Alienware M17x R3 Arrived

Hey everyone, I have a few questions

1. I heard it has an in-built mic. If so how do I enable it?

2. How do I make the GTX 460 my default GPU and not the integrated card?

3. I was only getting 10-20 FPS on Ultra in World of Warcraft? I mean what?

4. I can't install 275.33 driver update as it says I don't have the compatibility even though I chose 64-bit Windows seven. So i'm stuck with the extremely out-dated one, any way on how to resolve this?

Thanks everyone

Alienware M17x R3

I7 2730QM Processor
GTX 460 1.5GB
8GB RAM
600GB or something like that RAID-0 Hard Drive

 

I think I can answer question 2. I believe you cannot set one GPU by default because the 460m uses optimus.

Edit: I think you have to choose something like "microphone array" to enable the microphone in whatever application you want to use it in.

 

Thanks Jas, the Microphone Array I have made my communication device but still no-one can hear me on Ventrilo/Skype

 

1. is it muted?
2. go into the nvidia control pannel, lots of options
3. either optimus doesnt recognize the game and is using intel card, or your internet connection sucks.
4. you need a modded driver. if you dont know what a modded driver is, do a search on this site to find one...basicly the inf file doenst include the hardware ID because dell modifies it so that you only use their drivers. a modded inf file will include your hardware id

 

Return the laptop before 21 day period and re-order with 6990 or least 6970

 

Manually pick the OS, and the 400M series and it calls up 275.33. Listed in the driver notes is that the driver supports 3d vision on the R3, so one would guess it should be supporting the 460M in your machine.
If that driver fails to install, write Nvidia and complain about a bug in the drivers. Should be fixed pretty quick.

 

If you REALLY want to stick with the nvidia card, look into this. http://forum.notebookreview.com/7678603-post107.html
It's using a modified bios + modified 275.33 driver so you can run off just the nvidia card instead of the crappy optimus system. The optimus is nice in text, but a pain in the butt in a real situation. Plus you should be able to run any game you want off the nvidia display without errors.

I have errors with the nvidia card on games like League of Legends, Dead Space 2, Heroes of Newerth, and Alice: Madness Returns.

It's up to you, but I recommend u make a crisdisk so you can recover if you flash the bios improperly.

Your other option is to get the 6970-90 card to save yourself the hassle of modifying every driver from nvidia.

 

1. I believe it's under sound in control panel

2. You cannot force the GPU on, however OPTIMUS should be pretty good at when to use it. If a certain program you want to use GPU in, go to the Nvidia control panel, click manage 3D settings, then to Program Settings tab. Click add, find the .exe of the program you wish to run the GPU in and select High Performance Nvidia Processor. (Trust me, you needn't the Nvidia GPU on all the time, these integrated chips are more then enough for everyday use)

3. That is probably because Wow isn't set to run with your GPU. Also make sure you're plugged in. This laptop doesn't like to perform well unplugged. If that doesn't work reinstall the driver, make sure it's from DELL site (because I know the 460m is more than capable of running Wow)

4. If you have a model with the 60 hz screen non 3d and optimus you will need more than a modded INF. I've tried many times and even with a modded INF it will install but performance will be way low in games. So stick with the ones on the Dell site unless you wanna do that whole mod the BIOS thing etc. I personally haven't had any problems with the current dell drivers

Good luck! It's a great computer. However, the 460m isn't too amazing. I'm looking to upgrade it soon

 

How does one OC their gtx 460m anyhow CleaningService? I tried using Msi afterburner, but it usually freezes on me. Every. Single. Time T_T

 

Make sure your laptop is plugged in, your power settings set to high for highest performance, least battery life.

460m runs WoW just fine, turn max distance lower if you still experience lag. What 460 wont do is run everything on max settings.

 

Hmm MSI afterburner always works for me. Try reinstalling your drivers?? Thats my only guess. When I tried installing a 257 driver, OCing did not work and I got very low FPS in my games. So I reverted back to the 267 from dell.

 

Ah, got the msi to properly work for me. It used to constantly freeze up for me D:

What's ur set clocks with the afterburner?