted one of these rigs and me coming from a crappy little Dell 10" is like moving out of a cardboard box and into the white house .

My build

1 313-8792 AlienFX Color, Quasar Blue
1 317-6667 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
1 317-8440 Intel Core i7-2670QM 2.2GHz
1 318-0637 AW Hinge Up WLAN DMC - BLACK, M14X
1 318-0643 NV GeForce GT555M 3.0GB VRAM BLK
1 318-1166 Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner, DVD+-RW
1 320-2228 14.0 HD+ (900p/1600x900)/WLED
1 342-2548 256GB SSD, Solid State Drive
1 421-4817 Creative SB X-Fi HD - Software
1 421-5789 Win 7 Home Prem 64 SP1,Eng,w/Media,AWNB
1 421-6497 AW M14X WIDI SW
1 430-4098 Intel WiFi 1000 a/g/n 1x2
1 430-4103 Internal 60GHz WirelessHD M14x

Just out of curiosity what is the current most powerful processor that can be stuffed into the M14X

 

Recieved mine yesterday. loving it so far. updated my BIOs to AO8 (on dell uk it was an urgent update if anyone didnt know)

going to install a couple of games and see how it handles. Its already amazingly quick compared to my last ACER vista laptop.

 

Finally I'm a m14x owner! this system is great and I received it last night in all its glory .

I had some questions whether or not i should upgrade the bios and what other driver updates should I have done on my system?

I have the i5 model with 6gb ram 3gb gt555m 1600x900 screen and 750gb HDD.

 

Well iv had mine for a week now and. . . It's broke!!! Went to turn it on and nothing. No lights no noise. Battery is full.

I rang dell and they going to send someone to fix it. If it isn't fixed I'm getting a refund and finding a different one. Shame that Alienware went to dell. Iv had 3 computers from them now and every one has gone wrong somehow.

Update: I'm getting a refund seeing as they cannot fix it without sending it back. Annoying! Also I have a cd in it. I don't have a small enough screwdriver to get it out. 1 major flaw of alienware.

 

Got mine a week ago - absolutely in love with it - so far so good......

 

I just got my m14x and am so surprised by its performance!

after sorting through the driver issue i got it working within one night (285.xxx) drivers.

BF3: 70 FPS all low except full resolution and ultra Textures (35 FPS on medium)
ARMA II: 35 FPS on small battles, 25 on those huge ones you see on youtube
Minecraft: 100 FPS (it can be a demanding game)


Its amazing coming from an m11x with slightly lower frame rates and its such a beautiful screen. the frame is solidly built and the keys feel great

Not a single complaint about this laptop!

 

Glad it all worked out. Which 285 driver did you use in case I have problems with the 295.18. There is a few 285's out there. Thanks

 

I have just finished installing Deus Ex and Skyrim.

Gonna see how they run later tonight or tomorrow.

I really want to update drivers, but I just got this laptop and I don't have any other working computer to use. >__< I am worried I won't be able to sort it out completely. **EDIT: I actually updated the BIOS and Drivers this morning and it works great!***

Minecraft, while funny that you checked the FPS on it, isn't a very good game to base computer speed off of unless you are going for lulz. Its less of a demanding game and more of a poorly coded one. I remember WAY back in Alpha (I have played since before Infdev) there were some patches that would make it run at 15-25 fps on my friends really crazy gaming rig. That comp ran dual Nvidia GTXs, i7, and 12gigs ram. So I am fairly sure its the game, not the computer that matters.

 

Haha you said no more! but good news in a forum is always nice, congrats.

 

I am using the 285.62 drivers that were built for BF3!

 

Glad your happy with it, i love mine to.

Always wanted an alienware since the old area51m in cyborg green days now i finally have one and it has exceeded every expectation i had of it.

 

Congrats on your new machine. But you can up the graphics a lot. I play on all high settings, 1600x900, textures on ultra tho, 2x filtering, and no AA (uses too much resources) and get 30-50 fps. Oh and shadows on low.

 

thats what i have been playing with in the last hour, i have been messing with the settings all day, surprisingly not much of a performance difference between them all.

 

Yoh Guys.

I just want to ask the dimensions of the m14x. (width & length)

and also on the m11x.

Thanks.

Nvm, found it. And there's a thread that has some pics on both machines. Thanks anyways.

ps. sorry, double post.

 

i tired asking this on the clean install thread, but got no reply. when doing a clean install on a m14x with a standard hd are you required to use the intel rst drivers? if so, do you install them before or after the engine management drivers? thanks!

 

Got it yesterday Nebula Red and did some updating (Win7). Put Word 2010 on for wife to do her work.
Now to the important stuff!
Installed first game D3 Beta. Everything went smooth and put it in (white list) as mentioned on these forums. Oh yea, I used Gearsguy seeting for Skyrim. Current drivers are 269.37. Installed Fraps and am getting 65 to 80 fps. To me that's really good. I will update to newer drivers from nvidia site tomorrow. Currently installing SWTOR overnight before wife leaves tomorrow and takes it to Minn. : ( So far so good. Really looking good at this point!

Edit; installed SWTOR, Got everything on High and shadows on low. Low = 40 to 50 fps and high = 30. Really great so far!

 

Glad you like it dont install SSD becuase that going to be hell for you lol

 

I don't plan on it. It's our travel pc basically. I have two other for gaming in my "pc" room.

 

Congrats. Take time to read the stickies. keeping an eye out on the 14x forums will also give you an idea on what problems you might encounter so you might avoid them. helped me out a lot. and send me d3 key if you have extra.

 

Can we get this bios recovery thread stickied here? It worked on my m14x.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/601701-bios-recovery-case-you-brick-your-m17xr3.html

 

I'll put a link to that thread in the OP of the M14x Owner's Lounge since it's the same process.
Sticking one thread with many useful links makes more sense

Thanks for the heads up.

 

Got a question, when you whitelist a game do you have to go to the program settings and select it every time you start up the game. Then, will it automatically revert to intel graphics for desktop use after you are finished playing?

 

Got my m14x on 1st Feb.

It looks great and have no issues so far. I have change the Hard Disk to SSD and there is no issues at all.

 

Got my alienware m14x today! Love it! Just oen question.. i previously owned a m15x adn when i used to close the lid the alien head would "breathe".. There is no similar feature for m14x?

 

I afraid to tell you that that feature does not exist on the M14x, but I guess by "Breath", you mean it will put to sleep?

 

Oh Damn! that sucks! Used to look cool.. Ya when i put it to sleep the alien head glows on and off.. on my m15x that was. Thanks for the reply btw is there a mod to change color of the alien head..or its standard white?