4900$ Garbage Alienware M17x R1

I have a barely used Alienware m17x R1, even though it is almost 4 years old, it was "rebuilded" by Dell about 18-20 month ago.

It is running 5870 cards in crossfire.All components had been changed for new ones 20 months ago. Since then it was practically unused.

It never activated the second video card, it always showed up in Catalyst, but has secondary disabled adapter, therefore crossfire never worked. I wanted to start using it again but it started to shut down automatically under any kind of load (gaming was pathetic).

I though it was a heat issue. So I bought proper thermal paste and pads, did a complete re-paste with new pads of CPU and Cards (done by a professionnal).

Laptop showed same issue, up to one day, it shut down and never openned again, even worst, when you put a powersupply in the blue led at the end of the plug close and I need to put it in another laptop to reset the power supply in order to make it work again ... I suspect a shortcircuit ...

SO !

I called Dell, they can't do ...

What can I do, throw that 4900$ in the garbage ? , my GF is still running her Dell Inspiron 6400 flawlessly ... she paid 1400$ 5 years ago ...

 

Do you know that things are braking faster when they are unused, rather than used regular ?

 

Hmmm, I wouldn't see why ... it was stored in it's original packaging box when unused for long periods ... away from dust and humidity ...no vibration ... It's kinda crap when you consider this "build quality" this laptop should have ...

 

When you leave something like a laptop, unused for longer periods, thermal paste can loose its cooling capabilities, it can harden over time and when you turn your laptop on, and put load on it, you can damage something not even knowing about it.

When you did a repaste, damage was already done, or, because of Dell tech swapped everything, maybe they putted a faulty part that failed after short term usage.

This is how electronics works nowdays, crappy laptop can work for 10 years if used properly, and even the best machine can brake within days, not to mention DOA.

If you are owner of such an expensive piece of hardware, i would suggest to extend the warranty for the future, witch i did couple of times, and it saved me loads of $$$

I would start from flashing the laptop to newest bios, vbios, windows reinstall, again re-paste, then Power brick check, most likely Mobo is damaged, that is my bet.

Also, there was a law introduced couple of years ago, preventing manufacturers to put Lead together with Solder in almost all electronics, and lack of Lead shortened lifespan of all electronics by significant amount of time.

Remember when people say '' electronics was much more long lasting in my times'' or '' this laptop is 20 years old and still working, why ? ''

Basically, all electronics is twice as vonruble nowdays comparing to lets say 10 years ago.

And, this post is getting too long....

NBR community will try to help you, just Patience Grass Hopper

 

Try updating all the drivers to the latest, but scrub all the old ones first. A problem could have occurred when you did an update after not using it for a long time by updating the drivers you missed in that time incorrectly. Also get proper thermal readings, you could have botched the paste job (happens to all of us) or dust-buildup in the fans could be a problem. Could also be a problem with the RAM, try a different pair, or a single stick. When I had a M17x r1 a quick fix to some problems was to remove battery and charger and hold power button 10 seconds to reset motherboard., doesn't hurt to try.

Try another power supply too

 

I see stories like this all the time (one reason i recommend avoiding spending THAT much on a laptop when a desktop at 33% of that price will do fine and be WAY more reliable) you just can't shove THAT kind of hardware into that small of a space and not expect issues over time. Many people on these boards are ALienware fans i for one am NOT (not ever since DEll bought them anyways),i see horror stories like this all the time involving ALienware laptops...Really it's just a lesson to stick to mobile computing for...computing...for gaming your always better off with a desktop if reliability/power are a concern. I stick to business model Laptops and even my Dell Latitude Pentium 3 machine still runs like a dream...the ONE expensive gaming laptop i bought? Dead one year outside warranty.

 

I agree that $5000 is far too much for a laptop and that desktops are more reliable, but did you come here just to gripe about AW?

 

No just stating future advice so this situation never repeats itself. Advice as to the situation at hand? Take it to a reputable local shop get it diagnosed/repaired Sell it the moment it's up and running and buy something else. It sounds like you ended up with a Lemon and in my experience once a laptop has one major issue they tend to come in threes like most bad things...get it fixed and sell it on EBay or Craigslist A.S.A.P imo.

 

Thx for the support. Warrany was extented for 1 year, 2 year total ...

I'm 100% it`s all hardware, and I don't have much money to invest in this ... original purchase was from a credit, so the total ammount wasn't all covered by me, I couldn`t never afford this ...

So, I tested with both 1 card, in both master or slave sloth back when it was booting, didn't change anything ... not it's not even turning on ... where do I start ?

 

If the power brick turns off when you plug it in, and the computer gives no response when you push the power button, you have a ground short on the motherboard.

bob

 

Like Bob said, this will be 99% motherboard failure, get one from ebay for about 140 usd and i think it should do the trick.

put this in ebay search
M17X R1 Laptop Motherboard F415N 0F415N CN-0F415N

 

Ive had my R1 since Aug of 09 and it runs flawlessly still to this day and my wife uses it daily. Now I do re-paste the CPU and GPUs annually and also clean the fans and heatsink.

 

I guess I will need to open it ... anything special to look for ?

So this would do the trick ? : For Dell Alienware M17x R1 Laptop Motherboard F415N 0F415N CN 0F415N Tested 5704327825746 | eBay

I will open it ... so how do I test it ?

What would be the best vid card to put in an R1 ?

 

Best cards you can put in are CF 5870m, you will NOT be able to upgrade to 6970m or GTX 680/780m, CF5870m is MAX for R1

Mobo from ebay should be OK.

 

how good are u on following leads?..

if u are going to change ur motherboard, i suggest u change it to an r2 instead of r1. r2 motherboard would fit in the r1 chassis no problem and it lets u upgrade ur cpu to core i7. it is going to be more expensive, but at least u get the option to upgrade ur gpu to something like a 680m (possibly a 780m).

so thats my 2 cents.

 

If you guys want to help me I can take high res picutres, you can give me your input ... we can do an how to ...

 

Aww, that would be alot of work + extra costs, he would have to get new CPU as well

so we are looking at 300 usd for Used R2 mobo + 100usd for CPU + CPU heatsink 40usd

OP let us know what budget do you have, so we will know what we can do

The whole idea of putting R2 mobo is okay, but for this you have to be patient and know what you are doing, if you end up on braking something while transfering the R2 mobo you will be NOT happy at all.

Think about it good, at least 15 minutes

 

Well, if I get it back to work, I will use it has a desktop ... I still had the Core 2 Extreme in it ... I don't see the purpose of the I7 ... I'm on a 100$ budget max ideally. It has 8gb of ram and 2x500gb so, it's not a bad machine ...

So, I should start the disseasembly ?

 

replacing the r1 motherboard with the r2 motherboard is almost the same thing, minus the cost. when i upgraded my r1, the r2 motherboard cost me around $150 USD.

its not just the core i7. its the option of putting a newer gpu on the system (680m 7970m possibly 780m and 8970m). but given ur budget just stick with the r1.

 

Ok, I'm opening the laptop ... any simple test I should do before full dissasembly ?

 

what are u gonna do?

 

Remove Motherboard panels, peel black plastic protector, take high resolution pictures and post it here so you guys can inspect my re-pasting skills and check for short circuits or anything wrong

 

I just though of something, I would have a trade : Core 2 Extreme + 2x 5870 Cards with CrossfireX Cable for an R2 Motherboard with i7 and a good nvidia card (580m maybe ?) + cash. Would that be possible ?

 

Hello Guy's, Looking for some advice. I have a M17-R1, X9100 CPU, 4GB RAM, DUAL M88 XT HD3870 W/Crossfire cable, Intel core 2 extreme 3.06GHZ, 1 SAEGATE 160GB 7200, 1 SEAGATE 250GB 7200RPM, CROSS FIRE X, OS VISTA HOME PREMIUM 32BIT. Ok saying all that, I have been able to play all of the Call Of Duty games, up till now, with no problems. Black Opps had a few bumps but still played. I would like to keep on going with the new Call Of Duty Ghosts. But I see I need more hard ware. And a new OS, either Windows 7 or 8. So can you all give me your best make-up. I will be very grateful. And by the way, I love my M17-R1. Thanks to all.

 

To give an idea how srupidly bad its optimized..
I have it @1080p. Only the image detail on extra.. Rest is off/low..
I7-3610/gtcX 675m.. Stock speeds on all.
U need 64bit os and 6gb ram minimum (this game tends to eat 4+gb)
Max upgradeable in r1 are 5870 in crossfire..if u can get them at a normal price, do it..
If u cant.. I would opt for a whole new notebook..

If u really want to keep it... Go all out..
M18xr2 mobo+i7-940xm+ 2x7970 crossfire. 16gb ram.. But that will be very expensive

 

Thanks for your input, I'd love to keep it going.

 

SGT. Ribcracker said that he has the "M17-R1" and not the "M17X-R1"

M17-R1:


The M17-R1 was released before the all new redesigned M17X R1 was released. The M17-R1 unfortunately only accepts MXM 2.1, whereas the M17X R1 to the newest models accept MXM 3.0.

MXM 2.1 is a highly outdated slot and I believe the last gpu's made on MXM 2.1 were the NVidia 280m and ATI 4850M... and finding those cards in MXM 2.1 format will be such a hassle as they are extremely rare to come by at a decent price. Here are a few links to M17-R1 upgrade threads:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...legacy-systems/702077-m17-r1-gpu-upgrade.html
M17-R1 Upgrade

Personally, I would skip out on COD: Ghosts, it is getting horrible reviews from the pc crowd and really is essentially the same game but with a really bad campaign and poor optimization.
COD: Ghosts PC impressions by TotalBiscuit: ► Is... - Call of Duty: Ghosts (Multiplayer) - YouTube
COD: Ghosts Review by PC Gamer: Call of Duty: Ghosts PC review | PC Gamer

If you want the fast-paced twitched-based combat that you love from COD, but want to play a new game with great optimization and support, I would highly recommend Counter Strike: Global Offense. It's $15 on Steam, and is constantly being updated with new maps and weapons, all without needing to pay for DLC :thumbsup:

 

Im verry sorry. I only read m17xr1 garbage..
I have to aggree if its m17-r1.. Dont even go there..

Cod ghosts is quite okay.. If u get it playable.. U need 90fps steady in order to have a good feeling sithout tearing..

Optimization is e at best parts..

But the game s still funny

 

WOW, thanks for catching the error. I need all the help I can get. I should tell you all, I'm a 65 year young guy, I just love to play on the pc. I play xbox with my son and grandsons. And COD is my game. But I might give Counter Strike: Global Offense, if they have it for PC. My buddy and I play it at work on our lunch breaks. Can I get it for PC ???

 

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Steam

 

Well, first thing you have to do is download and install Steam: Welcome to Steam
It is on the top right of the page, after you download it will prompt you to log it, and from there just create an account.

Steam is pretty much XBox Live or Play Station Network for the PC, and it has constant sales on games and a great community. After you have created you account, just search "Counter Strike: Global Offense" and from there you can purchase it. It is a digital download, as with every game on Steam, so the game is just linked to your Steam account and you can download/play it whenever you want.

There is also an awesome free-to-play shooter called Blacklight: Retribution if you want to give that a go as well, it has gotten so much attention on PC that it's made it's way onto the PS4: Blacklight: Retribution on Steam

 

Thanks again, I will give it a try...You all have been great...

 

I think the problems with transitioning to leadless-electronics have largely or completely been overcome in the meantime... they're most likely to appear in electronic products from around the time of the transition, which I think happened around 2007-2009.

That would mean, of course, that the early generation Alienware 17 could be affected, but I don't think it applies to the most recent generations.

 

@SGT. Ribcracker
Grandpa you still there?