Alienware M17x R4 Pre-Order Configuration Questions... Ask HERE

Good point on the wireless card. Even with a $50 coupon I found, the configuration I put together is about $2600, so skimping twenty bucks on the wireless card that I'll use every day is dumb.

The config i put together, thanks to help here:

Alienware M17x Qty 1
Alienware M17X R4 with Soft Touch, Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit Unit Price $2,619.00
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Catalog Number: 29 DKDWGY2
Module Description Show Details
Alienware M17X R4 Alienware M17X R4 with Soft Touch
Operating System Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Processor 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
Memory 16GB (4 X 4GB) Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
Keyboard English Keyboard
Display Panels 17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
Video Card 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680M
Hard Drive 500GB 7,200 RPM Storage + 128GB mSATA Boot Drive
Nameplate Personalized Plate ()
AlienFX Quasar Blue
Hinge Up Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat X Reader
Optical Driver Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Audio Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software
Wireless Networking Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming & Video and Bluetooth 4.0
Adapter Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
Documentation Alienware Documentation
Office Productivity Software Microsoft® Office trial
Shipping Material Shipping Material - Black
Security Software No Anti-Virus Software Selected
Additional Software Additional Software
Primary Battery 90WHr 9-Cell Primary Battery
Hardware Support Services 1 Year Essential Support
WirelessHD None
Standard Nameplate Trigger Thank you for Purchasing Alienware


ACCESSORIES
Additional 240 Watt 3 Prong AC Adapter with 6 ft Power Cord Qty 1
Dell Part# 330-7843 Unit Price $120.00
Manufacturer Part# 00001
Dell Part# 330-7843
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TOTAL: $2,528.05

 

Solid build! Welcome to the Alien side

 

HI.

FYI the cache dive is invisible when installed correctly. The RAID bios is used to create a hidden drive that is used to cache the main HDD. You do not see it in windows (although it might be visible in disk manager?) so that 64gb is not available at all.

To upgrade to an ssd is very easy. You just put the new drive in the machine and change the boot order in the bios. Then install windows to the new SSD. After you have it all running you can format the HD. The caching will still be working on the HD as it's in hardware/firmware and not dependent on any windows drivers (although you need the windows disk drivers to be the correct ones!)

And if you get into problems with the windows install just change the boot order back and you have your original build working

Good luck with your decision

 

Is what you said also true for the 128 gb boot drive? Not sure what the difference is between what they call a cache drive and boot drive. Thanks.

 

A cache drive uses hardware (RAID) to create a hidden drive that data is written to instead of the 'normal' HD drive that you use. It works on a FILO buffer with data that has been most accessed staying in preference to just a simple rotation. It is not quite as fast as a stand-alone SSD even if all the data requested comes from the SSD cache. Examining the cache drive after some normal use (with a disk tool) will show the drive almost full, all the time, as everything is placed there.
.

An SSD boot drive is just a normal configuration you are used to but with an SSD instead of a HDD for the OS install

IMO a cache drive a great way to save some money at the outset and still get fast load times. If you later add a full size SSD the cache can be left on the original HD drive speeding up what is now your data drive - bonus!

HTH

PS I never got it as this one (sig) was a replacement from dell for a model that did not have a 3'rd sata port. The msata port is difficult to access so better for it to be installed from new. The msata port is not a acquirement for a cache drive and could just as easily be used for an extra drive (as have some users already - 3 SSD'd in a RAID 0 config!)

 

Don't use the mSATA drive for a boot drive unless you have at least 64 gb and not planning to get another SSD. I initially did not plan to get an SSD and so I went with a large mSATA to cache my HDD and speed it up. But then I got a good deal on Amazon for the Samsung 830 and went with it. Now my OS and all programs will be on the SSD along with my most popular games while the HDD is for other games, pictures, movies and so on.

 

This is very true, but Dell do not sell them with the msata being used for a boot drive - they only use it for caching.

3rd party suppliers will configure them to order and this mistake can be made. I've seen a couple of very badly configured drives from an international reseller, one even had a 32gb msata drive with the OS installed on it and described as a cache. From what I could tell their tech had attempted a reinstall of windows, got the RAID messed up, and simply turned it off

 

OK, good stuff guys. Changed my configuration to the cache drive (instead of the boot drive) as I do plan on adding a 512 GB SSD later.

 

BTW - is there any way to change the volume on this system when the lid is closed? On my M1710 there are buttons on the front of the computer, so if the laptop is closed and, e.g., I'm listening to music, I can simply hit the volume buttons on the front of the notebook without having to open it.

 

Good choice - shout back when you are ready to add your SSD - There's some confusing 'instructions' floating around

 

Looking for a bit of help. Getting a m17x r4 from dell as a replacement. But only coming with a 256gb ssd. Will the laptop come with hdd caddy for 2nd hdd?

Also is it worth having msata ssd if i am already getting a 256gb ssd?

 

Hi, the second caddy is usually there but some people have said recently screws are missing. Dell will send the parts if they are missing.

The msata comes into it's own when used as an SSD cache drive for a mechanical HDD. easy enough to set up but a pain to install to as it's an almost full stripdown to get to it

 

If you don't get a caddy for the 2nd bay send me a PM and I'll take care of it.

About the mSATA, I'd say it's not worth installing one if you've got an SSD. I think it's too much of a hassle for so little performance boost if at all.

 

Cool, thanks. I am happy as long as Caddy is there. I got a spare HDD interposer from M11x R3, This is the one I have and I am assuming it will fit in M17x r4

Cool, Hopefully HDD caddy is there, otherwise I will pm ya

I am still thinking of getting a 256gb msata, there is 256gb SSD coming with M17x r4 and I have a spare Dell (Liteon) 256Gb SSD. I would love to see, how much I can push it on Raid0. I was planning to get a M18x in April, so if msata is not a big boost, I will chuck it in M18x, when I get it

 

Man, plan was to just get a 512 GB SSD from Newegg or somewhere, but those suckers are expensive!

 

You can RAID 0 3 SSD's if you want to but note the msata port is only SATA II so the whole array will be slightly slower than just the main sata bays on RAID.

 

Will the msata SSD even be able to max IO on SATA2 port ?

 

OK, I am REALLY confused on what to get in terms of HD storage.

I need a minimum of 500 GB HD storage - my primary use of this system will be editing of HD videos. I can't afford the extra $350 for an 512 GB SSD (and I see them for about the same price on Newegg, etc.) So I'm looking at the options of 7500 GB + 64 GB mSata Caching drive or a 7500 GB + 128 mSata "Boot" drive.

What is the difference between the two?

 

Hey guys, a happy user from a Dell XPS-M1730 here. My "beast" is still functioning after four years, but it's getting a bit older and I notice it can't cope with the graphical violence these days anymore. So after long debate between Clevo and Alienware, I decided to go with Alienware. These are the specs which I think work best for me:

Alienware M17x Stealth Black
Intel® Core™ i7-3740QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.7GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
Windows 8 Pro 64bit
2GB GDDR5 AMD® Radeon™ HD 7970M
6.144 MB (1 x 2 048 + 1 x 4 096) 1.600 MHz Dual Channel DDR3
500 GB (7.200 rpm)
44 cm(17.3") Wide Full HD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD
Blu-ray drive
Killer Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO with Bluetooth 4.0

Price: € 2.171,10

Will add a SSD (Samsung 840 Pro 256GB) and Corsair Vengeance (CL9) memory aftermarket.

Is this a solid build? The rig will mainly be used for gaming (for example SC2, WoW) and running virtual machines, so that's why I chose the better processor.
I realize the 3D screen plus NVIDIA card are great, but I'm afraid my budget doesn't allow it.
Also, with the upcoming Haswell keeping in mind, should I wait until the M17x r5? Although we don't have a release date yet and looking at the M1730 I wonder if it's worth waiting, because both the M17x r4 and r5 will be a major upgrade.

 

Only just in my experience. I had a SSD on sata 2 and the difference was about 2~3 seconds on load time and no noticable diference in use when I 'fixed' it.

 

If you're a little stuck for cash pay Stevie a visit http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-aw-system-accessories-please-contribute.html
He can sort you out with a better price on your machine

 

The more i think about it, more it makes me puzzled whether to not get msata ssd at all or get it and use it as a backup os drive in case raid fails on the road or use it for storage purposes.

Bottom line, Either way 128gb sitting aside wont hurt the performance. And i can always use more space

Maybe i will wait a bit and see if i need it. Now to find which after market msata is good value.

 

The only reason I can see for a msata drive is for a small (64gb) SSD caching a mechanical drive. If you purchase this config then when you put in your large SSD in the second drive bay it's easy. You just change the boot order, install windows to the new SSD drive and your all set with a fast accelerated mechanical second drive, and no hassle of a full strip down to get to the msata port. Also a very easy rollback plan if it goes badly, just change the boot order back

 

Hey all

I was looking for clarification about the msata. If I wanted to install a 128 gb SSD msata and use that as my boot drive, will the additional space be usable to install other programs that I normally use (I.e. games, steam, etc).

Second question is would it be then just more worthwhile to install an SSD as the primary drive and use that for the OS boot?

 

Hi, just think of the msata port as another drive bay (although slightly slower than the main two). You can only use an SSD but apart from that the config is up to you.

It is difficult to get to requiring an almost complete strip down so be aware of that. Not too dificult for someone with screwdriver skills but still a pain.

IMO there are only two reasons to use it.

1. What dell sell it as; a caching SSD to a primary spinner. The space will not be available to you as it is hidden and uses hardware to achieve the caching.

2. You want 3 x SSD in a single RAID drive (eventually).

If you buy a caching model with a large HDD then it is very easy to install windows (and there is a easy rollback plan) to a new SSD and leave the caching on the now 'data' drive.

Check out some of my recent posts in this thread

 

Muchos thank you friend

 

Hi everyone! Glad to say that after a few months of lurking around and researching everything possible, I'm finally going to be part of the Alienware community. It's going to be one hell of an upgrade from my current piece of crap. Here's my build:

Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7-3740QM processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.7GHz w/Turbo Boost 2.0)
12GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz (4DIMMS)
2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680M
500GB 7,200 RPM + 64GB mSATA Caching SSD
17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
Intel® Advanced-N WiFi Link 6250 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology with WiMax and Bluetooth 4.0
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

A couple notes on my build before anyone comments ; I would've selected the base 6gb of ram and upgraded myself but the preset build with base 12gb of ram had a good sale so I went with that.

I also chose not to get the 3D screen because I figured I would never use it and I want the extra battery life that comes with optimus.

Last thing on the wireless card...I figured the killer wireless would be overkill for my current internet and router capabilities and I also read about some driver errors so I went with the mid range centrino. Correct me if I'm wrong though about those driver problems!

I'm also planning on getting an SSD in the near future. Hoping that my system comes problem free right out of the box!

Last question from a newbie. Will I need to upgrade the bios and drivers to the newest versions or will my laptop come with the newest versions straight out of the box?

 

Welcome to NBR

All looks good, on the wireless I got mine as a freebie from Dell so I went with it. Works fine for me and no driver issues ATM. From what I see it can improve ping times when in contention on your lan and also it prioritises applications so you can decide what gets preference. Things like downloading a torrent while on-line gaming .

The bios was up-to-date on 3 I have had, and one of them was newer than on the web site!

Video driver is all you'll need to update - and I recommend you don't do that until you have given it a thorough test out. And get the feel for the performance (or gather some data).

How long before you get it?

Giood luck.

 

I'm still beating myself up for opting not to install the Killer 1103 myself--my rep would have offered it as a freebie. Congrats on the purchase, ShirokenTech.

 

Thanks everyone. I actually don't know when my laptop is going to arrive. I haven't received the order number and EDD yet . Currently, my order status is "acknowledged".

As for when I install my SSD, will I have to remove the original hard drive and disable the cache drive to do a fresh windows install? Or can I just plug in the SSD and change the boot order to the disc drive, install windows and then change the boot order to the SSD? Sorry, I'm still a bit confused about this part.

 

Yup you've got it. It's easy. All you do is put in the new SSD, change the boot order and install windows to it. The cache will stay on the HD and you can format it when you are happy with the new installation. The caching is done in hardware and only requires windows to use the correct disk driver during the install. If you use the windows disk that comes with it you should be good. A vanilla windows will need the disk driver manual loading on the disk config screen during the install.

Your original drive is now an accelerated data drive . Nice thing is that if it all goes badly all you need to do is swap back the boot order and you'll have the original installation back.

All win7 as I haven't tried 8 yet

Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the help!

Just a few more newbie questions. When doing the install, it will give me an option to pick which storage device to install windows to right? I don't want to accidentally install windows on the wrong hard drive. And just to make sure, change the boot order to optical drive first and then to the solid state drive right?

And last thing...would MSI afterburner or nvidia inspector be better for overclocking my 680m?

 

NP

The install will detect the existing installation and ask if you want to upgrade it. At that point you select a fresh install and the new drive. You will see the drive sizes so there should be no confusion. For the boot order, start by going into the bios (after putting in the new drive) and swap over the first drive from the original HD to the new SSD. For the windows install use F12 on the alienhead screen and select to boot from DVD (with the DVD in of course).

And finally, Afterburner is good for monitoring things in-game so you can see things like temps and frame rates. I do not use it for OC as it only accesses the P0 clock. P1 (power throttle) often cuts in when OC'ing so NvidiaInspector lets you access both clocks so you can tune it better. If you find that P1 is kicking in and then artifacting you may need to hunt down a vBIOS with matched P0 and P1 clocks as the P1 also drops the voltage. There are no utilities for controlling the voltage, only a modded vbios. I had to do this for my 675m.

 

Alright, thanks! I'm all set now. I can't wait for my new laptop to get here.

Time for me to keep an eye out for a good deal on an SSD.

 

Hmm. I also plan to get the HD + caching mSATA SSD and then later add a 512GB SSD. So - once you install Windows on the new SSD, you then have Windows installed on the new SSD but it is still installed on the old HD right? Or does the new install automatically uninstall it from the old previous install on the HD?

 

It will still be there. Once you select a fresh install it will ignore the 'old' drive so you can swap back if it goes badly. Once you finish you will have a boot SSD and your original HD will still be accelerated by the cache drive (it's in hardware). You do not need to do anything special just do NOT change the drive access in the bios to turn off the RAID (or swap the drive bays physically). You are taking a decision that will require a re-install if you later decide you want caching/RAID .

Once you are happy with the new installation simply format the 'old' drive to clear it down

 

Hey guys! Decided to place an order and it came out to $1873.06 (US) after taxes with free next day and a 5% gift card.

3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3630QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 7970M
500GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit Service Pack 1, English, w/Mediar
Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software
Intel 2230 Wireless-N
Accidental Damage Service, 1 Year

Pretty much zero changes to the computer except for a 1-Year Accidental Damage service. Good, bad, or average deal? Would contacting a rep on this forum have been a better option?

 

Junetastic,

That's not a bad deal, but you should have PMed a rep.

 

Strange, the 120Hz 3D display / nVidia Vision Bundle is not offered on the Canadian preconfig site (even with the 680M selected). However, it is still offered on the US site.

Out of curiosity, is Alienware planning to change the 3D config feature of the R4?

 

Probably another bug in the builder. Seen this before, just give them a call and they should be able to build it for you - and a chance to hit them up for a discount

 

Not bad, I think. I worked with a contact a rep here connected me with, got about the same thing you did, with the 5% gift card and free next day, but got the nVidia 680M instead of the 7970, 750GB HF+64GB mSata cache drive (intend to add a 512 SSD later), and 16 GB memory, and paid right at $2100.

 

OK - so based on boot order it will boot and run Windows from the new SSD and ignore the Windows install on the old HD, right? Then once I am sure the install is running fine, I could simply delete the Windows install or format the old drive.

Just thinking about this (with a bad headache, so reduced brain power, and even full power isn't that great sometimes!) - sounds like best approach would be to reinstall any programs I installed on the "old" HD on the SSD (I probably won't be able to get the 512 SSD for a few months after I get my M17x due to the price of good 512 SSDs these days.)

 

AC Power adapters for the M17x (with a GTX 680M): Dell wants $120. I need an additional one. I see some of them on Amazon, for around $40, but I have had bad experiences in the past with adapters from Amazon (one lasted exactly 6 weeks.)

Anyone have a recommendation for a GOOD M17x AC power adapter? Thanks.

 

Amazon ones have worked well for me, they are identical to the one dell supply haha. Cost me around £40 fine mine. Just make sure they are OEM ones and you should be ok.

Just check the labelling against your own on the images and you should be fine. They don't throw up any issues ( they are chipped for specific laptops).

Make sure its a 240W adapter, not 330W or 180W, they won't work.

 

You've got it. I would have done the same but this machine was a replacement from dell so I didn't get to change it

I use my HD for all games and the ssd for all apps and windows stuff, but I do already have over 600Gb of games . No need to delete any old ones . If there is a game that 'loads' a lot I move it to the SSD while it is game-of-the-moment.

Enjoy

 

Thanks. I need to look at my usage and see if I really need a full 512GB SSD to add to the 750GB HD - i.e. how much of that SSD will actually be taken up with apps, Windows, and things that need to be accessed quickly vs. just storage. For example, I do a lot of HD video editing and those files take up a lot of space, plus processing them in the editing program can be a little slow on my current system. But I can store the ones I'm not using on the HD, and perhaps make a "video editing working" folder on the SSD and move the ones that I'm working on to that folder.

A Samsung 250 G SSD is about $189 on NewEgg; an Intel 240 is about $250. But there doesn't seem to be an economy of scale, the 512GB all seem to be about double the price. I can probably afford a couple of hundred dollars right away, but not over $500.

 

You shouldn't need to move stuff since you will have all the latest accessed files in the SSD cache . I'm currently using around 2/3rd of my 250 SSD but of course you need to evaluate your total requirements...

 

Thanks. I need to look at my usage and see if I really need a full 512GB SSD to add to the 750GB HD - i.e. how much of that SSD will actually be taken up with apps, Windows, and things that need to be accessed quickly vs. just storage. For example, I do a lot of HD video editing and those files take up a lot of space, plus processing them in the editing program can be a little slow on my current system. But I can store the ones I'm not using on the HD, and perhaps make a "video editing working" folder on the SSD and move the ones that I'm working on to that folder.

A Samsung 250 G SSD is about $189 on NewEgg; an Intel 240 is about $250. But there doesn't seem to be an economy of scale, the 512GB all seem to be about double the price. I can probably afford a couple of hundred dollars right away, but not over $500.

 

Sounds to me like you'll be just fine with the smaller SSD. As long as you are not working with more than 64Gb of data (assuming this size cache drive), then you'll never need to move anything. The beauty of a cache, it's always the latest xx amount of data accessed stored for fast access

 

Yeah, thanks for the discussion - I think you helped me save some money by thinking things through and understanding things better. I just looked at the breakdown on my 500 GB drive on my old M1710 - about 250 GB is taken up with video files that I store for my editing work, 40 gig are music and e-book files, then a few gig of family photos and stuff. A 250 GB SSD is going to be plenty with the 750GB HD plus 64 GB mSata Caching drive that is coming with the system.

Now I just have to do some reading and figure out which 250 GB SSD to get!