Alienware M17X now with GTX 285M

I'll admit, if the 285's are a tad slower but more stable I wouldn't mind downgrading. This is getting frustrating trying to play online when it keeps crashing every 20 minutes

 

or at least put some decent lcd feet on the palm rest so they don't wear down to the point that your glass e2e is resting on hard plastic =.='

460s/470s are acutally GF104 based I just found out, so they're going to be freaking awsome, no doubt.

 

Hahaha I hear that, but I only had to bake one once. I think they were great cards. If an Alienware come out with a 4XX series card in SLI Ill purchase it. I just dont think the new cards from ATI or NVIDIA justify the 3000 investment in a new PC. You guys have fun though, should be good cards.

 

Hmmmsssssssssssssssss....................................

Interesting....the 285 has just surfaced here on the AUS dell website as well.


1GB GDDR5 ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5870 [Included in Price]
CrossFireX™ Dual 1GB GDDR5 ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5870 [add $249.70 or $2/week-1]
SLI™ Dual 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 285M [add $247.50 or $2/week-1]



It also states GDDR3 and not GDDR5 hmmmmmmmmmmssssssssss............

Not to burst your bubble Lozz but I have a feeling that it is only GDDR3 and not the GDDR5.
Someone correct me if I'm totally wrong. Unless different countries are selling different cards.

Dell have also offered me the option to swap my 5870s for the 285s.......anyone recommend I do this or not? The 5870s are still better in gaming performance??????? Right? Recommendations? Thanks.

Cheers.

 

^^ lol it seems the legendary MISADVERTISEMENT of 4870M in GDDR5 back in the old days is coming alive

 

With the latest vbios + drivers for the 5870m, I see no reason at all to go for 285M.

 

Thanks Joker for the input. I was thinking the same thing.
I'm pretty sure I will stay put.

Cheers.

 

Dell US is so imbalanced or Dell Aus is. The GTX's are actually cheaper in Aus.

 

I did not realize anyone still thought they really were GDDR5.....

 

I really must say great marketing ploy and direction tactic by dell with putting up these cards now even though their so old lol. Its bound to make a few more sales.

Now cmon dell get with the times and put up some 400m series GPU cards cheers. ehehehehe

 

If they did that I would've ignored SB and bought it regardless of the cards. Hears to hoping.

 

Website now says SLI® 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 285M instead of GDDR5
Looks like some of you guys were right.

 

There's probably still people in Dell support that haven't read the memo yet.

 

there was no bubble to burst. I know they're not GDDR3. I just mentioned that the part number and the online configurator still say they are.

I hope not..lol.

the only reason would be for CUDA, physx or if you're just nvidia biased.. like me

 

Lozz, i'm sorry, but i think it's true about GDDR3, i just hit the configurator on Alienware US:

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5870 [Included in Price]
1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 285M [Add $75.00 or $3.00/month]
CrossfireX™ 1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5870 [Add $375.00 or $12.00/month]
SLI® 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 285M [Add $425.00 or $13.00/month]

What i don't get, is why are those cards more expensive... In europe, only the HD5870 Single and CrossFire are available for configuration at the moment.

 

well now it doesn't say that it's GDDR5... but when I mentioned it the online configurator did say GDDR5. I might give Dell a little call still.

The part number I have on my order number has changed as well.
1 320-9009 SLI 1GB GDDR3 Nvidia GeForce GTX 285M

I know it's true.. I'm not sure where the confusion is comming from, All I did was say that the online configurator and my part number said GDDR5. I did not say that I thought they were acutally GDDR5 anywhere.

 

heheheeh its all good chiefs.

Any news on the new system? Dell offered me to swap my GPU cards today. I think I'll be staying put though. It will be interesting to see how they go or perform in the M17x R2 system. I wonder if it will be really close between our 2 system performances.

Cheers.

 

But didn't you had HD5870's before? Aren't you going a step back somehow, i hope it's what you wanted and what you were willing to pay for, since you said you prefer NVIDIA anyway.

I only had this article at hand to compare quickly, it's in french originally.

Translated article:
http://translate.google.com/transla...4gamers.com/?p=12340&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8

 

It's still in production. Probally won't get it for a few weeks like everyone else that orders a new system.

Like I said, the only reason I swapped was because they were free. There's no way I would have paid for a spare parts order for them. The only people I can see wanting these are those that need cuda physx or just buy them because they're the most expensive lol.

 

Lol. They did this with ATi 48xx series. They had it listed as gddr5 at first until people started opening their machines up and saw gddr3 written on the chip.

 

Yeah I think it would not be too hard to make the PC slightly thinner even a 10% gain in height would make the PC look much slimmer and more modern. They could also easily gain space on the lid. The LED screen is very thin not sure why they need so much thickness in the lid.

They could definitely improve the airflow and cooling system of the PC by using the ideas in Ash retention mod thread meaning they could use shorter clips, better paste, better pads and maybe even tweak some of the heat sinks to make them more efficient.

To be honest though now that the M17X is mostly fixed it's one of the best PC out there and is near perfection with current technologies...

 

So it is safe to assume the 285's are less powerful than the 5870's? I remember GPU's like 7900GTX's and 7950GTX's only difference were the clock difference, and pretty much same card.

 

Less powerful - absolutely. Slower in games - not necessarily

 

Yeah all due to the drivers and mainly because a lot of gaming companies still favor Nvidia in their coding...

 

I don't see the drivers for those cards on the support website of Dell. That's not good...



IMPORTANT I called Dell today as my XF5870 system keeps crashing. Something is wrong with the cards. They states they have no cards in stock and won't get them for another two weeks. That seems strange but that's what 4 different reps told me so far. I asked to be exchanges to the 285M since they could not fix my PC and they said they can but it will be refurbished cards as they do not have any new 285M in stock and don't expect to have new 285M in stock on their systems...

Any clue guys what the heck is going on at Dell????

 

If you ask them a question that is not on their script, they will make up an excuse to get you off the phone

And for the drivers, should be the same as the GTX 280m/260m drivers

 

Probably clearing out inventory for a new wave of chips? Just a thought.

 

probally because it's a warranty repair and not a brand new computer. You always get refurb parts with a warranty exchange. Although.. I can't see where they are getting used 285s, the only other laptop they sell that even comes close to a 285 is the M6500, and it's not SLI, nor a real 285.

 

My guess is they're old 280M GPUs....and Dell either sent their old GPUs to Nvidia to get re-purposed or Nvidia sold Dell the upgrade cards to unlock the extra performance.

 

Remember my PC is still in the 21 days period and I was telling them just send me new cards as it will cost you less than me returning the PC. I guess I have no choice but to return the PC, I am really mad. I love that PC.

It just crashes all the time, I tried everything to fix it, they tried everything, I am not going to keep the PC hoping they get 5870 cards to send me in 2 weeks.

Dawn that sucks...

 

it's illegal to sell used items as new. Their 'refurbished' cards are new, and it's also illegal to repurpose 280's, have foxconn flash them as 285's and send them back. They're real new 285s. They may be the exact same board as 280's but they've should have never been flashed as 280M from the factory and then re-flashed as a 285. If that were ever leaked they would have lawsuites out the ying-yang. Foxconn makes all the GPU's for Dell, nvidia only makes reference board designs and ships them to the various ODM suppliers, like flextronics, which makes the M17X chassis, and Foxcon.

 

Even if the cards are refurbished, does that really matter as long as they work? You aren't going to see them outside anyway.

 

All dell replacements parts say they are refurbished btw. Even brand new ones.

 

It is illegal to advertise used (as in previously sold) items as new and sell them to unsuspecting consumers, however if it were illegal to re-purpose unused, and unsold, GPUs then Nvidia should've been locked up for multiple counts of rebranding....and Intel/AMD too would face a few counts of overclocking CPUs as new models.

 

What nvidia and AMD do is not illegal. If Dell has had a bunch of 280M's and just flashed them as 285's that is illegal. NOS silicon which has not had a stamped serial number or been placed on a PCB board can have it's name changed or rated to whatever the ODM wants it to be, that's not *exactly* how it works but it's a simple explination. once that serial number or identifying mark is placed or it's hot-soldered onto a board it's has to be registered as whatever numerial card it is called. It's just like a car, once you Vin stamp it as a certian model, you can't swap an engine around and re-register it as the new model just because it has that same model's engine. Once a 280M has a 280M serial number on it, it Has to remain a 280M if you're going to sell it. Before it's stamped though, it can be whatever you want to sell it as. Which is exactly what Nvidia and AMD do, in those cases. A lot of the time however, new cards with new names but old architecture hardware gets something different, be it more ram, or a process reduction. the 9800GTX and GTS250 is a perfect example. The GTS250 is technically the same silicon, but since it has a process reduction it's a totally different PCB board. There are not too many cases where the exact same reference design is simply renamed for the sake of renaming it, infact I can't think of any off the top of my head.

absolutely it matters. There's no way I would want something that's been sitting on some shelf with humidity and tempreature conditions of a warehouse for 1-2 years.

 

That's where your warranty kicks in. I highly doubt anyone would use those cards without intensive testings. As long as they pass the tests and work 100% like they should, I don't see why not.

 

I'm not paying full price for a car that has 10,000 miles on it, no matter how like stock it works.

 

Makes sense if you put it that way. I guess I'm not as picky as long as it works 100%.

 

how big is the difference in performance between 280M and 285??? can the 280M reach the 285M clocks overclocking it?

 

yes, easily. The 285 is pretty mild as far as clock speed updates go even.

 

i have to agree on that!